Os Mutantes is a Brazilian psychedelic rock band formed during the Tropical… Read Full Bio ↴Os Mutantes is a Brazilian psychedelic rock band formed during the Tropicalista Movement in 1966, in São Paulo, by Arnaldo Baptista, Rita Lee and Sérgio Dias.

The band is considered one of the main groups in Brazilian rock. Like most groups from the 1960s, Os Mutantes were heavily influenced by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Sly & the Family Stone. However, Brazilian musicians were also immersed in their local culture, exercising their own creativity in the use of feedback, distortion and studio tricks of all kinds, just as was done by the Liverpool quartet and the group The Beach Boys. In this sense, Mutantes were pioneers in mixing rock and roll with Brazilian musical and thematic elements. Another characteristic of the group was irreverence. Like Os Mutantes, there began to be a kind of mixture of foreign and Brazilian music and the addition of new ideas, with doses of experimentalism, thus opening the way for musical hybridism.

Os Mutantes began their activities in 1966, as a trio, when they performed on the program O Pequeno Mundo de Ronnie Von on TV Record. On the eve of the program's premiere, the trio had the name "Os Bruxos", but neither Rita Lee nor the Dias Baptista brothers (Arnaldo and Sérgio) were satisfied with that name and wanted to change it. According to Carlos Calado,[2] the idea for the name "Os Mutantes" came from an ironic joke between Alberto Helena Júnior, the program's producer, and Ronnie Von, who, at the time, was reading O Império dos Mutantes, by Stefan Wul, and did not talk about any other subject. "Are you guys still looking for a name for the boys ensemble? Why not The Mutants?" Ronnie Von liked Alberto Helena's idea and took it to the group, who approved it immediately.

The group soon became one of the main exponents of the new MPB, influenced by Tropicália, until it dissolved in 1978. Over these twelve years, nine albums were recorded, two of which - O A e o Z and Tecnicolor - were only released on 1990s, when the group began to be recognized, on the national and international rock scene, as one of the most creative, dynamic, radical and talented of the psychedelic era and the history of world rock. In 2006, the band reunited, without Rita Lee or Liminha, but with the presence of Arnaldo Baptista and Zélia Duncan on vocals. The following year, Arnaldo and Zélia left the band, which was recomposed with other musicians and continues to perform under the leadership of Sérgio Dias, the only remaining member of the original lineup.

Mágica
Os Mutantes Lyrics

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Gira ciranda
Na palma da mão
Pé de roseira
Levanta a poeira do chão
Gira a menina
Na palma da mão
Gira menina que um dia
Eu te ponho no chão

Abri o portão de ouro
Da maquina do tempo
Ouvi ciranda ao longe
A rodar...
As caras giram rindo
Eu amo todas elas
Os vestidos tão compridos
A rodar...
Gira menina na palma da mão

Pé de roseira levanta a poeira do chão
A rodar...

Overall Meaning

The song "Mágica" by Os Mutantes is a playful tune that encourages everyone to join in the fun and dance. The lyrics are full of whimsical images that evoke a sense of joy and wonder. The opening line, "Gira ciranda na palma da mão," invites the listener to join in a dance in the palm of their hand. The phrase "gira ciranda" is a reference to a Brazilian folk dance in which participants form a circle, hold hands, and move in a rhythmic, circular motion. The next line, "Pé de roseira levanta a poeira do chão," encourages the dancers to kick up the dust with their movements.

As the song progresses, the imagery becomes more fantastical. The singer describes opening the golden gate of the time machine and hearing the sound of a ciranda from far away. The faces of the dancers spin around, and the singer declares their love for all of them. The long dresses of the dancers swirl around, creating a dizzying and dreamlike atmosphere. The refrain repeats, encouraging the dancers to keep spinning in the palm of their hand.

Overall, "Mágica" is a whimsical and playful song that celebrates the joy of dancing and the magic of imagination.

Line by Line Meaning

Gira ciranda
Spin, circle

Na palma da mão
In the palm of the hand

Pé de roseira
Foot of a rosebush

Levanta a poeira do chão
Lifts the dust from the ground

Gira a menina
Spin the girl

Gira menina que um dia
Spin girl, for one day

Eu te ponho no chão
I'll put you on the ground

Abri o portão de ouro
I opened the golden gate

Da maquina do tempo
Of the time machine

Ouvi ciranda ao longe
I heard a circle dance in the distance