Brazilian singer Gusttavo Lima has been named Ambassador of the Festa do Peão de Barretos for 2026, making him the festival's record holder after being chosen for the honorary role for a third time. He will headline the rodeo's 71st edition, three years after his last turn in the post.
The Festa do Peão de Barretos is an annual festival in the interior of São Paulo state that celebrates rural "caipira" culture and sertanejo music. Since 2010, organizers have honored an Ambassador each year, a leading figure from the music scene chosen to represent the event.
The title has previously gone to artists including Luan Santana, Cristiano Araújo, Henrique & Juliano, Simone & Simaria, Cesar Menotti & Fabiano and Ana Castela.
How the Ambassador Tradition Began
Luan Santana became the festival's first Ambassador in 2010 at just 19 years old, shortly after rising to fame with the song "Meteoro." In a 2021 interview on the Flow podcast, he said his history with the festival began in 2009, when he performed unpaid on the alternative stage. A year later he was invited to represent the event and drew a crowd of roughly 200,000 people, a record for the festival that still stands.
Duo Jorge & Mateus matched Luan Santana's attendance record at the 2010 festival, and the following year they were named Ambassadors themselves, during the peak of hits "Aí Já Era," "Pode Chorar," "Voa Beija-Flor" and "Amo Noite e Dia."
Fernando & Sorocaba, a duo formed in 2007, took the title in 2012, the year of their hits "É Tenso" and "As Mina Pira," having already scored earlier successes with "Paga Pau," "A Casa Caiu" and "Madri."
A Joint Show and a Tragic Loss
In 2013, Bruno & Marrone and Chitãozinho & Xororó were both chosen as Ambassadors and joined forces for a combined performance. On stage, Xororó reflected on how sertanejo music had evolved, saying that when the genre began in the 1970s it was called "caipira," then became "sertanejo" and now has a "universitário" strand, but that artists had always kept the original sound of the viola and the accordion, a genuine sound that could not be forgotten.
Cristiano Araújo was named Ambassador in 2014, a year before his death, and made two appearances at that year's festival, one on the main stage and a surprise show at the Parque do Peão campsite. He had a performance already planned for the following year's edition. Araújo died in June 2015 in a car accident, and the festival later referred to him as its "eternal ambassador."
Emotional Moments and Family Legacies
Henrique & Juliano, known for hits "Gordinho Saliente" and "Não Tô Valendo Nada," were named Ambassadors in 2015. During a performance of their song "Recaídas," Henrique became emotional, recalling that his father had once wanted to take his sons to Barretos but the family could not afford it. He said that, thanks to God and to the fans, they had finally been able to bring their parents, who were watching from backstage.
In 2016, Zezé Di Camargo & Luciano, known as "Dois Filhos de Francisco," were chosen as Ambassadors in the year they marked 25 years since forming as a duo. That same year, they were also honored by the Rio de Janeiro samba school Imperatriz Leopoldinense with the parade theme "É o Amor, Que Mexe Com a Minha Cabeça e Me Deixa Assim."
The Original "Embaixador"
Gusttavo Lima's own nickname, "Embaixador" (Ambassador), stems from holding the Barretos title for two consecutive years, in 2017 and 2018, a feat later matched only by Cesar Menotti & Fabiano in 2023 and 2024. His catchphrase "respeita o Embaixador" (respect the Ambassador) became so well known that he still uses it in shows today.
He used his 2018 performance to record the DVD "O Embaixador," staged on a set inspired by Ancient Greece with columns evoking an emperor. Songs captured for the project included "Zé da Recaída," "Mil Vezes Cantarei," "Na Hora de Amar" and "Que Pena Que Acabou."
The Only Women to Hold the Title
Simone & Simaria became the first, and so far only, women invited to be Ambassadors, a role they took on in 2019 after debuting on Barretos stages in 2016 and returning in subsequent editions. On stage, Simone said she believed the honor had come to them because they were strong Northeastern women from the countryside of Bahia and mothers now carrying a huge responsibility, and she thanked fans for all the love they had shown. In 2019 the duo had released the album "Aperte o Play," which produced the hits "Não Tem Essa Que Não Chora," "Consciência Suja" and "Som da Caixinha (JBL)."
A Rodeo Champion Takes the Stage
After a pause forced by the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival broke from tradition in 2022 by naming an Ambassador from outside sertanejo music: Adriano Moraes, an award-winning former bull rider who first competed at the Barretos championship in 1989. Moraes was a three-time world bull-riding champion with the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and spent 15 of his 20-year career competing abroad, helping open doors for Brazilian athletes in the sport.
Two-Time Ambassadors and a Youngest Record
Cesar Menotti & Fabiano held the Ambassador title for two straight years, 2023 and 2024, and in 2024 staged the debut of their project "Os Menotti 20 anos - Especial Os Embaixadores." During their 2023 show, César Menotti recalled that in 2004 the pair borrowed 300 reais to fuel Fabiano's car and arrived in Barretos with a viola and a guitar, spending a week singing wherever they could, including in a tent, before returning 19 years later to receive the Ambassador title on the main stage. He urged the crowd to believe in their dreams and never doubt how far they could go, saying many international stars had played that stage but few had ever received that title.
Ana Castela, known as "A Boiadeira," was chosen as Ambassador in 2025, becoming the second woman, after Simone & Simaria, to hold the post, and the youngest Ambassador in the festival's history. She performed twice at the festival, including one show in which fans helped her make a hidden passage through the crowd to reach the stage.
Gusttavo Lima's Third Time as Ambassador
Gusttavo Lima was chosen to represent the festival's 71st edition after three years away from the Barretos stage. Pedro Muzeti, cultural director of the Festa do Peão de Barretos, told CNN Brasil that talks over his return had been a long courtship. Muzeti said the deal had fallen through the previous year purely over scheduling, but that organizers reconnected with the singer as soon as that festival ended, and this time it worked out. He confirmed Gusttavo Lima would be Ambassador for the third time and would perform two shows, describing the reunion as hunger meeting the wish to eat.
