CAETANO VELOSO

February 2002
		Brazilian singer, songwriter and provocateur Caetano Veloso is often called "the Bob Dylan of Brazil", and has performed eclectic pop music broaching topics like political upheaval and the legacy of slavery with poetic lyricism. Caetano Veloso answers your questions on the interconnection of politics, poetry, activism and music.

Online Special: Brazilian music legend Caetano Veloso Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Arts and Entertainment	Caetano Veloso, a legendary Brazilian performer credited with changing the face of music, has been at the forefront of his field since the 1960s. A household name in Brazil, where for decades his fans have called him simply "Caetano," he has collaborated with such Brazilian superstars as Gilberto Gil and Maria Bethania. Recently dubbed "Brazil's unofficial poet laureate" by the New York Times, Veloso is a poet, filmmaker and political activist as well as a musician. Appealing to his listeners' social conscience, he is unabashed in his commitment to the politicization of art. Caetano Veloso responds to your questions.
	David Ritter of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania asks: Mr. Veloso, you said in your interview that Brazil has experienced over 4 centuries of extreme economic disparity and you view this as a failure. What do you make of the history of the United States with regards to different eras of economic equality and inequality? What solutions do you have to more equitably share the world's limited resources? Thank you for your time and consideration! Caetano Veloso responds: I don't have solutions. Like most people, I have questions on my mind. Such as: is inequality necessary to create wealth? Are all attempts at equality a threat to freedom? Of course the maintenance of extreme economic disparity for over four centuries is a historical failure. Brazil —- or, for that matter, any Latin American country —- has not yet been able to overcome that. As we all know, the colonization of North America by families who ran away from England's religious repression, families who dreamed of creating a new nation, is entirely different from Portuguese colonization of South America. In the USA, equality has always been in the horizon. In Brazil it was not initially in the plans. Mary Mills of Hamilton, Ontario asks: What do you think of the Lula government? Will you support his ideas? What do you expect of him? Will he be able to really attack the social problems in Brazil (poverty, favelas, corruption)? Thanks. Caetano Veloso responds: Lula's arrival at the presidency is already a great step: it has to do with social mobility, with popular acclamation of an unstained public character, with consolidation of democracy. His election owes a lot to Fernando Henrique Cardoso's administration. On a superficial level he was elected as an opposition to Cardoso. But in depth it has rather been one more careful move the Brazilian people made trying to overcome inequality and corruption. After the inauguration he and his ministers showed they had understood that. I just hope radical leftists don't make things too difficult for Lula. D. Anthony White of Santa Rosa, California asks: Saludos, as a professor and student of Latin American history, and an author of a biography of the Mexican muralist, Siqueiros, I am struck by the political activism of Latin American poets, musicians, artists, writers and intellectuals. What historical, social or cultural factors explain this phenomenon or what has motivated you as a composer and musician to be politically active and why do you think that this has not been characteristic of North American equivalents? Obrigado! Tony Caetano Veloso responds: Well, we still face an incredible social disparity and we have experienced a colonial era that was very different from North America's. Artists, writers, musicians and intellectuals here are constantly invited to be politically concerned. Still, you have Steinbeck, Susan Sontag, Gore Vidal, Pete Seeger, Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky and Bob Dylan. Peter B. of San Francisco, California asks: Oi Caetano, it was great to see you on the NewsHour ... the best news in the USA by far. My question pertains to what you think your friend Gilberto Gil will do as minister of culture, and what the new environment minister means for Brazil's urban and rural areas. I am traveling for the first time to Brazil on Saturday, and I'm excited to see your country! Caetano Veloso responds: Hi, Peter. Welcome to Brazil. It's crazy. It can be lovely. I tell you I didn't want my friend Gil to accept the appointment. But he did and he seems to be happy. So I'm happy too. The ministry of culture has very little money. I hope Gil is able to bring some new ideas. He is a great guy. As for the new minister of environment, she is a serious and nice woman. Her very presence there brings hope. Gil suggests adventure, she inspires respect. Both are sweet. Jonathan O'Toole of Brookline, Massachusetts asks: Can you see any modern-day musical movements (like Tropicalia) in today's musical world? If so, what and where? If not, does that frustrate you that modern-day musicians do not feel the need to stand up against government oppression (at least on a large movement size scale)? On a side note, you are a wonderful musician and person. Thanks! Caetano Veloso responds: I see many creative impulses in many places. In Brazilian hip-hop, in Asian-British groups, in new American rock, in French electronica. But music is not what it was from the mid sixties to the early seventies. When the Beatles were really big, you could see Paul McCartney carrying his own amplifier onstage; nowadays any second-rate star behaves like a Roman Emperor in a Hollywood movie. And even that is at the end. Market became too big and too conscious of its power. Now it's losing power. I don't think it was better back in 1968; it was just more favorable to the emergence of naïve dreams of transformation.