Letters of Love and Respect

Ever since he first emerged onto the music scene, Gilberto Gil has been hounded (in the best sense of the word) by the press, his fans, and even his friends. This kind of attention is often more pleasant when received in handwritten notes, letters, and cards, rather than people hoping to meet in person. 

Writing makes it more pressing for the sender to get to the point about what they are trying to say, and with a career spanning almost six decades, Gil has received thousands of letters and cards.

In this colorful letter, a representative of Brahma Kumaris—a non-governmental organization seeking to promote universal human, moral, and spiritual values—invites Gil to a spiritual retreat in India.

Ana Lúcia informs the singer that it will be held in an "enlightened" place.

It was often Brazilian and international artists who sought to strike up a correspondence with Gil. In 2004, Henry Mulindi, a Kenyan mathematics professor and DJ living in New York, sent the Brazilian musician a letter. 

As president of African World Music Associates, he greeted Gil in Swahili (a Bantu language).

After expressing his admiration for the singer, Henry Mulindi asks for his help in finding a song called Batucada, which, he claims, dates from 1937.

Tony Osanah is an Argentinian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the band Beat Boys, who accompanied Gil when he sang Questão de Ordem at a music festival in 1968. 

Tony also played with B.B. King. In his letter, he suggests that Gil should experiment with "new musical dimensions."

Maria Bethânia wrote this note on hotel stationery in 2003. In it, the singer explains that she did not sleep well the previous night and asks Gil to stand in for her at the sound check for the show they would be doing together at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

Daniela Mercury had been a backing singer in Gilberto Gil's band before she burst out of Bahia and onto the Brazilian music scene with her hit O Canto da Cidade. She covered Gilberto Gil's songs on many of her albums. This note is to thank her mentor for one of them.

Margareth Menezes is a leading singer-songwriter and a figurehead for Afro-Brazilians in Bahia. Gilberto Gil took "Maga" under his wing as soon as she emerged onto the local music scene, helping her get a lot of gigs. 

He even suggested she be the one to replace him at the 1990 Hollywood Rock festival, and she is grateful for their friendship.

Without doubt, the letter conveying the greatest love for Gil is the one written by his wife, Flora. Besides winning his heart when they first met and keeping it ever since, she now also manages his career and his office.

This handwritten letter reveals Flora's nickname for Gil, "Pê," as well as the fact that she is the one who organizes her husband's diary and shirts.