As a music lover, De Andrade looked for a career as pianist but when he had to abandon the idea of this career he started to write instead. Using the pseudonym of Mario Sobral he created Symbolist poems and joined the Group of Five. He contributed to bring the avant-garde poetry to Brazil and established the Brazilian Modernism. He also helped organised the Semana de Arte. He travelled extensively in Brazil, writing The Apprentice Tourist and researching extensive folklore and music traditions. In 1928 he published his novel Macunaima.