Tropicalia: Music and Politics in Brazil
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A PowerPoint with background readings and music selections about Tropicalia, the short-lived musical movement in Brazil that nevertheless has greatly impacted all Brazilian music since. It includes the context of the military dictatorship against which musicians and others struggled and how music served to give many of the oppressed a voice.
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Tropicalia: Music and Politics in Brazil
- 1. Please attribute Creative Commons with a link to creative commons.org Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
- 2. TROPICÁLIA AND MASH IT UP MUSIC: RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE IN BRAZIL
- 4. Espirito Santo Bahia Rio de Janeiro
- 5. Brazil’s people • Indigenous (indios) • Portuguese colonizers (1500) • West African slaves (Three sad peoples)
- 6. What the Portuguese Brought Musically European tonal system Moorish scales Numerous festivals – Roman Catholic Instruments: flute, piano, violin, guitar, clarinet, triangle, accordion, cavaquinho, violincello, harp, tambourine. Syncopation and brisk, complex rhythms – worked well with Africans’ music Fondness for ballads, especially ones full of saudade. (“nostalgia, yearning”) Portuguese “fado” *
- 7. African Batuque 4 to 5 million survived the crossing Slavery didn’t end until 1888 Came from Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Angola, Zaire, Mozambique Africans’ culture survived In more pure form than it did in America
- 10. Portuguese + African batuque = samba “Technically, samba has a 2/4 meter, an emphasis on the second beat, a stanza-and-refrain structure, and many interlocking, syncopated lines in the melody and accompaniment. The main rhythm and abundant cross-rhythms can be carried by handclapping or in the percussion (the batucada), which may include more than a dozen different drums and percussion instruments. Samba is commonly accompanied by instruments such as the guitar and four-string cavaquinho…” (McGowan and Pessanha, The Brazilian Sound)
- 11. Samba
- 13. History of Samba Roots in Angola, Africa Semba – “invitation to dance” – navel touches (also could mean “trance”) When and where: early 20th century, Rio de Janeiro Dona Alva was the queen of samba and popularized it Escolas de Samba (samba schools) Carnaval became institution Dona Alva’s daughter in Cachoeira, with Aileen Santos Bahia, August 2015
- 14. Samba Early 20th century, Rio de Janeirso Roots in Angola, Africa Semba – “invitation to dance” Ecolas de Samba Carnaval
- 16. Samba meets West coast cool jazz BOSSA NOVA
- 17. João Gilberto Antonio Carlos Jobim Bossa Nova - 1950s Gilberto and Jobim took the traditional samba, cleaned it up, and added West Coast jazz elements, creating a sophisticated, cool sound.
- 18. Bossa Nova Bossa Nova is samba’s “rhythmic complexity pared down to its bare essentials, transformed into a different kind of beat…full of unusual harmonies and syncopations, all expressed with a sophisticated simplicity.” -- Chris McGowan, The Brazilian Sound
- 19. Bossa nova arose during a period of economic prosperity, industrialization, and optimism in Brazil. Bossa Nova was middle- class music made in clubs and Rio’s beach apartments. The inspiration for the song “Girl from Ipanema,” Heloísa Pinheiro Ipanema Beach
- 20. BOSSA NOVA COMES TO AMERICA “The Girl from Ipanema” was Bossa Nova’s biggest hit, second only to the Beatles’ “Yesterday.” Through the film Black Orpheus, Bossa Nova music made it to America.
- 22. The Northeast - Forró Luiz Gonzaga “Asa Branca” (White Wing) When I saw the earth burning Which is the fire of St. John I ask God in heaven, oh Why so much abuse What a brazier, what a furnace Not a foot of plantation Through lack of water I lost my cattle He died of thirst, my sorrel Just like the white wing Beats the wings of the desert Then I said good-bye, Rosie, Keep with you my heart. Nowadays many a league away in sad loneliness I wish for rain to fall again for me to return to my desert. When the green of your eyes spreads across the plantation I assure you, don’t you cry, no, you saw That I will return, you saw My heart.
