Pinto Fonseca is well known for his arrangements of folk music. The Missa Afro-Brasileiria (1976) won the "Best Vocal Work" prize of the Associação dos Críticos de São Paulo, and later became his most popular choral work in the United States.
Pinto Fonseca is celebrated for arranging traditional music. His Missa Afro-Brasileiria (1976) earned a top honor from the critics of São Paulo, and it has since become his most popular choral work among American audiences.