• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Search
  • Things To Do in NYC
  • Art
  • Dance
  • Festivals
  • Film
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Theatre
New York Latin Culture Magazine®

New York Latin Culture Magazine®

World-class Indigenous, European & African Culture since 2012

  • New York
  • Latin
  • Culture
  • Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Sponsor

Gilberto Gil is a Samba, Rock, Bossa Nova, MPB Legend

Gilberto Gil is a Brazilian music legend and politician known for his work in the tropicália and MPB (Música popular brasileira) pop music movements of the 1960s. He was Brazil’s Minister of Culture in the administration of President Lula from 2003-2008.

A Son of Bahía

Gil was born in Salvador, Bahía, the Brazilian musical heartland in the northeast on June 26, 1942. Originally a samba rock musician, Gil first moved into bossa nova (samba-jazz). In college, he met Caetano Veloso and the two started a collaboration that led to the Tropicálismo movement of the 1968.

Tropicálismo Movement

Tropicálismo was a great mixing of Brazilian culture with outside influences in all the arts. Before then, there was a lot of copying of European and U.S. culture. But now Brazilians started creating their own.

You can’t imagine how excited we were to hear rock and pop music made in our own voice, instead of as just a reflection of someone else. Brazil became its own cultural reference to Brazilians and the outside world.

Fighting Dictatorship with Words

1968 was a time (like now) when youth culture exploded into protests around the globe. Young people demanded civil rights, an end to the Vietnam War, and the end of dictatorship and colonization.

It was the time of the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985). Under dictatorship, you can’t speak your mind. Speaking out will land you in jail or worse (tyrants are the same everywhere). Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso didn’t criticize the government directly. They wrote songs filled with poetic metaphor, but every Brazilian understood exactly what they meant.

Eventually in 1969 both artists were jailed, then held under house arrest and only freed when they promised to leave the country. Gil and Veloso moved to exile in London for a few years. It turned out to be a great move because they absorbed more reggae, rock and jazz influences.

In 1972, Gil returned to Bahia to focus on his music and environmental advocacy. He joined Lula’s government from 2003-2008. Gil then decided to focus his life on what is most important to him and returned to music.

A Multiple Grammy Winner

Gil won Grammys for “Quanta Live” Best World Music Album (1999), “Eletracústico” Best Contemporary World Music Album (2005) and “Gilbertos Samba Ao Vivo” Best World Music Album (2016).

He won a Latin Grammy for “As Cançoes De Eu, Tu, Eles” Best Brazilian Roots/Regional Album (2001). He was the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year in 2003.

However you look at Gilberto Gil’s life and career, he is one of the handful of the most respected and influential Brazilian musicians.

gilbertogil.com.b


Brazilian NYC


Published October 17, 2022 ~ Updated February 23, 2024.

Filed Under: Bossa Nova, Brazilians, Latin Rock Artists, MPB, MUSIC, People, Samba

Subscribe

Get New York Latin Culture Magazine weekly in your email. We don’t share, rent, or sell addresses. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Primary Sidebar

Things to Do in NYC

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Son Cubano + Rumba, Guajira & Salsa

Albita (Hostos Center)

Albita Celebrates the Evolution of Cuban Music From Rumba and Música Guajira, to Son Cubano and Salsa

Theatre Professionals ~ Employers Network

Find your next project. Discover your next team. Do it on RISE.

Sponsored By The Best Of New York

92nd Street Y, New York

Capulli Mexican Dance Company 🇲🇽

Brooklyn Museum

Carnegie Hall

Harlem Stage

Hostos Center

Melvis Santa & Jazz Orishas 🇨🇺

Metropolitan Opera

National Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Parade 🇺🇸

New York City Center

NYU Skirball Center

RISE Theatre Directory

Teatro Real ~ Royal Opera of Madrid 🇪🇸

World Music Institute

Footer

Search

Things to do in NYC

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

New York City

Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island ~ New Jersey

Latin Music and Dance

Bachata, Ballet, Cumbia, Classical, Flamenco, Hip Hop, House, Jazz, Merengue, Modern Dance, Opera, Pop, Reggaeton, Regional Mexican, Rock, Salsa, Samba, Tango, World Music

North American

African American, Honduran, Indigenous, Jewish, Mexican

Caribbean

Cuban, Dominican, Haitian, Puerto Rican, Trinidadian

South American

Argentine, Bolivian, Brazilian, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Venezuelan

African

African American, Nigerian, South African

European

French, Portuguese, Spanish

Follow

X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, YouTube, TikTok

Subscribe

Get New York Latin Culture Magazine in your email

advertise

Sponsor

Details

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy

New York Latin Culture Magazine® and Tango Beat® are registered trademarks, and New York Latin Culture™ is a trademark of Keith Widyolar. Other marks are the property of their respective holders.

Copyright © 2012–2025 New York Latin Culture Magazine®. All Rights Reserved.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we assume you are ok with it.Ok