Tropicália

Tropicália, also known as Tropicalismo, is a Brazilian artistic movement that arose in the late 1960s. It encompassed art forms such as theatre, poetry, and music. The movement was characterized by a combination of the popular and the avant-garde, as well as a fusion of traditional Brazilian culture with foreign influences.

Today, Tropicália is chiefly associated with the musical faction of the movement, which merged Brazilian and African rhythms with rock and roll. Musicians who were part of the movement include Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, and the poet/lyricist Torquato Neto, all of whom participated in the 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis, which served as a musical manifesto.

Background

A dominant principle of Tropicália was antropofagia, a type of cultural cannibalism that encouraged the conflation of disparate influences, out of which could be created something unique. The idea was originally put forth by poet Oswald de Andrade in his Manifesto Antropófago, published in 1928, and was developed further by the tropicalistas in the 1960s.

Caetano Veloso

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Caetano Emanuel Viana Telles Veloso (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaeˈtɐ̃nu emanuˈɛw viˈɐ̃nɐ ˈtɛlis veˈlozu]; born August 7, 1942), better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s, at the beginning of the Brazilian military dictatorship. He has remained a constant creative influence and best-selling performing artist and composer ever since. Veloso has won nine Latin Grammy Awards and two Grammy Awards. On November 14, 2012, Veloso was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.

Veloso was one of seven children born into the family of José Telles Velloso (Seu Zeca), a government official, and Claudionor Viana Telles Veloso (Dona Canô), a housewife. He was born in the city of Santo Amaro da Purificação, in Bahia, a state in the northeastern area of Brazil, but moved to Salvador, the state capital, as a college student in the mid-1960s. Soon after the move, Veloso won a music contest and was signed to his first label. He became one of the founders of Tropicalismo with a group of several other musicians and artists—including his sister Maria Bethânia—in the same period. However the Brazilian government at the time viewed Veloso's music and political action as threatening, and he was arrested, along with fellow musician Gilberto Gil, in 1969. The two eventually were exiled from Brazil, and went to London, where they lived for two years. After he moved back to his home country, in 1972, Veloso once again began recording and performing, becoming popular outside of Brazil in the 1980s and 1990s.

Os Mutantes

Os Mutantes ("The Mutants") (Portuguese pronunciation: [uz muˈtɐ̃tʃis]) are an influential Brazilian psychedelic rock band that were linked with the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s.

Although the original line-up (Rita Lee, Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias; and later with Liminha and Dinho Leme) made the most notorious breakthrough for the group, it has gone through numerous personnel changes throughout its existence. After a hiatus from the late 1970s to the early 2000s, the band reunited in 2006, touring and recording new material.

History

Origins

Os Mutantes was formed in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1966 by two brothers: Arnaldo Baptista (bass, keyboards and vocals) and Sérgio Dias Baptista (guitar and vocals), and lead singer Rita Lee. They were originally named Six Sided Rockers. The Baptistas' father was a poet and mother a pianist, and the two had previously had a band called The Wooden Faces. Sérgio Dias' guitar, the Golden Guitar (Guitarra de Ouro), was created by Arnaldo and Sérgio's brother, Cláudio César Dias Baptista, who built many of their instruments and electronic effects. Their current name was settled upon immediately before a performance on a Brazilian television program.

Gilberto Gil

Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (born 26 June 1942), better known as Gilberto Gil (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒiɫˈbɛʁtu ʒiɫ] or [ʒiu̯ˈbɛɾtʊ ʒiu̯]), is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter, known for both his musical innovation and political commitment. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Gil's musical style incorporates an eclectic range of influences, including Rock music, Brazilian genres including samba, African music, and reggae.

Gil started to play music as a child and was still a teenager when he joined his first band. He began his career as a bossa nova musician, and then grew to write songs that reflected a focus on political awareness and social activism. He was a key figure in the Música popular brasileira and tropicália movements of the 1960s, alongside artists such as longtime collaborator Caetano Veloso. The Brazilian military regime that took power in 1964 saw both Gil and Veloso as a threat, and the two were held for nine months in 1969 before they were told to leave the country. Gil moved to London, but returned to Bahia in 1972 and continued his musical career, as well as working as a politician and environmental advocate.

Gal Costa

Gal Costa (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos on September 26, 1945, in Salvador, Bahia) is a Brazilian singer of popular music.

Early life

Gal Costa was born on September 26, 1945, in the city of Salvador, the state capital of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Her mother, Mariah Costa Penna (deceased 1993) spent hours listening to classical music during her pregnancy in hopes that Gal would be interested in music. Gal's father, Arnaldo Burgos (deceased 1960), died when Gal was 15 years old and the two would never meet.

At the age of 10, Gal befriended sisters, Sandra and Andréia Gadelha, the future spouses of singer-songwriters Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, respectively. At 14, she first listened to João Gilberto's "Chega de Saudade" on the radio and became interested in Bossa Nova. She then went on to work as a clerk on Salvador's main record store to get closer to music. At 18, she was introduced to Caetano Veloso by Andréa Gadelha, engaging with him in a deep friendship that still lasts.