Veloso is the fifth of the seven children born to José Telles Veloso ("Seu Zezinho") and Claudionor Vianna Telles Veloso ("Dona Canô"). His younger sister Maria Bethânia, another popular and renowned artist in Brazil, preceded him to fame as a singer in the mid-1960s. He began his career around 1965 singing bossa nova and he has cited his greatest musical influences from his early period as João Gilberto and Dorival Caymmi. (João Gilberto would say later about Caetano's contribution that it added an intellectual dimension to brazilian popular music.) But with such musical collaborators Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, Chico Buarque, and Os Mutantes, and greatly influenced by the later work of The Beatles, developed tropicalismo, which fused Brazilian pop with rock and roll and avant garde art music resulting in a more international, psychedelic, and socially aware sound. Veloso's politically active stance, unapologetically leftist, earned him the enmity of Brazil's military dictatorship which ruled until 1985; his songs were frequently censored, and some were banned. Veloso was also alienated from the socialist left in Brazil becasue of his acceptance and integration of non-nationalist influences (like rock and roll) in his music. Veloso and Gilberto Gil spent several months in jail for "anti-government activity" in 1968 and eventually exiled themselves to London. Caetano Veloso's work upon his return in 1972 was often characterized by frequent appropriations not only of international styles, but of half-forgotten Brazilian folkloric styles and rhythms as well. In particular, his celebration of the Afro-Brazilian culture of Bahia can be seen as the precursor of such Afro-centric groups as Timbalada.
In the 1980s, Veloso's popularity outside Brazil grew, especially in Israel, Portugal, France and Africa. By 2004, he was one of the most respected and prolific international pop stars, with more than fifty recordings available, including songs in soundtracks of movies such as Pedro Almodovar's Hable con Ella (Talk to Her), and Frida. In 2002 Veloso published an account of his early years and the Tropicalia movement, Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil.
His first all-English CD was A Foreign Sound (2004), which covers Nirvana's "Come as You Are" and compositions from the Great American Songbook. Five of the six songs on his third eponymous album, released in 1971, were also in English.
Texto "Verdade Tropical"
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Era como se se somasse àquilo que eu via e ouvia, uma outra graça, ou como se a confirmação da realidade daquela pessoa, dando-se assim na forma de uma benção, adensasse sua beleza.
Eu sentia a alegria por Gil existir, por ele ser preto, por ele ser ele, e por minha mãe saudar tudo isso de forma tão direta e tão transcendente. Era evidentemente um grande acontecimento a aparição dessa pessoa, e minha mãe festejava comigo a descoberta." do livro "Verdade Tropical" de Caetano Veloso
In these lyrics, Caetano Veloso reminisces about a time when his mother referred to Gilberto Gil, a fellow musician and close friend of Caetano's, as "o preto que você gosta" (the black one you like). He describes the way his mother said it with fondness and tenderness, creating a strange but alluring taste to the whole experience. For Caetano, this added an extra layer of charm to Gil's artistry and personality, almost as if his reality was confirmed and blessed by his mother's direct and transcendent acknowledgement. The appearance of Gil was a grand event and his mother was celebrating this discovery with him.
These lyrics are an example of Veloso's talent for turning universal themes into personal ones. The way he describes this interaction between his mother and Gil reflects the complex relationship between race, culture, and identity in Brazil. Despite the country's diverse and mixed population, racism remains a persistent problem, and Veloso's words convey both the joy of discovering someone like Gil and the bittersweet awareness of the challenges he and other Black artists face.
Line by Line Meaning
Lembro com muito gosto o modo como ela se referia a ele.
I fondly remember the way she spoke about him.
Pelo menos ela o fez uma vez e isso ficou marcado muito fundo, dizendo: caetano, venha ver o preto que você gosta.
At least she said it once and it left a deep impression on me, saying 'Caetano, come see the black man you like.'
Isso de dizer o preto, sorrindo ternamente como ela o fazia, o fez, tinha, teve, tem, um sabor esquisito, que intensificava o encanto da arte e da personalidade do moço no vídeo.
Her way of saying 'black' with a tender smile had a strange flavor that intensified the charm of the art and personality of the young man in the video.
Era como se se somasse àquilo que eu via e ouvia, uma outra graça, ou como se a confirmação da realidade daquela pessoa, dando-se assim na forma de uma benção, adensasse sua beleza.
It was as if another grace was added to what I saw and heard or as if her confirmation of that person's reality, given as a blessing, intensified their beauty.
Eu sentia a alegria por Gil existir, por ele ser preto, por ele ser ele, e por minha mãe saudar tudo isso de forma tão direta e tão transcendente.
I felt joy in Gilberto's existence, in him being black, in him being himself, and my mother acknowledging it so directly and transcendently.
Era evidentemente um grande acontecimento a aparição dessa pessoa, e minha mãe festejava comigo a descoberta.
It was evidently a great event for that person to appear, and my mother celebrated with me the discovery.
Contributed by Luke A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.