Seu Who?

Oddly enough, if you ask around New York's expat Brazilian community, very few have heard of actor/musician Seu Jorge. It's not until you remind them of his role as good-guy-gone-bad Mané Galinha in City of God (which coincidentally screens on April 30th as part of the PEN World Festival) that their eyes light up.

More surprising than the lack of recognition by his own compatriots is his growing appeal among foreign audiences. This is an artist who does not sing in English (except maybe for his cover of Leiber/Stoller's "Don't"), and whose music is deeply ingrained in his roots: A former homeless man and resident of Brazil's squatter cities, he sings of the everyday issues that surround him. In "Mania de Peitão" (Large Boobs Mania), he takes a humorous look at the recent infatuation with breast enhancement surgery that has taken hold in his native land, while in "Sou Favela" (I Am The Slums)," he takes a critical view of the erroneous assumption that the people who populate the favelas of Rio and Sao Paulo are mostly criminals.

On stage, he is accompanied only by his own guitar, plus percussion and cavaquinho (a four-stringed instrument that descends from the mandolin).

April 27. Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place (at 15th St.), 212-777-6800; 9; $ 25.

April 30. City of (PEN World Festival), Two Boots Pioneer Theater, 155 E 3rd St., 212-591-0434; 3, $9.