Doces Bárbaros in Green and Pink

In January 15th, 1994, Doces Bárbaros went on stage to perform at the headquarters of Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Estação Primeira de Mangueira. The 4,000 tickets were sold out. Not surprising: the four artists from Bahia were reuniting after the tour that was immortalized on a double album and a documentary. It wasn’t a comeback, they insisted, but a celebration of four artists among the greatest in Brazilian music. The reason was more than noble: to raise funds for the samba school that had honored the four at that year’s Carnaval parade.

Of the 1976 concert’s repertoire, only four songs were performed that night: “Os mais doces bárbaros,” “Pássaro proibido,” “Um índio,” and “Esotérico,” which didn’t make it on the special broadcast by TV Bandeirantes the weekend after the concert at the school’s headquarters. Caetano felt sorry that their entrance, interpreting the song, was cut. “This opening is better to situate the concert. If we had to, we’d tape it again,” he said to reporter Marcia Gomes, at the Jornal do Brasil, at the time.

The TV show also featured scenes from the rehearsal and the press conference that took place the day before the concert, excerpts from Jom Tob Azulay’s documentary Os Doces Bárbaros (1976), and interviews by important Mangueira characters, like Dona Zica (1913–2003) and Dona Neuma (1922–2000).

On February 13th, 1994, another highly anticipated moment: the parade honoring the four artists at the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval. It was a debut for Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Maria Bethânia on the samba avenue; Gal Costa had been there years earlier, with Imperatriz Leopoldinense. The only one out of the four who didn’t generally support Mangueira, Gil, a fan of Portela, talked about his experience at Sapucaí: “I went with the crow when Mangueira came back along the avenue in the end,” he told reporter Aydano André Motta, from O Globo newspaper, about the 1984 parade, when the school won with the theme “Yes, nós temos Braguinha.”

The opening float, dubbed Exploding Mangueira, brought berimbaus, drums, coconut palms, and black women. Then, Bahia’s religiousness was called upon with Baroque angels, stained glass, and the traditional cleansing of the steps at Our Lord of Good End Church, in Salvador. The sector also brought an allegory called Bahia of All Saints. The history of the four started to be told in the Tropicália car.

Maria Bethânia was first to come on the avenue, on the float called The Great Star Bethania, with references to songs such as “A hora da estrela,” and “Carcará.” The song “Abelha rainha” was the main inspiration for this part. Caetano Veloso came on the next float, which featured references to “Luz do sol,” “Sampa,” “Rapte-me, camaleoa,” and “London, London,” representing the exile. Gal Costa came on the Sweet Gal float, referencing songs “Aquarela brasileira,” “Chuva de prata,” and “Festa do interior.” For Gilberto Gil, the references were songs such as “Expresso 2222,” “Realce,” “Luar,” “Parabolicamará,” and “Procissão.” The parade ended with references to Carnaval in Rio and Bahia, with the Lapa Aqueduct, the Barra Lighthouse, and a Carnaval trio.