Mark Queiroz Herz

From 1964 to 1985 there was a cruel military dictatorship in Brazil. During this time musicians had to follow a guideline or else they’re songs would be vetoed by the military censorship. Their solution? Using metaphors and symbolism so the censorship representatives wouldn’t detect criticism of the government.

This is the list of songs I talked about during the film:

• Cálice- Performed by Chico Buarque and Milton Nascimento
• Apesar de Você- Chico Buarque
• Como Nossos Pais- Performed by Elis Regina
• O Bêbado e a Equilibrista- Original Version
• O Bêbado e a Equilibrista- Elis Regina
• Sabía- Performed by Elis Regina

Some songs that didn’t make it into the film but are worth sharing:

• Meu Caro Amigo- Chico Buarque – This almost made it to the final cut (so close!) but I switched it with Como Nossos Pais last minute. It’s got a nice samba beat and a very fun vibe, but the lyrics are like a letter to a friend talking about how tough the situation is.
• Angélica- Chico Buarque – Zuzu Angel was a Brazilian stylist. Her son Stuart was murdered by the Brazilian military and all she wanted was to recover his body. She wrote letters to Chico Buarque. Because of her digging around she was murdered by the military in what was staged as a car accident. Chico Buarque wrote this song about her. Lyrics you should pay attention to (translated): “Who’s this woman, who sings this chorus? Just wanted to wrap my son, who lives in the ocean darkness.”
• Debaixo dos Caracóis dos Seus Cabelos- Performed by Caetano Veloso – This song was actually written by the singer Roberto Carlos about Caetano Veloso. Caetano is the one singing this version, because I personally think this is a much better version. Caetano was exiled during the dictatorship and was living in London. Roberto went to visit him and wrote this song for him. The title translates as “Beneath the curls of your hair”.

Additional notes:

• It was noted to me that not “many” people are in favor of the return of the dictatorship. It’s a small part of the population. BUT that small part is still about 10-20% of a population of 211 million people, so in my opinion that’s a lot. Still writing it here to clarify.
• After I had already edited and uploaded the film I realized I wrote exile wrong repeatedly. Oops! Sorry about that!

Sources:

Cogliatti, Rakel. O Despertar Do Pessoal- Dramaturgia Brasileira. 1st ed. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: Imo’s Gráfica e Editora Ltda, 2019.

Dreifuss René Armand. 1964, a Conquista Do Estado: ação política, Poder e Golpe De Classe. Petrópolis: Vozes, 1981.

Gaspari, Elio. A Ditadura Envergonhada. São Paulo, SP: Companhia das Letras, 2002.

Gaspari, Elio. A Ditadura Escancarada. São Paulo, SP: Companhia Das Letras, 2002.Veloso, Caetano. Verdade Tropical. São Paulo, SP: Companhia das Letras, 1997.

Veloso, Caetano. Verdade Tropical. São Paulo, SP: Companhia das Letras, 1997.