The Mutantes and Tropicália




The year was 1968. Students and intelectuals challenged the dictatorship, mockingly knicknamed "The Redeemer" ( of Christian values, moral values, a Bush thing thirty-eight years ago.)

After four years bearing with the Redeemer, anyone whose IQ was above 75 was restless. Shortage of water, power, rice and beans, sugar, all continued even if the "commies" were gone. Student factions split from the Braziliaan Comunist Party, the eternal Mr. Tomorrow, and tried to take destiny in their own hands. In this social turmoil Tropicália was born. Hélio Oiticica coined the term, along with "Be a bandit; be a hero." He wasn't a musician; he was an artist, very cerebral at first and very pop-ish at the time.

Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Tom Zé, Torquato Neves, Gal Costa, Nara Leão, and the maestro Rogério Duprat led the musical movement. Tropicália was to be a reflection of Brazilian culture, an antropophagic movement to swallow whatever slides onto our Atlantic shores and transform it into a Made in Brazil rhythm.



The young ones were the Mutantes. I don't know how many times I showed tapes of their music here in the USA, in SFO, in Los Angeles, in NYC. They never made it while they were together. Rita Lee Jones, an American-Brazilian, playing funny percussion gizmos, her boyfriend and later her husband, Arnaldo Baptista, keyboard and bass, and his brother, Sérgio Dias, at the guitar, were the band. Dinho was their drummer.

The Mutantes personified the mockery necessary for survival even when one is bleeding. Tropicália accepted as its own all the tacky songs of our mothers and grandmothers, of brothels and ships, and country music. No stone was left unturned. Rogério Duprat made arrangements that brought a smile to our faces due to their grandiosity, the strident horns, but every element of Tropicália was calculated.

Alas! This brief time of musica freedom was not to last. The Redeemer cast its shadow on it and through Ato Institucional Número 5 censorship took over. Most artists went into exile. The Mutantes stayed and carried on with their teen spirit irreverence.



Technicolor, available at iTunes, recorded in 1969, released in 1999, with Rita, Arnaldo, Sérgio, Dinho and Liminha, who was sooo cute.

Now, thirty-six years after they were ready for their close-up, Arnaldo and Rita divorced, the boys sans Rita regroup. I heard their show in London, about two weeks ago. It was kick-ass moving, especially for me, having followed their careers and what not. They have fans ranging from Kurt Cobain, RIP, to Sean Lennon, to David Byrne, and followers, like the Fiery Furnaces.

Thirty-six years is a long time to wait. Take advantage of the tour. Check for dates on the web site http://www.mutantes.com

I wouldn't miss this for anything if I were you.

Further info: Google the word Tropicália and you'll find scholarly dissections of Tropicália. Go to
http://www.lagrimapsicodelica.blogspot.com to find video clips and amazing info on any band on earth.

See you tomorrow!