Gilberto Gil facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gilberto Gil GCIH
Gilberto Gil, in 2022
Born	Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (1942-06-26) 26 June 1942 (age 83) Salvador, Brazil
Education	Federal University of Bahia (BBA)
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, politician
Political party	PMDB (1988–1990) PV (1990–present)
Spouse(s)	Belina de Aguiar ​ ​ (m. 1965; separated 1967)​ Nana Caymmi ​ ​ (m. 1967; separated 1968)​ Sandra Gadelha ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1980)​ Flora Giordano ​ (m. 1981)​
Children	8 (including Preta)
Musical career
Genres	MPB tropicália world samba forró rock reggae experimental
Instruments	Vocal guitar electric guitar hurdy-gurdy vibraphone
Years active	1959–present
Labels	JS Discos RCA Phonogram Polygram Brasil PolyGram Philips WEA Som Livre Universal Sony
Associated acts	Caetano Veloso Gal Costa Maria Bethânia Os Mutantes Tom Zé Doces Bárbaros Preta Gil Moraes Moreira Jorge Mautner Nelson Jacobina Chico Science e Nação Zumbi João Gilberto

Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (born June 26, 1942) is a famous Brazilian singer, songwriter, and politician. He is known for his creative music and for working to make the world a better place. From 2003 to 2008, he was Brazil's Minister of Culture. This means he was in charge of all things related to art and culture for the country. Gil's music mixes many styles, like rock, samba, African music, and reggae.

Gil started playing music when he was a child. He was a teenager when he joined his first band. He began his career playing bossa nova music. Soon, he started writing songs that talked about important social issues. He was a key person in the música popular brasileira and tropicália music movements in the 1960s. He worked closely with artists like Caetano Veloso. The Brazilian military government that took power in 1964 saw Gil and Veloso as a challenge. They were held for nine months in 1969 and then told to leave the country. Gil moved to London, England. He returned to Bahia in 1972 and continued his music career. He also worked as a politician and spoke up for the environment. Gil is famous worldwide. His album Quanta Live won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album in 1999. His album Eletracústico won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2005.

Gil's Early Life (1942–1963)

Gil was born in Salvador, Brazil. He spent most of his childhood in Ituaçu. Ituaçu was a small town in the countryside of Bahia. His father, José Gil Moreira, was a doctor. His mother, Claudina Passos Gil Moreira, was an elementary school teacher. As a young boy, he went to a Marist Brothers school. Gil stayed in Ituaçu until he was nine years old. Then he moved back to Salvador for high school.

Gil was interested in music from a very young age. He once said that when he was two, he told his mother he would become a musician or president. He grew up listening to forró music from his home region. He also loved watching street performers in Salvador. Early on, he started playing the drums and trumpet. He learned by listening to music on the radio. Gil's mother strongly supported his musical dreams. She bought him an accordion. When he was ten, she sent him to music school in Salvador for four years.

As an accordion player, Gil first played classical music. But he became more interested in Brazilian folk and popular music. He was especially inspired by singer and accordion player Luiz Gonzaga. Gil started to sing and play the accordion just like Gonzaga. He felt connected to Gonzaga because he sang about the world around him.

While in Salvador, Gil also discovered the music of songwriter Dorival Caymmi. Caymmi's music showed him the "beach-oriented" samba of Salvador. Gonzaga and Caymmi were very important influences on Gil. In Salvador, Gil learned about many other music styles. These included American big band jazz and tango. In 1950, Gil moved back to Salvador with his family. There, in high school, he joined his first band, Os Desafinados ("The Out of Tunes"). He played accordion and vibraphone and sang. This band was inspired by American rock and roll artists like Elvis Presley. It was also influenced by singing groups from Rio de Janeiro. The band played together for two or three years. Soon after, inspired by Brazilian musician João Gilberto, he chose the guitar as his main instrument. He then began to play bossa nova.

Gil's Music Career (1963–Present)

Gilberto Gil and Nana Caymmi at the III Popular Music Festival, 1967.

Gil met guitarist and singer Caetano Veloso at the Universidade Federal da Bahia in 1963. They started working and performing together. They released a single song and an EP (extended play record). In July 1964, Gil and Veloso performed at the Vila Velha Theatre's opening night. They were joined by Maria Bethânia (Veloso's sister), Gal Costa, and Tom Zé. The show was called Nós, por Exemplo ("Us, for Example"). Gil and the group kept performing there. Gil eventually became a music director for the concert series.

