Elected an immortal of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, Gilberto Gil will wear its gala uniform
In a secret ballot, the singer-songwriter received 21 votes, becoming the new occupant of chair number 20 at the Academy and only the second Black person to be given a seat.
By Instituto Gilberto Gil
Text: Chris Fuscaldo, writer, journalist, and music researcher
Scene 1
The telephone rings. Miguel Pinto answers. He glances over at Gilberto Gil, a look of triumph on his face: "You won!" Another telephone rings. Flora Gil answers: "21 to 7!" The telephone rings. José Mário Pereira answers: "That's cool! I'm going round to Gil's."
Scene 2
Completely calm, without the slightest sign of trepidation on his face, Gilberto Gil is speaking with Nélida Piñon. She is sorry that she cannot be there to meet him but she is the first of the immortals from the Brazilian Academy of Letters to congratulate the new member following his election just minutes earlier.
Ensaio fotográfico de Gilberto Gil para a revista Noize (2018)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Preamble
The date of November 11, 2021 will go down in history for both Gilberto Gil and Brazil.
Fifty three years after wearing the Brazilian Academy of Letters' immortal gala uniform rented for the cover of his Tropicália LP Gilberto Gil, the singer-songwriter was selected to occupy chair number 20, which had belonged to the journalist Murilo Melo Filho until his death on May 27, 2020.
The chair's previous occupants were Salvador de Mendonça (founding member), Emílio de Meneses, Humberto de Campos, Múcio Leão, and Aurélio de Lyra Tavares. The two other candidates were the poet Salgado Maranhão and the writer Ricardo Daunt.
Ensaio fotográfico de Gilberto Gil para a revista Noize (2018)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Gil's election made him the second Black Brazilian, after founding member Machado de Assis, to join the immortals since the Academy was founded in 1897.
Gilberto Gil e o arquiteto Miguel Pinto Guimarães no dia em que o compositor baiano foi eleito imortal da Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
His victory
When the news broke, Gilberto Gil was chatting with friends, the book publisher José Mário Pereira and the married couple Paula Marinho and Miguel Pinto, who owned the apartment where the almost-octogenarian musician would welcome other immortals and friends to celebrate his victory.
Gilberto Gil com sua esposa Flora Gil, o arquiteto Miguel Pinto Guimarães e a empresária Paula Marinho no dia em que o compositor baiano foi eleito imortal na Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil, os assessores de imprensa Marcus Vinícius, Gilda Mattoso e a jornalista Chris Fuscaldo no dia em que o compositor baiano foi eleito imortal na Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Working alongside Fafa Giordano—her sister and business associate from Gege Produções—and the press officers Gilda Mattoso and Marcus Vinícius, Flora Gil, Gil's wife and manager, was busy arranging for journalists to be there.
Gilberto Gil com a esposa e empresária Flora Gil no dia em que o compositor baiano foi eleito imortal da Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Before they could begin to interview the beaming singer, he provoked laughter among those close to him by saying: "They've invented a subjective immortality!" Later, when speaking to journalists, he would elaborate further on that remark:
Gilberto Gil no dia em que foi eleito imortal da Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
To Lília Teles, from TV Globo
"These laurels, these honors, these awards are always the means that life gives us so that we can sidestep the inexorability of death. The idea of the 'immortal academician' is just one of life's tricks to give us this idea that we are immortals, yeah. Immortally mortal."
Gilberto Gil no dia em que foi eleito imortal na Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
To Cleber Rodrigues, from GloboNews
"It's like gathering together the results and outcomes of what you are, of what you do, so as to insert you into the life of your people, your society. From when I was four years old and imagining the possibility of being a performer. That led to other stages. This is just one more stage."
The decision
Gil decided to apply a few months before the election. Encouraged by friends and other immortals, he even spoke with the journalist and novelist Ignácio de Loyola Brandão about his critical stance on the 1968 album cover:
Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private ArchiveInstituto Gilberto Gil
"For the Tropicália album, I wore an Academy gala uniform. That cover had an ironic tone, and it was fairly nonconformist considering what an institution like the Academy stands for. But, the other day, I mentioned this to Ignácio de Loyola …
"… And he said: 'When you're young, you're there to go against lots of things, to dismiss lots of things, to imagine lots of new possibilities. You want to change the world. But there comes a moment in life when you have to consider everything that's already there.'"
