ARTISTGilberto Gil

Gilberto Gil began his career playing the accordion in the 1950s, inspired by Luiz Gonzaga. Later, João Gilberto, bossa nova and Dorival Caymmi became part of his musical influences. From early on, his songs portrayed Brazil. In 1963, he met Caetano Veloso and began a partnership connected with tropicália, a movement that embraced and brought international attention to Brazilian music, cinema, visual arts, theatre and other forms of art. The movement provoked opposition from the dictatorship then in power, and the two collaborators were forced into exile.

While in London, Gil was influenced by the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the wider world of pop. After returning to Brazil, he continued a recording career that the biography describes as ongoing, with almost 60 albums, around 4 million copies sold and 9 Grammys. In 1999, UNESCO named him Artist for Peace, and in 2002 he became Brazil’s Minister of Culture. Other distinctions listed include being an FAO ambassador, France’s Légion d’honneur and Sweden’s Polar Music Prize. In 2021, he received an honorary doctorate from Berklee University and was named a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, occupying chair number 20.