Gilberto Gil is an internationally known
Afro-Brazilian musician. He was born on
June 29, 1942 in
Salvador, which is on the
Brazilian coast. His childhood was spent in the countryside, where he developed an early interest in music. He listened to all kinds of music available to him and began to teach himself to play instruments such as the
drums and
accordian.
He returned to the city to
go to college, where he met several
musicians he would play and record with over the years. While there, Gil heard
Joao Gilberto on the radio, which inspired him to learn to play the
guitar. He made his first recording in 1962, and has been musically active since then.
Gil was one of the leaders of the
Tropicalismo movement, which paid an important part in shaping
Brazilian art and music. After the
military coup in 1964, the
new government was somewhat worried by this movement, and Gil was held in jail for several months for being "different, unexpected, daring, bold, adventurous, unknown, and dangerous," in his own words. After he was released, he was
exiled from 1969-72 and spent the time in
England further pursuing his music with different musicians.
Gilberto Gil's music combines many different styles, ranging from
samba, to
reggae, to
folk, to
rock, to
pop, to
traditional Brazilian, and more. His songs are about many things, including
human nature,
philosophy, and the relation between
science and art, and most have interesting or
controversial ideas or messages or a political edge. Gil's music is hard to classify, but he has met with success worldwide and has continued to devote himself to writing, recording, and performing his music for over 40 years.
As of 2003, Gil has been named the Culture Minister of
Brazil by the recently-elected president,
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva:
"Gil's appointment is seen as demonstration of Silva's closeness to Brazilian cultural roots and its large, poor black population. Before Gil, the only black appointed as a cabinet minister was soccer star
Pelé, by outgoing President
Fernando Henrique Cardoso." - from the
Associated Press
Thanks are in order for anyone who left comments or suggested updates, including
gwm, who informed me of Gil's current position as Culture Minister (and whose homenode has a small collection of nodes on things Brazilian, for further reading).