Arlindo Cruz was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1958 and was playing cavaquinho and banjo as a child. He learned his craft in the samba circles of the city, with the great Candeia as a mentor, and came up through the Cacique de Ramos scene next to Zeca Pagodinho and Sombrinha.
He spent twelve years in Fundo de Quintal, the group that shaped modern pagode, and wrote more than 550 songs recorded by singers like Beth Carvalho and Alcione, plus winning carnival sambas for Império Serrano. Solo, he made albums such as Batuques e Romances and the live Batuques do Meu Lugar, where Caetano Veloso and Zeca Pagodinho joined him. A stroke in 2017 kept him off stage for his last years, and he died in August 2025 at 66.