Gilberto Gil: Back in Bahia
Years after it all started, the musician met up once again with his old Bahian friends to revisit the Tropicália movement and Doces Bárbaros.
By Instituto Gilberto Gil
Text: Ceci Alves, cinema director and journalist
A Vibrant Bahia
Gilberto Gil first met Caetano Veloso on the streets of Salvador in 1963. Without realizing it, right there and then, they started to think up something that would be revolutionary for Brazilian music. Soon after this encounter, Gil discovered two singers with beautiful voices: Gal Costa, and Caetano's sister Maria Bethânia.
The three instantly became friends, but Gil never imagined that this Bahian chemistry would generate so many ideas and projects over their lifetimes.
Gilberto Gil e Caetano Veloso em show da turnê do álbum Tropicália 2 (1993)Instituto Gilberto Gil
In 1993, Gil and Caetano decided to put together an album to celebrate the Tropicália movement's 25th anniversary. The work came to sound like a contemporary review of the movement and the vanguard roots that spread from it, in that quarter century of echoes.
Gilberto Gil em show da turnê Tropicália 2 (1993)Instituto Gilberto Gil
In an interview with the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo in 2017, Gil was as generous as always when he described Caetano as the "intellectual mentor" of the Tropicália, coining the now famous words: "Without Caetano, there might never have been a Tropicália movement. If left to me, there wouldn't have."
Caetano Veloso em show da turnê Tropicália 2 (1993)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Together, they made an album that was almost entirely a joint collaboration. Gilberto Gil only wrote one of the songs on his own and the album leans more towards Caetano's storytelling in songs such as Desde que o Samba é Samba and Rap Popcreto.
Gilberto Gil em ensaio fotográfico com Caetano Veloso (1993)Instituto Gilberto Gil
A further expression of generosity, showing Gil's critical eye in their brilliant complementary partnership, is the anthological track Haiti.
Although they both put their names to the song, the lyrics were written by Caetano, and they sum up the 25 years that the Tropicália movement spent asking questions about Brazil's soul.
Gilberto Gil e Caetano Veloso no show Tropicália Duo (1994)Instituto Gilberto Gil
For the 20 Years of Tropicália (Tropicália 20 Anos) exhibition at the Itaú Cultural Institute in 1987, Gil remarked: "It [Tropicália] forced people to look at things differently, to reconsider… so it was a nuisance. Not that we intended that to happen."
Gilberto Gil e Caetano Veloso em show da turnê do álbum Tropicália 2 (1993)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The song Haiti was about the present day and how little the country had changed socially, if at all, in the previous 25 years. This was even after the Tropicália movement's demands for a less colonial mindset.
Gilberto Gil e Caetano Veloso durante o show Tropicália 2 (1993)Instituto Gilberto Gil
"And it doesn't matter if the whole world's eyes / Can for just one moment look back / To where the slaves were once punished / But today the samba rhythm beats / With the purity of uniformed children dressed for high school / On parade day / For this great epic that is the formation of a nation" (Haiti lyrics).
Barbarian Samba
A year after the celebration with Caetano, an unexpected tribute from a samba school in Rio de Janeiro led the pair indulge their nostalgia for Doces Bárbaros (Sweet Barbarians) and bring the group back together once again. Gil and Caetano returned to Bahia with Gal Costa and Maria Bethânia.
Gilberto Gil e Gal Costa em show dos Doces Bárbaros em Londres (1994-06-01)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The four Bahian singers restaged their iconic 1976 concert after the Estação Primeira de Mangueira samba school based its show's theme around the group's history.
Bateria da Mangueira em show com os Doces Bárbaros em Londres (1994-03)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The theme Behind the Pink and Green Only Those Who Have Died Don't Follow (Atrás da Verde e Rosa Só Não Vai Quem Já Morreu) paraphrased Caetano's 1969 song Atrás do Trio Elétrico.
Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa and Maria Bethânia at a show by Doces Bárbaros in Mangueira (1994-01-15)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The quartet performed on the samba school's dance court, both during the rehearsals for Carnival and in the parade itself at the Marquês de Sapucaí Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro.
Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa e Caetano Veloso em show dos Doces Bárbaros com a bateria da Mangueira em Londres (1994-03)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Gil, Caetano, Gal, and Bethânia then left for London, where they performed at the Royal Albert Hall alongside the Mangueira school's drummers.
Gilberto Gil e Maria Bethânia em show dos Doces Bárbaros com a bateria da Mangueira em Londres (1994-03)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Sitting in the royal box that evening were Queen Elizabeth II's cousin the Duke of Kent and his wife the Duchess, the Brazilian ambassador Rubens Barbosa, and the ex-Beatle George Harrison's wife, Olivia.
Missing Bahia
In 2002, 26 years after they first got together, Doces Bárbaros reformed for two free, one-off concerts. One was held at Peace Square (Praça da Paz) in São Paulo's Ibirapuera Park and the other at the Posto 3 pavilion on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach.
Rehearsal and backstage of the Doces Bárbaros reunion, in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (Dezembro de 2002)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The two performances were recorded and made into a documentary called Outros (Doces) Bárbaros (Other (Sweet) Barbarians), which was directed by Andrucha Waddington and released by Biscoito Fino in 2004.
Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethânia, Caetano Veloso e Gal Costa em apresentação no trio elétrico do Bloco da Cidade (2001)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The reunion of Doces Bárbaros also resulted in an appearance by them in Gilberto Gil's Expresso 2222, during Salvador's Carnival. They were Back in Bahia, as in Gil's song released on the post-exile album Expresso 2222; Gil, Caetano, Gal and Bethânia had returned to their roots.
Os Doces Bárbaros: Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethânia e Caetano Veloso (Década de 1970)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Research and writing: Ceci Alves
Structure: Chris Fuscaldo
General credits
Editing and curation: Chris Fuscaldo / Garota FM
Research - music: Ceci Alves, Chris Fuscaldo, Laura Zandonadi and Ricardo Schott
Research - Ministry of Culture: Carla Peixoto, Ceci Alves and Chris Fuscaldo
Subtitles: Anna Durão, Carla Peixoto, Ceci Alves, Chris Fuscaldo, Daniel Malafaia, Fernanda Pimentel, Gilberto Porcidonio, Kamille Viola, Laura Zandonadi, Lucas Vieira, Luciana Azevedo, Patrícia Sá Rêgo, Pedro Felitte, Ricardo Schott, Roni Filgueiras and Tito Guedes
Data editing: Isabela Marinho and Marco Konopacki
Gege Produções Review: Cristina Doria
Acknowledgements: Gege Produções, Gilberto Gil, Flora Gil, Gilda Mattoso, Fafá Giordano, Maria Gil, Meny Lopes, Nelci Frangipani, Cristina Doria, Daniella Bartolini e todos os autores das fotos e personagens da história
All media: Instituto Gilberto Gil
*Every effort has been made to credit the images, audios and videos and correctly tell the story about the episodes narrated in the exhibitions. If you find errors and/or omissions, please contact us by email atendimentogil@gege.com.br
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