Thus Adoniran's use of "real" Brazilian Portuguese was a revolution that may be comparable to Gershwin's use of Gullah in "Porgy and Bess". Indeed, he was often strongly criticized for it, even by poet and composer Vinícius de Moraes (of "The Girl from Ipanema" fame). But Adoniran did not mind his critics, and his mastery allowed him to break with convention: as he used to say, art was required to sing in "wrong" language. And the success of his most popular songs, such as "Tiro ao Álvaro" (1960), was undoubtedly due in good part to the warmth and naturalness of its language.