About
Sorocaba is the stage name of Fernando Fakri de Assis, the towering (1.94 m) singer‑songwriter who supplies the lead vocals and a good share of the showmanship in Brazil’s chart‑topping sertanejo duo Fernando & Sorocaba. Since 2006, he has mixed country twang with pop hooks, filling arenas across Latin America and racking up billions of streams. Off the mic, Sorocaba operates FS Produções Artísticas—his label and entertainment firm—and regularly gives business conferences on creativity and rural entrepreneurship. After nearly two decades on the road, the act still draws arena‑sized crowds and recently headlined dates that took them from São Paulo to the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville, a symbolic nod to their fusion of Brazilian country and classic Americana.
Before Fame
Born on 15 September 1980 in São Paulo, Fernando spent much of his childhood in the city of Sorocaba, whose name he later borrowed as a stage persona. Music tugged at him early, but he initially followed a different path—agronomy studies at a university in Londrina. Tuition fees were partly covered by singing covers in local bars, and that side hustle convinced him to chase music full‑time. Before adopting his signature duo format, he experimented with two unsuccessful short‑lived collaborations (Kadu & Sorocaba and Marquinho & Sorocaba) and self‑released do‑it‑yourself CDs that he hawked in the trunk of his car after shows. Those grass‑roots nights taught him how to work a stage, craft accessible lyrics, and manage the unglamorous back-end of touring rural Brazil.
Trivia
- Prolific pen: Sorocaba has composed more than 300 songs, including “Meteoro,” the breakout hit that propelled Luan Santana to national fame.
- Serial entrepreneur: Away from spotlights he invests in horse breeding, event tech, and was an investor on Shark Tank Brasil during the 2016–17 seasons.
- Record royalties: For several consecutive years he topped Ecad’s list of Brazil’s highest‑earning composers, a feat rarely achieved by performers who are still actively touring.
- DIY ethos: The duo’s earliest live album was taped in 2007 with borrowed gear and a team of friends doing everything from lighting to ticket sales; it later went platinum.
- Nickname origin: Friends first called him “Sorocaba” at university so classmates could tell the two Fernandos in their circle apart—the label stuck, and he turned it into a brand.
Family Life
Sorocaba is the eldest child of Renata Maria Nogueira Fakri de Assis and José Carlos Assis and has two sisters, Karina and Juliana. In December 2019 he married former Miss Distrito Federal and veterinary‑medicine student Biah Rodrigues in a countryside ceremony surrounded by close relatives and bandmates. Their first son, Theo, arrived in May 2020, followed by daughter Fernanda in November 2021. The couple had twins, Angelina and Zion, in 2024, making their ranch a lively home of six children under five years of age. The two often post snippets of rural life—horse rides, open-air barbecues, and lullabies—on social media, offering followers a glimpse behind the curtains.
Associated With
- Fernando Zor – Musical partner and lifelong friend; their harmonies and playful on‑stage banter are the backbone of Fernando & Sorocaba.
- Luan Santana – Sorocaba wrote and produced several of Santana’s early smashes, cementing both artists in the sertanejo “university” wave of the late 2000s.
- Marcos & Belutti, Thaeme & Thiago, and Cristiano Araújo – Acts that have recorded his compositions, spreading his melodic style across Brazil’s country scene.
- Shark Tank Brasil investors – During two seasons he traded music studios for boardrooms beside fellow entrepreneurs, underlining his reputation as a risk‑taker beyond the arts.
