Tropicália, also called tropicalismo, was a Brazilian art movement that began in the late 1960s. It combined different types of Brazilian music and art, mixing traditional styles with modern and international influences. Tropicália became especially known for its music, which blended Brazilian and African rhythms with styles from Britain and the United States, such as psychedelic rock and pop. The movement also included films, plays, and poetry.

The name Tropicália (tropicalismo) was inspired by the image of Brazil as a "tropical paradise." It was used to explore Brazil’s history and culture.

The movement started with a group of musicians from Bahia, including Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, and the poet Torquato Neto. Later, the group moved to São Paulo, where they worked with other artists like Os Mutantes and Rogério Duprat. Together, they created the 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis, which explained the movement’s ideas.

Tropicália was not only about art but also about expressing political views. It emerged during a time when Brazil’s military government and left-wing groups both had influence. The artists of Tropicália rejected both the government’s traditional patriotism and the left’s ineffective opposition to foreign control, which led to criticism and challenges.

By the early 1970s, the movement ended, but it inspired new artists who called themselves "post-tropicalist." Tropicália continues to influence artists today, especially the original group from Bahia and their collaborators.

Background

A key idea in the Tropicália movement was "antropofagia," a concept that meant combining different cultural influences from various times, places, and categories to create something uniquely Brazilian. This approach mixed ideas about what was considered high or low art, as well as respected or overlooked artistic and political expressions. The idea was first introduced by poet Oswald de Andrade in his 1928 work, the "Manifesto Antropófago," and later expanded by the tropicalistas in the 1960s.

Although concrete poets were not initially linked to the tropicalistas, members of both groups, including Veloso, Gil, and Augusto de Campos, formed a partnership in São Paulo. This partnership helped the tropicalistas connect with other artists in the city, such as Rogério Duprat.

In 1967, artist Helio Oiticica created a work titled "Tropicalia," which shared the same name and style as the movement. The movement also used the image of Carmen Miranda, a Brazilian and Portuguese international celebrity who was often seen as not truly representing Brazil. The tropicalistas used Miranda’s image and style in their work, especially during performances by Veloso. This was done intentionally to explore the idea of "authenticity." In Brazil, Miranda was viewed as a stereotype of Brazilian culture, while outside Brazil, she was seen as a symbol of the country. This contrast allowed the tropicalistas to highlight the complex and sometimes confusing idea of what it means to be authentic.

Musical movement

The 1968 album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis is considered the musical statement of the tropicália movement. Though created by many people, the main artists behind the album were Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. The album used uncommon musical rhythms and unusual song structures, and it combined traditional Brazilian music with new ideas. Politically, the album showed disapproval of the military takeover in 1964. Important artists in the movement included Os Mutantes, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Caetano Veloso. According to Maya Jaggi, "Gil was partly inspired by Jorge Ben Jor, a Rio musician on the edges of the movement, who blended urban samba and bossa nova with rhythm and blues, soul, and funk."

The tropicalistas' music and lyrics, which challenged rules and authority, made them targets of censorship and punishment by the military government ruling Brazil at the time. This was especially true because some members of the group, like Veloso and Gil, also took part in protests against the government. The tropicalistas' interest in American and British psychedelic music, especially the work of the Beatles, also caused disagreements with left-wing students in Brazil. These students believed in traditional Brazilian music and strongly opposed anything they saw as influenced by Western capitalist culture. Tensions between the tropicalistas and left-wing students reached a peak in September 1968 during Caetano Veloso's performances at the third International Song Festival in Rio's Catholic University, where many left-wing students were present.

Veloso had won a major song prize at the previous year's festival, where he performed with an Argentinian rock band. Though his unusual performance caused some confusion at first, he won the audience over and was celebrated as a rising star in Brazilian music. By late 1968, Veloso was fully involved in the tropicalia movement, and his performances, which were meant to be intentionally shocking, caused near-riots. On September 12, Veloso appeared wearing a bright green plastic outfit covered in electrical wires and necklaces with animal teeth. His band, Os Mutantes, wore similar outfits. The group played loud psychedelic music, and Veloso's stage movements upset the audience. The crowd shouted loudly, and their anger grew when an American pop singer, John Dandurand, joined Veloso on stage and made unclear noises into the microphone.

After this negative reaction, Veloso was unsure if he should perform again on September 15. His manager encouraged him to go on, and the performance was recorded and later released as a single. Before Veloso even appeared, the audience hissed his name. He wore the same green outfit (without the wires and necklaces) and performed with Os Mutantes as the crowd shouted at them. The group played a new song Veloso wrote for the event, "É Proibido Proibir" ("It is Forbidden to Forbid"), a title he took from a Parisian protest poster he saw in a magazine. The audience's loud booing made it hard for Veloso to be heard, and he intentionally provoked the left-wing students with his stage actions. Soon, the crowd threw fruit, vegetables, eggs, and paper balls at the performers. Some audience members turned their backs to the stage, and Os Mutantes responded by turning their backs to the crowd. Veloso stopped singing and gave an angry speech criticizing the students for their behavior. He was joined by Gilberto Gil, who supported him, and as the chaos grew, Veloso announced he was leaving the competition. He finished the song out of tune and walked offstage with the tropicalistas, holding hands.

