Tropicalia: Music and Revolution

There’s been a lot of talk of change during these presidential campaigns.  We know that change is difficult and comes at great sacrifice and most of all that we need it.  As I waited in line this morning to cast my vote, I realized I was way early because I was the second person in the line.  I knew I was going to have a little wait so I turned to my iPod to help me pass the time.  I wanted to listen to an artist of change and I could think of no one better than Gilberto Gil.

It was 1967 when singer/composers Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, two Bahians introduced a new sound in Brazilian music.  The music combined elements of Blues, Rock, Psychodelia, Folk and Jazz with Bossa Nova and Samba.  Tropicalia was and is Brazil’s last great cultural movement.  It not only encompassed music, it also had great influence in literature, art, theatre and film.  Many artists began dreaming of a new vision for Brazil. They banded together to bring issues such as the corruption of the political right to the fore.  They were met with fierce opposition.

Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil

The reign of Tropilacia as a movement was short lived, although its influences are still very much alive today.  The movement flourished between 1967 and 1968, until the government passed the Fifth Institutional Act in December of 1968.  The act granted President Costa e Silva dictatorial power.  This caused many artists to flee the country.  Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were jailed for several months in 1968 before they were exiled. They spent the following four years in London.  Some were not so fortunate, the lyricist Torquato Neto committed suicide after torture and forced “psychiatric care”.

Tropicalia artist sites of interest
Gilberto Gil   
Caetano Veloso
Gal Costa 
Os Mutantes 

Check out some vintage music videos here

~ by Xai on April 22, 2008.