Gil worked with these artists again on the important 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses. The style of this album was influenced by The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Gil listened to that album all the time. Gil says Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses was the start of the tropicália movement. Tropicália, or tropicalismo, mixed different music and cultural ideas from Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s. These included bossa nova and the Jovem Guarda ("Young Wave") group. It also added rock and roll music from the United States and Europe. The Brazilian government at the time saw this movement as a threat.

In the early 1960s, Gil mostly earned money by selling bananas and writing short songs for TV ads. He also worked briefly for Unilever in Brazil. He moved to São Paulo in 1965. He had a hit single when his song "Louvação" was released by Elis Regina. His first hit song as a solo artist was "Aquele Abraço" in 1969. Gil also performed on many TV shows in the 1960s. These often included other "tropicalistas," who were part of the Tropicalismo movement.

Challenges and Exile

In February 1969, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were taken in by the Brazilian military government. They were brought from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. They spent three months in a type of prison and four months under house arrest. Then they were allowed to leave the country. Veloso was taken first, and the police soon went to Gil's home. Gil believes the government felt his actions were a "threat" because they were new and different.

While held, Gil started to meditate. He also followed a special diet and read about Eastern philosophy. He wrote four songs during this time. One was "Cérebro Electrônico" ("Electronic Brain"). After this, Gil and Veloso were sent away to London, England. They played one last concert together in Salvador in July 1969. Then they traveled to Portugal, Paris, and London. They shared a house in Chelsea with their wives and manager.

Gil helped organize the 1971 Glastonbury Free Festival. He also discovered reggae music while living in London. He remembers listening to Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Burning Spear. He was very influenced by London's rock music scene. He performed with bands like Yes, Pink Floyd, and the Incredible String Band. He also performed alone, recording Gilberto Gil (Nêga) in London. Besides reggae and rock, Gil went to jazz concerts by artists like Miles Davis.

Gilberto Gil performing in 2007

When Gil returned to Bahia in 1972, he focused on his music and helping the environment. He released Expresso 2222 that same year, which had two popular songs. Gil toured the United States and recorded an English-language album. He continued to release many albums throughout the 1970s, like Realce and Refazenda. In the early 1970s, Gil helped bring back the Afro-Brazilian afoxé tradition in Carnaval. He joined the Filhos de Gandhi ("Sons of Gandhi") performance group, which was only for black Brazilians. Gil also recorded a song called "Patuscada de Gandhi" about the group. This song appeared on his 1977 album Refavela. Because Gil was involved, more attention was given to afoxé groups in Carnaval. These groups also grew larger. In the late 1970s, he visited Africa, going to Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. He also worked with Jimmy Cliff. In 1980, they released a cover of "No Woman, No Cry". This song was a number one hit and helped introduce reggae to Brazil.

In 1998, the live version of his album Quanta won Gil a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. In 2005, he won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album for Eletracústico. In May 2005, he received the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm. He was the first Latin American to get this award. On October 16 of the same year, he received the Légion d'honneur from the government of France.

In 2010, he released the album Fé Na Festa. This record was all about forró, a music style from Brazil's northeast. In 2013, Gilberto Gil played himself in a documentary called Viramundo: a musical journey with Gilberto Gil. The film showed his journey around the southern hemisphere. His 2018 album OK OK OK was named one of the best Brazilian albums of the year by Rolling Stone magazine in Brazil.

Gil's Political Work (1987–Present)

Gilberto Gil
Gilberto Gil on 11 September 2007.
Minister of Culture
In office 1 January 2003 – 30 July 2008
President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Preceded by	Francisco Weffort
Succeeded by	Juca Ferreira
Councillor of Salvador
In office 1 January 1989 – 1 January 1993
Constituency	At-large
Personal details
Political party	PV (1990–present)
Other political affiliations	PMDB (1988–90)
Signature

Gil sees his role in government as an administrator or manager. He believes politics is a necessary part of life. His political career started in 1987. He was elected to a local position in Bahia. He became the Salvador secretary of culture. In 1988, he was elected to the city council. He then became the city commissioner for environmental protection. However, he left this job after one term. He decided not to run for the National Congress of Brazil. In 1990, Gil joined the Green Party. During this time, Gil started an environmental group called Onda Azul ("Blue Wave"). This group worked to protect Brazilian waters. He also kept up his full-time music career. He took a break from politics in 1992 after releasing Parabolicamará. This album is considered one of his most successful. On October 16, 2001, Gil became a Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

When President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva became president in January 2003, he chose Gil as Brazil's new Minister of Culture. Gil was the second black person to serve in the country's cabinet. Gil had not been a member of Lula's political party. He had not helped create their cultural plan. Soon after becoming Minister, Gil started a partnership between Brazil and Creative Commons. In 2003, he gave a concert at the UN General Assembly. This concert honored the victims of a bombing at the UN headquarters in Baghdad. He played with Secretary General Kofi Annan at that concert.