On December 27, 1968, Veloso and Gil were arrested by the military government because of the political messages in their music. After two months in prison, they were released and forced to leave Brazil to live in London, where they continued their music careers until they returned to Brazil in 1972.

In 1993, Veloso and Gil released the album Tropicália 2, celebrating 25 years of the movement and honoring their earlier musical experiments.

Critiques

The Tropicália movement faced controversy because its members had a difficult relationship with the media. The movement focused on artistic expression, which did not match the media's goal of creating popular, marketable content. Tropicália also had a style that was seen as very expressive and showy. This was a form of protest against the strict control by Brazil's military government in the 1960s, which caused the media to oppose the movement. In 1968, Tropicália events at clubs, festivals, and TV shows gained media attention and created tension between artists like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil and their critics. This growing interest also caught the attention of the military, who worried that Tropicália could inspire cultural resistance.

By late 1968, Tropicália began to connect more clearly with international groups, such as the African-American Black Power movement in the United States. The movement became more focused on supporting social change and encouraging creative expression. At a later Tropicália concert that year, a fight broke out between Tropicália supporters and fans of nationalist-participant music. The nationalists were mostly college students, and the conflict ended with loud shouting and people throwing objects at Veloso. While opposition to Tropicália had existed before, this event marked a turning point for the nationalists. At the nightclub Sucata, Tropicália performances became more defiant against the military government. Because Veloso refused to change the shows to meet government demands, the military started watching Tropicália events closely. On December 27, 1968, during the height of government control, Veloso and Gil were arrested, held in custody, and sent into exile in London for two and a half years.

Modern critic Roberto Schwarz notes that Tropicália helped highlight the idea that absurdity was a lasting problem in Brazil and its challenges with certain beliefs. However, the movement's goals changed over time and did not follow a single main idea.

Influence

From the 1940s until her death in 1955, Carmen Miranda, a singer and actress, performed in Hollywood musicals and gave live performances. Before appearing on Broadway in 1939, she had a successful career in Brazil during the 1930s and was called the "Queen of Samba." However, after she became famous internationally in the United States, many Brazilians saw her colorful costume and performances as a stereotype of Brazilian culture. In his 1968 song "Tropicália," musician Caetano Veloso mentioned Carmen Miranda, whose bold images inspired him. Veloso once said Carmen Miranda was seen as "culturally repulsive" by his generation. Scholar Christopher Dunn explained that by including Carmen in his song, Veloso used her as a symbol of Brazilian culture and how it was received outside Brazil.

Many members of the Tropicália movement remained influential in Brazilian popular culture, especially through MPB (Brazilian pop music). Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso are both well-known nationally and internationally. Tom Zé, a Tropicália artist who was not widely recognized after the movement ended, gained renewed attention in the 1990s.

Tropicália has influenced many rock musicians, including David Byrne, Beck, the Bird and the Bee, Arto Lindsay, Devendra Banhart, El Guincho, Of Montreal, and Nelly Furtado. In 1998, Beck released an album called Mutations, which honors a Brazilian band named Os Mutantes. The album’s hit song, "Tropicalia," reached number 21 on the Billboard Modern Rock singles chart.

Tropicália changed how Brazilian music is viewed both in Brazil and abroad. It expanded the idea of what Brazilians consider "authentic" music and helped international audiences better understand Brazilian music since the 1990s. Tropicália also created a new way for artists to mix different musical styles, allowing for greater diversity in music inspired by the movement.

In 2021, scientists named a species of Brazilian tree frog Scinax tropicalia in honor of the Tropicália movement.

Post Tropicália

Tropicalia introduced two unusual movements to modern Brazil: antropofagia and concretism. Pop music from other countries also helped begin the postmodern era in Brazil. Even though there were conflicts and violence, Oswald's antropofagia kept traditions from the past, which once disagreed with the Romantic Indianism of the nineteenth century. These ideas are still visible in theaters and people's beliefs, which connect to a longer history of creative writing.

Some members of tropicalia who were not arrested or tortured chose to leave Brazil to avoid strict and controlling government rules. Many moved between countries and cities, and some never settled in one place. People like Caetano, Gil, and Torquato Neto lived in places such as London, New York, or Paris. Some were allowed to return to Brazil after many years, while others could only stay for short periods.

At the same time, underground magazines grew in popularity, allowing those abroad to share their experiences. For example, Oiticica moved to New York and wrote an article titled "Mario Montez, Tropicamp" for a magazine. The titles of these articles often connected to the bold and planned goals of the tropicalia movement. These magazines also shared stories of people in the United States and Brazil. By keeping tropicalia hidden, the group stayed united because members like Oiticica sent their writings to Brazil so others could read them locally.

In 2002, Caetano Veloso wrote a book about the tropicalia movement titled Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil. A 1999 collection of songs called Tropicália Essentials includes music by Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, and Os Mutantes. Other collections include The Tropicalia Style (1996), Tropicália 30 Anos (1997), Tropicalia: Millennium (1999), Tropicalia: Gold (2002), and Novo Millennium: Tropicalia (2005). Another collection, Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound, was released in 2006 and received praise.

A 2012 documentary film titled Tropicália was made about the movement and its artists. The film was directed by Brazilian filmmaker Marcelo Machado, and Fernando Meirelles was one of its executive producers.