It seems political, but "doing politics" only figured in Gil's life at this time when he was soliciting votes with the help of "canvassers." Among these was José Mário Pereira, the owner of a publishing house, a friend of several academicians, and an enthusiastic supporter of the musician's candidacy.
Gil was chosen for his work, just like the actress Fernanda Montenegro, who was given chair number 17 the previous week, and the doctor Paulo Niemeyer, who would be elected to chair number 12 the following week:
Merval Pereira, Zuenir Ventura, Rosiska Darcy de Oliveira, Gilberto Gil, Arnaldo Niskier, Domício Proença Filho, Antonio Cícero e Cacá Diegues no dia em que o compositor baiano foi eleito imortal da Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
"You traditionally expect the Academy to be writers, people from the literary world, historians, basically people involved with writing, but in my case, and in the case of our dear Fernanda Montenegro, it's now looking to other areas of cultural life …
Gilberto Gil e convidados no dia em que o compositor baiano foi eleito imortal na Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
"… All of which, in some way, are still associated with the world of words, of writing, of the written word, but with their own particular features. In my case, music. In Fernanda's, the theater …
Gilberto Gil ao lado de Zuenir Ventura, Merval Pereira, Marcos Vilaça, Cacá Diegues e outros imortais da Academia Brasileira de Letras, no dia que o compositor baiano foi eleito (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
"… This also points to a sense of the Academy itself broadening its range, its scope. It is ceasing to be exclusively a home to writers and it is opening up to a broader cultural sphere. My arrival has something to do with that. Fernanda's too."
While he was holding forth with dozens of friends—including immortals, intellectuals, musicians, and actors—at a large party in Paula and Miguel's apartment, the Academy's president was also conveying his delight over the new member to the press:
"For Darcy (Ribeiro), the bird of culture has two wings. One wing scholarly and the other popular. In order for the bird to fly very far, it needs both its wings. Gilberto Gil is, for sure, what brings the scholarly and popular cultures together."
Gilberto Gil is elected immortal at the Brazilian Academy of Letters (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
Words from the Academy president
According to Lucchesi, Gil is an intellectual who thinks of Brazil: "He sings of this country and he thinks of this country; he experienced exile at a difficult time for the nation; he held important positions, such as culture minister ….
"… Finally, he is a multifaceted man, who represents a key part of the final years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. So he is a man who bridges many different things: politics and poetry; the 20th century and the 21st century; the Tropicália movement and Modernism," Lucchesi added.
"He is a figure with wide-ranging talents, and he is now very welcome, in the home of Machado de Assis, as an academician," concluded the academician, who would hand over the reins three weeks later to the new Academy president, Merval Pereira.
Merval Pereira, Zuenir Ventura, Rosiska Darcy de Oliveira, Gilberto Gil, Arnaldo Niskier, Domício Proença Filho e Antonio Cícero no dia em que o compositor baiano foi eleito imortal da Academia Brasileira de Letras (2021-11-11)Instituto Gilberto Gil
In total, there are 40 immortals at the Brazilian Academy of Letters. By occupying chair number 20, Gil sits practically in the middle of all the other academicians. Once again, as he always does, the singer-songwriter—who is renowned for his wonderful lyrics and songs—comes to bring balance to an institution.
Ensaio fotográfico de Gilberto Gil para a revista Noize (2018)Instituto Gilberto Gil
And, in March 2022, the official gala uniform became part of Gilberto Gil's history when he was inaugurated at the Petit Trianon building on the Presidente Wilson Avenue in downtown Rio de Janeiro.
Coverage, text, and assembly: Chris Fuscaldo
General credits
Editor and curator: Chris Fuscaldo / Garota FM Edições
Music content research: Ceci Alves, Chris Fuscaldo, Laura Zandonadi, and Ricardo Schott
Culture Ministry (MinC) content research: Carla Peixoto, Ceci Alves, and Chris Fuscaldo
Photo captions: Anna Durão, Carla Peixoto, 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 editor: Isabela Marinho and Marco Konopacki
Gege Produções redaction: Cristina Doria
Acknowledgments: Gege Produções, Gilberto Gil, Flora Gil, Gilda Mattoso, Fafá Giordano, Maria Gil, Meny Lopes, Nelci Frangipani, Cristina Doria, Daniella Bartolini, all the photographers, and all those who have played a part in this story
All media: Instituto Gilberto Gil
*Every effort has been made to credit the images, audio tapes, and video files and to accurately convey the stories told in the exhibits. If you find any errors and/or omissions, please email atendimentogil@gege.com.br
