Maria Bethânia

Maria Bethânia, sister of Caetano Veloso, is a renowned singer on her own. Her scenic, dramatic abilities, in a profoundly Brazilian tradition, make her performances quite personal, which has brought her a massive and faithful audience over the decades. As a child, she wanted to be an actress right from the start. But, as her mother loved to sing, music was always around. Her father was not musically gifted, but loved to listen to Dorival Caymmi and Noel Rosa compositions. At 13, her family moved to Salvador, and she began to frequent the "university circles," intellectual groups gathering around art exhibitions and performances. The access to theater plays strengthened her desire to become an actress. At that time, a novice Caetano Veloso had become the musical partner of the play director Álvaro Guimarăes. For Guimarăes's short movie Moleques de Rua, Veloso composed a soundtrack which should have had, according to him, his sister singing in it. At 16, Bethânia tried to refuse, as she had never sung under such pressure. But Guimarăes loved her timbre, and included her in his 1963 staging of Nelson Rodrigues' musical Boca de Ouro, where she performed a cappella. In the same year, they became acquainted with Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa. Next year, Veloso was invited to organize a Brazilian popular music show at the opening of Salvador's Teatro Vila Velha. The show, called Nós, por Exemplo, included Veloso, Maria Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, and Gal Costa (still under her name Maria da Graça). The show was a success and was reenacted two weeks later, with the addition of Tom Zé (still presented as Antônio José). The success was even bigger, and the group (without Zé) soon presented another show, Nova Bossa Velha, Velha Bossa Nova. In that same year, Bethânia acted alone in her...