On 26 November 1944 Heitor Villa-Lobos made his United States debut with the Janssen Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles, followed during the ensuing weeks by appearances as composer-conductor in Boston, Chicago, and New York City (where he was also interviewed about his composing methods by Olin Downes, then music critic of The New York Times). All these events changed the composer's life completely: he was suddenly catapulted into the limelight, lionized and feted by prominent persons from musical and cultural life at a reception at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. A long-sought dream had unexpectedly come true: international recognition as a composer and as Latin America's foremost musical figure of his generation.