The unexpected bearer - the work of Dorival Caymmi (1938- 1958) is a study whose aim is to provide a partial mapping of the reception to the cultural criticism of the work of Dorival Caymmi, composer and singer of Música Popular Brasileira (Brazilian popular music), from 1938 until 1958. In order to accomplish this goal, this dissertation will survey the horizon of expectations underlying the production of the Bahian artist, beginning with his debut in Rio de Janeiro and spanning until the dawn of Bossa Nova, which altered the panorama of the Brazilian popular song in the 1950s. The cultural and historical criticism is here represented by researchers and critics of literature and music, artists in general, especially singers, composers and musicians, along with journalists and intellectuals as well. Considering the music in its purely textual dimension we employ a method borrowed from literary criticism, namely Hans Robert Jauss reception-aesthetic. Utilizing the concepts proposed by Jauss as well as their adaptation to the music field, we examine the permanence and role of Caymmi s work in the development of the Música Popular Brasileira. In this particular portion of the study, we rely on the contribution of historian Fernand Braudel.