From Portela's Drum Line to Hollywood's Sidewalk: Paulinho Da Costa Makes History

The Brazilian percussionist who played on your favorite records—and you probably never knew his name

On May 13, 2026, a boy from Irajá — a working-class neighborhood in the northern outskirts of Rio de Janeiro — became immortalized on the most famous sidewalk in the world. Brazilian percussionist Paulinho Da Costa received the 2,844th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the category of Recording, becoming the first Brazilian-born entertainer ever honored on the Walk. Not Carmen Miranda. Not Sergio Mendes. Not any of the Brazilian legends who helped shape American popular music over the decades. Paulinho Da Costa—the man who preferred to live in the credits rather than in the spotlight—got there first.

And the moment could not have been more fitting. The ceremony was held on the 138th anniversary of Brazil ending slavery, the day Princess Imperial Isabel signed the royal decree known as the Lei Áurea — the Golden Law. For a Black man from Rio de Janeiro who built his career one rhythm at a time, the symbolism was not lost.

The Boy from Irajá

Paulo Roberto da Costa was born on May 31, 1948, in the Irajá neighborhood in the northern part of Guanabara and began his relationship with music in childhood, with improvised instruments at home. "My first improvised instrument was the wooden tabletop of my house," he has recounted. There was no conservatory. No formal training. There was only rhythm—and rhythm, Paulinho Da Costa always had in abundance.

It did not take long for the boy from the outskirts of Rio to find his way into the children's section of Portela's drum line—one of the most traditional samba schools in Guanabara. He started playing as a kid, in his backyard, and soon he was in Portela's children's drum section," says journalist Silvio Essinger, who has written about the musician's career. The experience at the samba school was fundamental: there, Paulinho learned not only the traditional rhythms but also the discipline of playing in a group and the importance of swing.

For those unfamiliar with the cultural weight of Portela, understand this: it is not simply a carnival organization. Founded in the early 1920s in the Oswaldo Cruz neighborhood of Rio, Portela is one of the oldest and most storied samba schools in Brazil, with deep roots in Afro-Brazilian working-class communities. It is a school in the truest sense—passing down culture, discipline, and identity from generation to generation. What Paulinho da Costa absorbed on Portela's drum line as a child became the rhythmic foundation upon which he would eventually conquer Hollywood.

A Career Measured in Thousands

Contributing his musical passion and unique rhythmic signature to more than 1,000 artist projects, Da Costa's name appears on over 2,500 albums and 6,000 songs, including numerous top-selling records. Let that sink in: 6,000 songs. If you danced to something in the last five decades, Paulinho Da Costa was probably in the room.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1972, he played with Sergio Mendes from 1973 to 1976. He was introduced to Norman Granz by Dizzy Gillespie and was signed to Granz's label, Pablo Records, which also helped him receive permanent resident status in the U.S. He went on to record three solo albums under Pablo Records.

His Hollywood résumé reads like a greatest hits of American culture. Da Costa has contributed to the soundtracks of Saturday Night Fever, Mission Impossible III, Dirty Dancing, Purple Rain, Jurassic Park, The Last Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Transformers, Hairspray, and Footloose and to songs including "I Will Survive" and "That's What Friends Are For." He also contributed percussion to The Color Purple—making his fingerprints present across some of the most culturally significant Black films ever produced.

His work spans collaborations with legendary figures like Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, as well as pop superstars including Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Sting.

Michael Jackson called him the greatest.

Perhaps no collaboration defined Da Costa's American career more than his decades-long partnership with the King of Pop. The collaboration between Paulinho Da Costa and Michael Jackson did not begin with Thriller—the percussionist had already worked with Jackson years before, when Jackson was still recording with The Jacksons. It was on the 1978 album Destiny that Da Costa began leaving his mark. From there, his talent was sought for recordings across Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and Invincible (2001), in addition to playing on "We Are the World" (1985). It wasn't an occasional collaboration — it was a decades-long partnership built on mutual respect between two perfectionists. Michael Jackson himself reportedly called Da Costa "the greatest percussionist of all time."

A Historic Ceremony

Singer/songwriter and Walk of Famer Ray Parker Jr. and Larry Dunn — best known as the keyboardist and musical director of Earth, Wind & Fire from 1972 to 1984 — were among those joining Da Costa at the ceremony at 1709 Vine St., just north of Hollywood Boulevard.

The location was deliberately chosen so that the Capitol Records Building would appear in the background, representing what the Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez described as the most significant building in Los Angeles when it comes to music.

Da Costa was joined at the ceremony by his wife Arice da Costa and his son Paolo da Costa.

"The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is proud to welcome musician Paulinho Da Costa to the Hollywood Walk of Fame," stated Ana Martinez. "His extraordinary rhythm and unmistakable sound have elevated countless recordings and inspired generations of musicians around the world."

Why This Moment Matters

There is something profound about the fact that Paulinho da Costa is the first Brazilian on the Walk of Fame—not despite his anonymity, but perhaps because of it. He represents the millions of Black Brazilian musicians, artists, and cultural architects whose genius has always powered the soundtrack of the world while the credits rolled too fast for anyone to read their names.

He started on a wooden tabletop in Irajá. He cut his teeth in the children's bateria of Portela. He crossed an ocean and remade himself as a session percussionist of unmatched range. And now, at 77, his name is set in bronze on Hollywood Boulevard — eternal, undeniable, and long overdue.

Bem feito, Paulinho. Muito bem feito.