Singer, guitarist, composer, arranger and actor, Rio de Janeiro native Jard… Read Full Bio ↴Singer, guitarist, composer, arranger and actor, Rio de Janeiro native Jards Anet da Silva (b. March 3, 1943) has lived his whole life listening, playing and studying music. Friends with musicians from Bahia, he directed a Maria Bethânia show in 1966. He was close to the tropicalists and, in 1969, had to face the discontentment of the audience in a festival where he theatrically performed the rock song "Gotham City". In 1970, Macalé went to London to meet the exiled artists from Bahia. With songs recorded by Gal Costa ("Hotel das Estrelas", "Vapor Barato"), Maria Bethânia ("Anjo Exterminado" and "Movimento dos Barcos") and Clara Nunes ("O Mais-Que-Perfeito"), he decided to make his first solo album, "Jards Macalé", from 1972, upon his return to Brazil. In the following year, he recorded the double album "Banquete dos Mendigos" live, with various artists, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration. The LP was censored and only came out years later. In 1974, Jards put out the LP "Aprender a Nadar", introducing the romantic morbeauty (morbidity + beauty) aesthetics with his partner, poet Waly Salomão. One among many irreverent moments in his career happened when he rented ferryboats to make a party for a new LP and finished the show by diving into the sea. In 1987, he released "Quatro Batutas e Um Coringa", proceeding to enjoy a 11-year retirement, interrupted only by "O Que Faço é Música". In the meantime, his work has been rescued both by newcomers ("Gotham City" was covered by Camisa de Vênus and "Vapor Barato" by O Rappa) and veterans (Moreira da Silva, the king of the samba de breque, or break samba, passed down the crown to Macalé).

Favela
JARDS MACALÉ Lyrics

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Numa vasta extensão
Onde não há plantação
Nem ninguém morando lá
Cada um pobre que passa por ali
Só pensa em construir ser lar
E quando o primeiro começa
Os outros, depressa, procuram marcar
Seu pedacinho de terra pra morar

E assim a região sofre modificação
Fica sendo chamada de nova aquarela

E aí que o lugar então passa a se chamar
Favela.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Jards Macalé's song "Favela" describe the creation of a favela, which is a type of Brazilian slum or shantytown. The song opens with the description of a vast area where there are no crops or houses, but where poor people pass by and dream of building a home. When one person begins to build, others quickly follow suit and mark out their own plots of land to construct their own homes. The result is a new community that undergoes a transformation and becomes known as a "nova aquarela," or new watercolor painting. This new area is ultimately named a favela.

The song touches on the social and economic dynamics that lead to the creation of favelas in Brazil. Poverty drives people to build their own homes, often without proper infrastructure or access to basic services. As more people move in, the area becomes more densely populated and informal. Despite the lack of planning and support from the government, these communities become thriving centers of culture, music, and art.

Overall, "Favela" is a powerful commentary on the realities of life for many people in Brazil and their struggles to build a better future for themselves and their families.

Line by Line Meaning

Numa vasta extensão
In a vast expanse

Onde não há plantação
Where there is no plantation

Nem ninguém morando lá
Nor anyone living there

Cada um pobre que passa por ali
Every poor person passing by

Só pensa em construir ser lar
Only thinks of building their home

E quando o primeiro começa
And when the first person starts

Os outros, depressa, procuram marcar
The others quickly try to mark

Seu pedacinho de terra pra morar
Their little plot of land to live

E assim a região sofre modificação
And so the region undergoes changes

Fica sendo chamada de nova aquarela
It becomes known as a new painting

E aí que o lugar então passa a se chamar
And that's when the place becomes known as