As Minister, he supported a program called Culture Points. This program gave money to provide music technology and education to people in poor city areas. Gil said that young people were becoming designers and working in media. They were helping to improve neighborhoods. He also wanted to create an online place where Brazilian music could be downloaded for free. After Gil became Minister, the department's spending increased by over 50 percent. In November 2007, Gil said he wanted to leave his job because of a problem with his voice. Lula did not accept Gil's first two requests to leave. But he accepted a later request in July 2008. Lula said that Gil was "going back to being a great artist."

Gil's Family Life

Gil has been married four times. He had two daughters, Nara and Marilia, with his first wife, Belina Aguiar. He was then married to the famous singer Nana Caymmi, but they had no children. His third wife was Sandra Gadelha. They had three children: Pedro, Preta, and Maria. Sandra inspired one of his most loved songs, "Drão." She was with him during the difficult time of the Brazilian dictatorship. His fourth wife is Flora Giordano. They have three children: Bem, Isabella, and Jose. His first son, Pedro Gil, who was a drummer for the band Egotrip, died in a car accident in 1990. Preta Gil, an actress and singer, is his daughter with Sandra Gadelha.

Gil has explored different spiritual ideas throughout his life. He was originally a Christian. Later, he was influenced by Eastern philosophy and religion. He also looked into African spirituality. He practices yoga and is a vegetarian.

Gil's Musical Style and Influences

Gil sings in a high voice, but he can also sing in a lower voice or use scat singing (singing with nonsense syllables). His song lyrics cover many topics. These include philosophy, religion, folk stories, and word games. Gil's music style includes many different influences. The first music he heard included The Beatles and street performers in Bahia. In his early years as a musician, Gil mostly played a mix of traditional Brazilian styles. These included baião and samba. He said that his first phase was very traditional, with no experiments. He and Caetano Veloso followed the style of Luiz Gonzaga and Jackson do Pandeiro. They combined samba with music from Brazil's northeast. Music critic Robert Christgau said that Gil was always ready to try new things with a beat.

Gil was one of the first artists in the tropicália movement. Because of this, rock and even punk influences are strong in his music. This is also true for other tropicália stars like Caetano Veloso and Tom Zé. Veloso said that Gil's interest in the blues-based music of rock pioneer Jimi Hendrix was very important for Brazilian music. Veloso also noted the influence of Brazilian guitarist and singer Jorge Ben on Gil's style. After the main period of tropicália in the 1960s, Gil became more interested in black culture. He especially liked the Jamaican music style of reggae. He called reggae "a way of making music democratic, international, and speaking a new language."

In 1976, Gil visited Lagos, Nigeria, for the Festival of African Culture (FESTAC). There, he met musicians Fela Kuti and Stevie Wonder. He was inspired by African music. Later, he added some of the styles he heard in Africa, like juju and highlife, into his own songs. One famous album with African influences was the 1977 album Refavela. It included "No Norte da Saudade" (To the North of Sadness), a song heavily influenced by reggae. When Gil returned to Brazil after his trip, he focused on Afro-Brazilian culture. He became a member of the Carnaval afoxé group Filhos de Gandhi.

In the 1980s, his music also showed more dance styles, like disco and soul. However, Gil said his 1994 album Acoustic was not a completely new direction. He had performed unplugged before with Caetano Veloso. He described acoustic playing as easier. He said its energy is simple and connected to its roots. Some people have criticized Gil for being involved in both traditional Brazilian music and the global music scene. He has tried to stay true to traditional Bahian styles while also reaching commercial markets. Listeners in Bahia have been more accepting of his mix of music styles. But some in southeast Brazil felt it was too different.

Gil's Discography

Awards and Recognitions

Images for kids

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  Gilberto Gil and Nana Caymmi at the III Popular Music Festival, 1967.

See also

In Spanish: Gilberto Gil para niños

• Vamos Fugir (pt)
• Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (pt)