- 23. Saddest region – happiest music? Sertão – region of desert 1.5 million km Many poor and uneducated (landless) Result of latifundio system – a lot of land in few hands Blood feuds, machismo run strong Very religious, generous Every decade hit by terrible drought People emigrate to cities to a different type of squalor Baião and forró emerged from the Northeast
- 24. Tensions mount Vice President João Goulart became President in 1961, when Janio Quadros resigned. Goulart favored socially progressive policies. Promised to enact basic reforms, such as helping the longstanding problem of the landless. Conservative elite disliked him. Re-stablished relations with Eastern Europe and Cuba. Openly spoke against foreign economic imperialism and limited amount of money foreign corporations could send out of Brazil. Goulart proposed nationalizing Brazil’s industries to reduce foreign control/ownership of Brazil’s resources.
- 25. Tropicália – early 1960s • Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, creators • Admired bossa nova for fusion of native Brazilian and Western elements • Liked musical “cannibalism.” • Challenged the close-mindedness of both Brazilian music and social norms. • Embraced a holistic and optimistic view of Brazil. • Not always embraced by Brazil itself.
- 26. Gal Costa in “Baby” “You need to know the pool, margarine, Carolina, gasoline You need to know me You need to have an ice cream In the cafeteria, to walk with us To see me close To hear that song by Roberto. You need to learn English You need to learn what I know And what I do not know And what I do not know … You need, you need, you need I do not know Read it on my shirt…”
- 27. É Proibido Proibir” - It’s Forbidden to Forbid”
- 29. 1964 Coup d’etat Unwilling to let President João Goulart’s carry out his reforms, a group of military generals with civilian and U.S. backing overthrew him. Both the Right-wing and the U.S. used Cold War propaganda to distort Goulart’s reforms by calling them “communism.” The generals promised the regime would last one year. One year turned into 21, and the “Years of Lead” were born.
- 30. May 1968 - March of a Hundred Thousand Veloso Gil
- 31. The March protested the shooting death of Edson LuÍs, an 18-year old student. The government retaliated.
- 32. AI-5 Institutional Act no. 5 • Congress closed • Civil rights ended • Eliminated habeus corpus • Banned elections • Banned unions • Censorship rampant • Imprisoned, tortured, murdered citizens
- 33. The end of Tropicália December 27, 1968 – Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were arrested in São Paolo. They were never charged with a crime.
- 34. Prison and exile 2 months in prison 4 months’ house arrest Exiled to London indefinitely
- 35. “London, London”
- 36. MPB and censorship – Chico Buarque’s “Calice” Stuart Angel, student
- 37. Translation of “Calice” (“Chalice”) Father, take from me this chalice Of red wine of blood How does one consume this bitter drink Swallow the pain, swallow the struggle The mouth may be silenced but the chest remains One does not hear the silence in the city What does it matter that I am the son of the Virgin Better I were the son of the other woman Another less mortal truth So many lies, so much brutal force How difficult it is to awake silent If in the silent of the night I curse myself I want to launch an inhuman cry As a way to be heard Stunned by all that silence While stunned I remain alert In the terrace at any moment I witness the rise of the monster from the lagoon From excess weight, the sow no longer walks From overuse, the knife no longer cuts How difficult it is, Father, to open the door That word stuck in my throat That homeric trembling in the world What does it matter to have good will The chest may be silenced but the head remains From the drunkards within the city Perhaps the world is not small Nor life a given reality I want to invent my own sin I want to die by my own poison I want to lose your mind for good My head losing your wisdom I want to smell diesel fumes Get drunk to the point where someone forgets me.
- 38. Paulo Freire, Educator Luiz Ignacio Silva “Lula” Brazil’s president from 2002-2011. Paulo Francis, journalist During 1968-1976, thousands of Brazilians were imprisoned and exiled.
