“I knew that music was my language, that music would take me to see the world, would take me to other lands. For I thought there was the music of the earth and the music from heaven.” (Gilberto Gil official biography)
In 1999 I was attending my “Diploma Program in International Trade & Commerce” at UC Berkeley. While I had the incredible chance to meet people coming from all over the world, there was something special about my Brazilian classmates and it’s the fact that they have a unique way to face life…They are happy, and they transfer their happiness to the whole world.
Every time we attended a party, they soon transformed it into a Brazilian Carnival.
This was the first time I got really in touch with Brazilian music, especially the music coming from Bahia, the land of the Brazilian carnival.
I got so, so involved with their stories and with this music that, as soon as I came back home, I started deep-diving into the Brazilian music and culture. I also attended a Brazilian Portuguese course to be able to better understand the meaning of those lyrics. Then, I also started deep diving into other Brazilian music genres, discovering the great artists of Bossa Nova and, of course, a whole new music genre: Tropicália.
Tropicália, a.k.a Tropicalismo, is a music genre which developed in Brazil in the 1960s. Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil are among the founding fathers of this genre. Tropicália broke the musical boundaries embracing the most diverse music genres: rock, folk, pop etc. Not only is Tropicàlia a music genre but, back in the 60’s, it was also the expression of a political movement. For this reason, the movement was cut short from the military dictatorship and Caetano & Gil (this is how they are known in Brazil) were sent to prison and then forced to exile in London.
“He brought me everything. Because if I play a little guitar nowadays it’s because I saw him playing and I just copied his movements and tried to understand what they meant musically” (C. Veloso – Interview: “Tropicália: Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil on music, Brazil and friendship” – BBC News – June 16th, 2015).
Gilberto Gil started his career with the accordion in the 50s. Now he is considered one of the leading names of the Brazilian music. He is a real legend who has spent more than sixty years in the music world. In 1998 he won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album (Quanta Live) and in 2008 another one for Best Contemporary World Music Album (Eletracústico), as well as several Latin Grammys.
In 2021, he received the Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee Valencia. John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola were among the previous recipients of this prestigious Doctorate, respectively in 2017 and 2018.
For Gilberto Gil music and social, political, and environmental commitment are equally important. He is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter but, as mentioned above, he is also a politician and activist. In the 70s, he was a spokesman for the Black Consciousness Movement in Brazil, in 2003 he was appointed Minister of Culture and he held this position for the following five years.
In a recent article published in Vanity Fair Italia, he defined himself as an artivist, a neologism to define a person who combines “art” and “activism” (Gilberto Gil: “Chiamateci artivisti” – Vanity Fair Italia – July 6th, 2023).
One example? His song Marmundo, included in his 2010 album Fé na Festa, represents his devotion and involvement as an environmental activist.
Marmundo/Sea world
O mar do mundo sujou / The sea of the world is dirty
Manda o mundo se limpar / Tell the world to get clean
O mar do mundo secou / The sea of the world had dried
Manda o mundo se molhar / Tell the world to get wet
O mar do mundo entornou / The sea of the world spilled
Manda o mundo se fechar / Tell the world to get closed
O mar do mundo acabou / The sea of the world is finished
Manda o mundo se acabar / Tell the world to be finished
O mar do mundo ficou / The sea of the world turned
Um mar imundo demais / A way too dirty sea
Se a barra mundo pesou / Whether the world feelings got harder
O mundo sabe o que faz / The world knows what it is doing
For Gilberto Gil music is the language of friendship but is also a “family affair”. In this tour to promote Aquele Abraço (A Big Hug) – one of his most celebrated songs written to express his love to the city of Rio de Janeiro and which soon became a national anthem – he is accompanied on stage by a part of his big, big family.
His concert is also the closing event of festival atlântico, a series of concerts dedicated to celebrating lusophone artists and their culture.
Gilberto Gil and his family take the audience through a journey through the beauty of Brazilian music and culture. It is an adventure through samba “rock”, “unorthodox” samba and through some of the standards of Brazilian music, like The Girl from Ipanema (A garota de Ipanema), a song which according to many sources is one of the most covered songs ever, second only to the Beatles’ Yesterday.
There is also space for a more electric set where Gil covers Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry.
At the end of the evening the Philarmonie is transformed into a Brazilian Carnival and into a unique “Big Hug” to the great Gilberto Gil.
Festival atlântico: Gilberto Gil
«Aquele Abraço»
Gilberto Gil guitar, vocals
Bem Gil, João Gil vocals, guitar, bass
José Gil vocals, drums
Flor Gil vocals, keyboards
