Mário de Andrade (1893-1945) was a poet, novelist, critic, piano teacher, ethnomusicologist, and a leading figure in Brazilian culture. He was a central instigator of the 1922 Semana de Arte Moderna (Modern Art Week), which marked a new era of modernism. He spent much of his life pioneering the study and preservation of Brazilian folk heritage and was the founding director of São Paulo's Department of Culture.