- 39. The government did so as part of its interrogation of “subversives.” “When I was in the Army Police jail…I heard various times, at night, appalling shouts and groans, not rarely followed by emergency commands like ‘Bring the stretcher,’ the roars of the victim giving way, after a few seconds of terrible silence, to the bustle of the executioners.” -- Caetano Veloso, blog post, July 2013 APPROXIMATELY 10,000 TORTURED
- 40. Tortured by the dictatorship Frederick Morris, American pastor Augosto Boal, theater director Dilma Rousseff, Current President of Brazil Paolo Coelho, world renowned author Marcos Arruda, Geologist, economist
- 41. Tortured to death Brother Tito de Alencar Lima, Dominican priest Stuart Angel, student Vladmir Herzog, journalist Luiz Edwardo Merlino, journalist Alexandre Vannucchi Leme, geology studentMarilena Villas Boas Pinto, psychology student
- 42. Many regard samba “as a form of ‘cultural resistance’; not just as a vehicle for protest during the military’s rule…but also as a way to assert tradition against the invasion of the multi-nationals and consumer values.” --Charles Perrone, CD liner notes, O Samba 1970S SAMBA AS RESISTANCE DURING “THE YEARS OF LEAD”
- 43. Samba Reggae African Consciousness and Pride Created by Olodum around 1986 • Surdos – beat • Caixas – high-pitched 16th notes/accent back beats • Repiques -- create reggae cadence Olodum is the most famous afro-bloco • Commercially successful • Work for recovery of black culture and against racism • Appeared several times in Paul Simon’s work and Michael Jackson’s video “They Don’t Care About Us”
- 44. The Pelourinho Salvador, Bahia August 2015 Film by Kathy Swart
- 46. Triumph of Tropicália: mixing it up becomes normal Even after the return to democracy, music was used to draw attention to the inequalities widened during the military regime. Examples: “O Navio Negreiro” “Haiti”
- 47. Works Consulted Béhague, Gerard. “Brazil, 4. Popular Music, Tropicália.” Grove Music Online. 26 Sep 2007. Byrne, David. Liner notes to The Best of Caetano Veloso. Nonesuch Records, 2003. Downey, Greg. “Veloso, Caetano Emauel Viana Teles.” International Dictionary of Black Composers. Ed. Samuel A. Floyd. Chicago: Fitzroy- Dearborn, 1999. Dunn, Christopher. Brutality Garden: Tropicália and the Emergence of Brazilian Counterculture. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina P, 2001. Frere-Jones, Sasha. “Cool Heat; Pop Music.” The New Yorker 29 Jan 2007:90. ProQuest Direct. 8 Oct 2007 Gilman, Bruce. “30 Years of Tropicalismo.” BRAZZIL Magazine. Dec 1997. 5 Oct 2007. Kay, Lawrence. “Guide to Brazilian Music: Caetano Veloso.” 2007. The Wonders of Brazilian Music. 5 Oct 2007
- 48. McGowan, Chris and Ricardo Pessanha. The Brazilian Sound: Samba, Bossa Nova and the Popular Music of Brazil. Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1998. Oliveira, Ana de. “Tropicália.” 2000-2001. 5 Oct 2007 Perrone, Charles A. “Brazil Popular, Populist, Pop Music.” Caravan Music.” 5 Oct 2007 Perrone, Charles A. “Other Words and Other Worlds of Caetano Veloso.” Masters of Contemporary Brazilian Song. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989. Perrone, Charles A. and Christopher Dunn, eds. Brazilian Popular Music & Globalization. New York: Routledge, 2002. Pessanha, Ricardo. Liner notes to Tropicália Essentials. Hip-O Records, 1999. Schreiner, Claus. Música Brasileira: A History of Popular Music and the People of Brazil. Trans Mark Weinstein. New York: Marion Boyars, 1992. Tobar, Hector. “Brazil’s Voice, and its Soul.” Los Angeles Times 27 Oct 2002: E1. ProQuest Direct. 8 Oct 2007. Veloso, Caetano. Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil. Trans. Isabel de Sena. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
Editor's Notes
- Natives’ music didn’t make it into Brazilian popular music. There were about 2 million, but got wiped out or lost contact with culture when moved to cities or towns. Today 200,000 indios today, declining as development pushes further into the Amazon.
