Gilberto Gil, a son of Gandhi
From spectator of the afoxé [a Brazilian rhythm] Carnaval act in his childhood to member responsible for helping preserve the group’s tradition.
By Instituto Gilberto Gil
Text: Ceci Alves, moviemaker and journalist
Bastidores do Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy, no carnaval baiano (1999)Instituto Gilberto Gil
In memory
Back from exile, in 1972, arriving with bags and all directly to the Bahia Carnaval, Gilberto Gil couldn’t wait to see the Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy white carpet parade through the avenue.
Bastidores do Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy, no carnaval baiano (1999)Instituto Gilberto Gil
It was his childhood’s Carnaval act, which he had become accustomed to seeing since its creation in 1949, when he was only 7 years old and lived in Salvador’s neighborhood of Santo Antônio Além do Carmo.
From his window, he could witness the first passage of afoxé through the streets of the city, and keeps the memory of how mesmerized he was by those men all dressed in white and blue, preaching ideals of peace and concord.
Bastidores do Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy, no carnaval baiano (1999)Instituto Gilberto Gil
“The members passed by our door … , all in white, with turbans and sheets, garlic straws braided and ribbon on their heads, and with a beat that was different from samba, the march, the frevo, which gave a feeling of sacred space…
“… then we came to know that afoxé was really a religious beat of Candomblé,” said Gil in a statement on the lyrics of his song “Filhos de Gandhi” on the book Todas as Letras [Every Lyric] (2003), organized by composer, journalist, and writer Carlos Rennó.
“Filhos de Gandhi”
Gilberto Gil wrote this song for the Carnaval group in 1972 (editing and recording it in 1973), when, seeing the parade, he was raptured by another feeling: worry about the group’s paucity.
Bastidores do Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy, no carnaval baiano (1999)Instituto Gilberto Gil
When the group nearly ended
Afoxé had been facing a serious administrative and financial crisis which ended in it closing its doors from 1974 to 1976.
Gilberto Gil no Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy (1989)Instituto Gilberto Gil
“… I saw Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy without a human mass on the avenue, reduced to only about 40 or 50 at Sé Square. The act, so alive in my memory, had been one of my childhood’s great emblems and was the city’s oldest,” says Gild in Todas as Letras.
From discouragement came the song—which seems to evoke the pantheon of orixas who came to take care of that group, which, besides serving as a Carnaval celebration for those men, was a kind of cult to the Ijexá nation, one of the branches of Candomblé that came from Africa to Bahia.
Gilberto Gil em momento ritualístico durante o último dia oficial do carnaval baiano (2020-02-25)Instituto Gilberto Gil
"Filhos de Gandhi"
Oxum, Oxumaré / Oxum, Oxumaré
Todo o pessoal / Everyone
Manda descer pra ver / Tell them to come down and see
Filhos de Gandhi / The sons of Gandhi
Iansã, Iemanjá, chama Xangô / Iansã, Iemanjá, go get Xangô
Oxóssi também / Oxóssi, too
Manda descer pra ver / Tell them to come down and see
Filhos de Gandhi / The sons of Ghandi
Besides giving Gilberto Gil this beautiful anthem, the parade led the artist to establish one of his longest-held Carnaval traditions: because of this episode, he got affiliated to Gandhy, and joins them every year since 1976.
Trajado de Filho de Gandhy, Gilberto Gil em momento ritualístico durante o último dia oficial do carnaval baiano (2020-02-25)Instituto Gilberto Gil
“Filhos de Gandhi” was recorded by him for the collective album Phono 73; later by Maria Bethânia, in Drama – 3º Ato (also in 1973); then, Gil recorded it again in studio as a duet with Jorge Benjor (Jorge Bem at the time), for the album Gil & Jorge, Ogum Xangô (1975).
Gilberto Gil com o neto Francisco e a bisneta Sol de Maria nos bastidores do bloco Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy (2017-02-26)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Tradition as heritage
Gilberto Gil, in fact, is passing on the act’s tradition to other generations of his family: for instance, for the group’s 70th anniversary, he took grandson Francisco Gil, Preta Gil’s son, to the parade with him. In the 2017 photo, Francisco is seen on the VIP box.
