Rebelling against the
Elvis-based, American-imported rock scene in late '60s Brazil,
Caetano Veloso suffused lyrical Brazilian folksongs with fuzz guitar,
avant-jazz, and electronic music-and in doing so blew apart the
status quo of Brazilian culture. Caetano and the movement he
catalyzed, tropicalia, urged an adoption of personal freedom in
politics, music, and lifestyle. His rabble-rousing, as the government
saw it, would get Caetano and his comrade Gilberto Gil arrested and
exiled to London to wait out the military dictatorship. His fame
increasing by the year, Caetano focused on writing songs about his
homeland, returning to Brazil as a national hero--a mantle he still
wears today. His most recent album, Live in Bahia, was
released to international critical and popular acclaim.
