Brazilian Popular Music Festivals

On April 6, 1965, Excelsior TV put on the grand finale of the 1st National Brazilian Popular Music Festival, which introduced Elis Regina—who sang the winning song, Arrastão, by Vinicius de Moraes and Edu Lobo—to a national audience.

This was the first time a music contest had been broadcast on TV in Brazil, and it marked the start of an era in which the great singers and songwriters of Brazilian popular music would become revered. The genre even became known simply by its Portuguese acronym, MPB (música popular brasileira).

In 1966, the Festival was held for a second year, and it would be the last time that Excelsior TV broadcast the musical extravaganza. The winning song was Porta Estandarte, written by Geraldo Vandré and Fernando Lona, and performed by Tuca and the singer-songwriter Airto Moreira, who was part of the group Quarteto Novo at the time.

It was after seeing an ad in a newspaper that the then unknown singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento (pictured) entered this second edition of the contest, finishing fourth with Baden Powell and Lula Freire's Cidade Vazia.

Later that year, Solano Ribeiro, the artistic producer who dreamed up the contest, would take the show's format to Record TV, which took over as the main broadcaster of Brazilian popular music festivals.

In September 1966, Record TV opened the doors of its theater in São Paulo for the 2nd Brazilian Popular Music Festival. The company had broadcast the 1960 edition on its radio channel, but this would be the first time it would air the show on TV.

On the evening of October 21, 1967, the song Ponteio, written by Edu Lobo and Capinam, and performed by Edu Lobo and Marília Medalha, was crowned the winner of Record TV's 3rd Brazilian Popular Music Festival, beating 11 other finalists. The Record TV show was the most-watched song contest in Brazil.

That year's edition was also significant because it gave two young contestants from Bahia, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, the opportunity to break onto the scene with their brand of what would become known as Tropicália. Their experimental sound and esthetics were a move away from the cultural traditionalism of the time.

Gilberto Gil's Domingo no Parque, which Gil himself performed with backing from the group Os Mutantes, came second in the contest. With its mixture of orchestra, acoustic and electric guitars, and berimbau (a single-string percussion instrument), it became one of the most memorable songs from the song contests of the time.

The singer-songwriter Roberto Carlos and O Grupo perform Luiz Carlos Paraná's Maria, Carnaval e Cinzas. Already well known because of his leading role in the early rock 'n' roll Jovem Guarda (Young Guard) movement, and as one of biggest idols of young Brazilians at the time, Roberto Carlos ventured into samba at the 1967 festival and came fifth.

The following year, Roberto Carlos would win the 18th Italian International Song Festival, better known as the Sanremo Festival, with Sergio Endrigo's Canzone per Te.

At the 2nd International Song Festival in 1967, the winning song was Margarida, which was written and performed by Gutemberg Guarabira with backing from Grupo Manifesto.

In November 1968, Tom Zé, the singer-songwriter from Bahia, took his São Paulo-inspired São São Paulo Meu Amor to first place at Record TV's 4th Brazilian Popular Music Festival.

As well as best song, Tom Zé also won the prize for best lyrics for his revolutionary song 2001, which he co-wrote with Rita Lee. At the time, Rita Lee was a member of the group Os Mutantes and they performed the song at the festival, finishing fourth overall.

Another highlight of the 1968 festival was Gal Costa's performance of the electrifying song Divino Maravilhoso, written by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. The song, which finished third, was highly politicized and reinforced the mood of resistance that Gil and Caetano had brought to the festival in 1967.

In 1968, Record TV hosted the 1st Biannual Samba Festival, which featured young artists such as Paulinho da Viola, Chico Buarque, and Paulo César Pinheiro, as well as veteran performers like Cartola, Ataulfo Alves, and Pixinguinha.

First place at the festival went to the Afro-samba song Lapinha, which was written by Baden Powell and Paulo César Pinheiro, and performed by Elis Regina with the group Os Originais do Samba.

The second and last edition of the festival was held in 1971. The winning entry was the highly acclaimed song Pisa Nesse Chão com Força, which was written and performed by the singer-songwriter Geovana.

It was to the sound of jeers that Caetano Veloso, backed by the group Os Mutantes, performed his anti-establishment song É Proibido Proibir during the state round of the 3rd International Song Festival in São Paulo on September 15, 1968.

Record TV's 5th Brazilian Popular Music Festival brought to a close the successful series of events that had played a huge role in the growth of the music scene in Brazil.