- (due to numbers, Portuguese attitudes toward salves, free blacks, and quiolombos, among other factors.) Cities allowed more freedom than plantations, slaves gathered. Still being imported in 1850
- Heloisa Pinheiro was a student who everyday would walk from her home to the beach and pass by Jobim’s window where he sat composing.
- Some thought bossa nova reflected on one reality of Brazil, that of the wealthy elites who lived in Ipanema. Other music emerged based on samba that tried to embrace all of Brazil’s truths.
- One of these other realities was the Northeast.
- Baiao came from African circle dance. 2/4 rhythm, syncopated, steady beat all through to make easy to dance to. Replaced guitar with accordion, added triangle and bass drum. Natural scale with raised fourth and flattened seventh, mixed with minor scale. Some tonal peculiarities resemble medieval modes used in Gregorian chant.
- Quadros’ resignation remains a mystery. His cryptic letter mentioned foreign and terrible forces
- Against this backdrop and the 1964 coup, Tropicalica emerged.
- The young white kids here are “Os Mutantes” who weren’t part of Tropicalia but often played with them, providing the electric guitars and rock elements.
- Tropicalia emerged around the same time as political turmoil in Brazil. People saw the inequities in Brazil but differed on how to help it and move Brazil into the future. There was dissention and clashes between the left and right, but no one foresaw what happened in 1964. A group of about 80 military generals, with U.S. backing, overthrew democratically elected president Goulart in 1964. Goulart, although a landowner and wealthy member of the aristocracy himself, had begun making noises about helping the crippling poverty of the Northeast. This led to him being dubbed a “Marxist.” This photo of a girl named Rachel refusing to shake the dictator’s hand (late 70s) came to symbolize resistance to the dictatorship. The man who is trying to shake her hand is Medici, the last of the dictators and the most horrendous. He is known as “O monstro” in Brazil. (The Monster.) You should hear Pare talk about him. The military claimed the “revolution”—yes, they called it that--was necessary in order to reorganize the country and fix the financial chaos. In reality, the elite saw their status and wealth threatened by Goulart’s leftward leanings. Goulart also wanted to nationalize industries and keep Brazil’s wealth for Brazil—which made the U.S. unhappy, as it had much invested in Brazil such as mining, etc.
- Four years after the military coup, many artists, intellectuals, and journalists became frustrated by the dictatorship’s refusal to return to democracy. Veloso and Gil were among these. In this photo you see artists, musicians, intellectuals, journalists, and students protesting the shooting death of a student, Edson Luis. By 1968, the people had had enough.
- Luis was unarmed but gunned down by the police during an earlier peaceful protest.
- AI-5 gave the dictatorship carte-blanche—now they could do whatever they wanted. Instead of moving toward democracy, the military only tightened the reins. The Catholic church and other religious groups were immune at first, but not for long. It’s important to note how Brazil, in contrast to Argentina and Chile, attempted to give its methods the illusion of “legality” by its uniquely tight cooperation between civil society and the military. It also thrived on secrecy and threat. Everyone knew about the torture (and often could hear the screams) but the government did not admit to it. They preferred to let the rumors frighten people into a state of fear and compliance. Trials of those accused of opposing the government were sometimes held, but without any access to lawyers, and with juries composed of only military personnel. Sentences were passed down, but the government concealed what it did to extract “confessions.” People who the government even vaguely suspected of being “subversive” were arrested and persecuted, as well as members of armed resistance groups, regardless of they had actually committed a crime or not. Many times the regime operated on wrong information, so they tortured the wrong people, including the wives and children of suspects--and even some of their own informants who had infiltrated left-wing organizations! (Collateral damage.) They also persecuted those within the military itself who disliked the violent repression. They tortured at least one baby. Protective of its reputation abroad, the government tried to cover up deaths from torture and outright murders, claiming they were suicides or accidents. In short, the government created the appearance of a legal government prosecuting criminals, when in reality it was an illegal government, knowingly violating national and international human rights laws. After a time, even the weak voices of concern from American activists weren’t enough to halt their violence. The dictators stopped caring what the world thought.