Gilberto Gil e o genro João Paulo Demasi se preparam para desfile no bloco Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy (2017-02-26)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Son-in-law João Paulo Demasi, Bela Gil’s husband, also accompanies the patriarch at Carnavals with children Flor and Nino (photo).
No camarote Expresso 2222, Gilberto Gil assiste ao desfile do bloco Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy no Carnaval de Salvador (2019-03-04)Instituto Gilberto Gil
A feeling
“When I’m with Gandhy, I like the Ijexá singing and dancing. I feel like an integral part, a molecule, a particle of a great thing that is the song and dance from Bahia, the song and dance that come from Africa, the Candomblé tradition…
“… It’s an irreplaceable moment. There are many other good things in life, but playing your agogô drum in the avenue is really unspeakable,” wrote the singer and songwriter in his social media in honor of the 70th anniversary of Filhos de Gandhy.
Desfile do Afoxé Filhos de GandhyInstituto Gilberto Gil
Gil’s love of Gandhy not only contributed to getting the group out of its decay in the 1970s but also plays a fundamental part in maintaining the entity and recognizing its importance as a Brazilian heritage.
Desfile do Afoxé Filhos de GandhyInstituto Gilberto Gil
It is the largest human association of this nature in number of associates and even has an entry in the Guiness Book of Records.
Gilberto Gil presents adapted version of the song Gandhi to his grandson João Gil, in homemade scene (2019-03-03)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The patron
Gilberto Gil is also one of Gandhy’s patrons, having even been the institution’s vice-president, which helped it requalify its management so the group could continue to exist without relying so much on selling costumes.
Desfile do Afoxé Filhos de GandhyInstituto Gilberto Gil
No camarote Expresso 2222, Gilberto Gil e a esposa e empresária Flora Gil assistem ao desfile do bloco Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy no Carnaval de Salvador (2019-03-04)Instituto Gilberto Gil
The religious aspect
Despite its religious aspect, Filhos de Gandhy was created as a way of politically uniting Salvador’s dockworkers who, during the Post-War era, faced a crisis that threatened their jobs and reduced their salaries.
No camarote Expresso 2222, Gilberto Gil e a esposa e empresária Flora Gil assistem ao desfile do bloco Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy no Carnaval de Salvador (2019-03-04)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Hindu pacifist leader Mahatma Gandhi’s name was suggested by dockworker Durval Marques da Silva, Vavá Madeira, the group’s founder, who explained to his colleagues about the importance of his activism, telling them the man had been murdered a year before and deserved to be honored.
No camarote Expresso 2222, Gilberto Gil e a esposa e empresária Flora Gil assistem ao desfile do bloco Afoxé Filhos de Gandhy no Carnaval de Salvador (2019-03-04)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil com os colares dos Filhos de Gandhy durante o carnaval 2020 em Salvador (2020-02-24)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Yesterday and today
It was a tough start, but they resisted, going out on the streets always chanting the peculiar, punctuated rhythm of the Ijexá nation; playing ritualistic instruments like the agogô and the xekerê; and offering the audience apples, pears, and grapes, which represent cleansing of the body and aura.
Gilberto Gil com os colares dos Filhos de Gandhy durante o carnaval 2020 em Salvador (2020-02-24)Instituto Gilberto Gil
And there is the high point of the whole parade for all of these 71 years since its foundation: they perfume the streets with lavender and, with their clothes, turn the avenue into a huge white carpet, symbolizing the peace flag.
Exhibit credits
Text and research: Ceci Alves
Editing: Chris Fuscaldo
Assembly: Patrícia Sá Rêgo
Copyediting: Laura Zandonadi
General credits
Editing and curation: Chris Fuscaldo / Garota FM
Musical content research: Ceci Alves, Chris Fuscaldo, Laura Zandonadi and Ricardo Schott
Ministry of Culture content research: Carla Peixoto, Ceci Alves, Chris Fuscaldo
Captions: 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 e 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
