Gilberto Gil interview: "Artists are the antennas of society"

Brazilian singer, guitarist and songwriter Gilberto Gil gave an energetic performance in front of an excited audience on 16 July 2013 in sold-out concert hall Paradiso in Amsterdam. The concert in Paradiso is part of his tour Fé na Festa, devoted to forró, a style of music from Brazil's Northeast. As usual Gil gives his own twist to the original style. Before the show, Cultural Exchange Brazil - The Netherlands interviewed the music legend and former Brazilian Minister of Culture, about cultural exchange and the role of artists in society.

Gilberto Gil (1942) is known for both his musical innovation and political commitment. He was born in Salvador de Bahia in the Northeast of Brazil. In his artistic career since the 1960s, Gil has released more than fifty official albums. Among other rewards, he received several Grammys. Every year the outgoing and sociable musician tours through Brazil and the rest of the world, with his contagious pop music and mostly Portuguese songs.

Gil's political career started at the end of the 1980s when he got involved in the political life of his hometown Salvador. However, he never stopped being an artist. In 2003 when Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva became President of Brazil, he chose Gil as Brazil's new Minister of Culture. He resigned as minister in 2008 to devote himself fully to his artistic career. Nonetheless, Gil's music stays intertwined with politics.

Mr. Gil, how do you look upon cultural exchange between Brazil and other countries?

"Cultural exchange nowadays is part of both the diplomatic field and the field of commerce. It falls within the current model of international exchange so to speak. Cultural exchange has always attracted curiosity in Brazil. And the curiosity is only growing more and more. Brazil is a huge country, with two hundred million inhabitants, an immense territory, a great natural richness, a reasonable economy, now the sixth or seventh economy in the world I believe. Consequently, Brazil has a significant cultural production, in various fields like music, literature, architecture, dance, the arts in general, so there is a lot to exchange."

As Minister of Culture, Gil committed himself to more ‘democratisation of culture’. His policy has been one of inclusion and decentralization. His ministry initiated the project Pontos de Cultura or 'Culture Points', to fund thousands of existing cultural initiatives at community and grassroots levels. Gil also supported the project Cultura Digital or 'Digital Culture'. The project's aim was to go beyond providing access to computers and Internet, and distribute digital communication technologies in order to advance the dissemination of culture digitally.

On a more personal level, what does cultural exchange mean to you?

"In my case, I have always been an artist characterized by a taste for change, a taste for exchange. On the one hand, my music has all along referred to Brazilian local elements, specifically from the Northeast, and various forms of samba, or other forms of musical expression from Brazil. On the other hand, I have continuously been interested in American music, Cuban music, European music and African music for example. I have always been open to collaboration and to mix musical elements from varied backgrounds. Actually I am a merchant of rhythms [laughing]."

Gil began his artistic career as a bossa nova musician. Over the years he started to write songs on political and social issues. In 1968 together with musician Caetano Veloso, he was one of the driving forces behind the Brazilian artistic movement Tropicália. The musicians mixed bossa nova, samba, rock, funk and other musical styles in such a way that it created a revolution in Brazilian sound.

The Brazilian military regime that took power in 1964 saw both Gil and Veloso as a threat because of the political content of their music and arrested them in 1969. After imprisonment they were forced to leave the country and spent several years in London. In London Gil performed with bands like Yes and Pink Floyd, and helped set up the first Glastonbury Festival.

How do you see the role of artists in our societies, especially in current times of crisis or social unrest?

“In all times of history artists have been identified as vanguards of life, of society. Take a Van Gogh, a Rembrandt, a Leonardo da Vinci, a.. [thinking]”

A Gilberto Gil?

“A Gilberto Gil [laughing].. People identify artists as persons that have a more intimate dialogue with the deeper layers of inner or mental life. They are identified with the world of creativity and invention, just like scientists. Moreover, artists have been given the task to transform themselves into a kind of antenna of society. This is something of all times. Also these days with all the things going on, artists are at the forefront. The public relies on artists,” sometimes to Gil’s surprise it seems.

Gilberto Gil enjoys talking but he has to go: in Paradiso the impatient audience is waiting for their musical icon to perform. During the show he takes time to speak to the public, either to explain the Scottish roots in Brazilian forró or the name of his tour Fé na Festa (Faith in or at the Feast) inspired by the lively June festivals in Brazil, in honour of saints like São João (Saint John). Gil's enthusiasm to share where he comes from and his openness to the new and different, make him Brazil’s ambassador of cultural exchange par excellence.

More Gilberto Gil

The documentary Viramundo: A musical journey with Gilberto Gil (2013) by Swiss filmmaker Pierre-Yves Borgeaud is released in the Netherlands on 22 August 2013. For more information and to watch the trailer go to Viramundo: A musical journey with Gilberto Gil under Events.

The documentary Tropicália (2012) by Marcelo Machado about the Tropicália movement can be seen on 18 August 2013 in Van Abbemuseum for contemporary art in Eindhoven, in connection with Manon de Boer's exhibition Encounters. More information and to watch the trailer go to Documentary Tropicália under Events.

Gilberto Gil's official homepage: http://www.gilbertogil.com.br

Interview & text by: Josine Backus

Photo: Ron Beenen