- Veloso and Gil spent 2 months in prison, in terrible conditions that could be compared to Guantanamo Bay today. Top photos: Gilberto Gil before and after the prison stint. Both nearly starved. After 4 months of house arrest (where they had to give a concert to raise money for their own plane tickets) they were exiled to London. The explanation for their arrest concerned their appearing in a club that had a poster in it that the government didn’t like. In reality, the government saw what Veloso and Gil were doing as more subtle and therefore more dangerous than outright protest songs. Bottom photo: In a symbolic gesture, the military shaved their heads. It was a way of saying, “We hereby remove your countercultural nonsense” and it was a way to humiliate them—they did this to most political prisoners.
- The government effectively censored Tropicalia’s message of embracing the West and of freedom by their arrest and exile. But in 1971 were all to eager to “invite him back” to appear on a show, where they tried to force him to sing a song glorifying the military regime. He refused, and they threatened his family.
- Chico Buarque sang traditional sambas reminiscent of a past and more stable Brazil, songs everyone could love—things were so tense politically it was like an escape. He got to be idolized and a symbol of something he didn’t want to be associated with, because he saw the ills of the dictatorship and had concerns about where Brazil was going. So he wrote a play called Roda Viva about a start who gets literally devoured by his fans. One night while working on the play Roda Viva when right-wing terrorist groups attacked and beat actors, musicians, and technicians working on it. In another city everyone was ordered to leave the city or be killed. After being detained and interrogated, he went into exile to protect himself. He wrote songs more openly protesting the government, but his family connections kept him from being arrested when he returned from self-exile in 1970. But 2/3 of his songs were censored. The song Calice is a play on “Cale-se” which means “chalice” but also shut up. It is a metaphorical comment on the repressive times and silencing of a whole nation. When tried to play it on stage, police came on and turned off microphones while they were singing. Some say this refers to Stuart Angel’s death….describe mouth taped to exhaust pipe.
- Even as early as the 1964 coup, the government was arresting anyone who opposed them. Reading the names of those detained, tortured, or killed by the government reads like a “Who’s Who” of famous Brazilians.
- This Brazilian was part of a troupe who escaped from Brazil and traveled around the U.S. in the early 70s trying to raise awareness about what was happening there. The picture shows him re-enacting his own experience in the play called “Meditation on Political-Sado-masochism” performed by The Living Theatre. Victims who were treated to the parrot’s perch not only were hung this way for hours or days, but they had electric wires inserted into orifices (anus, mouth, nose, eyes, ears) and applied to their genitals, and these wires gave them repeated electrical shocks. (The officers threw water on the victim to heighten the conductivity.) The most common forms of torture consisted of beatings, the parrot’s perch, severe electric shock, sexual abuse including rape and castration, being trapped in a freezing space without food and water, water torture, and burning with lit cigarettes. Most victims received several of these forms or all of them.
- …along with hundreds of others. These weren’t gun-toting revolutionaries, but students, journalists, etc. Stuart Angel was dragged behind a car until all his skin came off. During this his mouth was taped to the exhaust pipe so he had to inhale the fumes, according to an eyewitness. Driven insane by his torture experience, Brother Tito became mentally ill, paranoid, and hung himself when no one would help him with the aftereffects of his abuse. It’s been proven that beloved, popular journalist Vladmir Herzog’s death was made to look like a suicide. In reality he was tortured to death.