Nem recôncavo, nem reconvexo: o movimento Tropicália como prática cultural brasileira e seus pontos de interseção com o samba e com a tradição da música popular brasileira

Abstract

This thesis set out to research the Tropicália or Tropicalismo movement, presenting its points of intersection with the Brazilian Popular Music scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It sought to understand the proposal of tropicalist songs with reference to the musical heritage of tropicalists Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Tom Zé, as well as their ways of thinking about Brazilian culture and popular music. It was observed that these tropicalists constantly refer to certain musical genres, such as samba and bossa nova, and that these genres represent a tradition or foundation of Brazilian Popular Music. With this consideration, the existence of two traditions in Brazilian culture was conceived: an “ancestral” tradition, less perceived and noticed, and another, more present and evident in the musical scene in which MPB is inserted. Based on musical analyses and listening to some tropicalist songs, such as Tropicália, by Caetano Veloso, and Domingo no parque, by Gilberto Gil, it was found that the diversity presented by this song is related to the proposal to establish dialogues within the Tropicália movement. Thus, the two traditions pointed out in the cultural fabric coexist in the sound structure of tropicalist songs. Given this perception of a non-hierarchical approach to musical genres and styles on the part of the tropicalists, the research demonstrated points of convergence and divergence between the Tropicália movement and Brazilian Popular Music at that period. To investigate the musical scene of the time, a broad methodology was sought, covering bibliographic and documentary research, interviews available in newspapers, magazines, and streaming services, as well as analysis and interpretation of some selected musical productions, always observing the interaction that the chosen musical practices, including tropicalist songs, establish with the Brazilian historical-cultural scene. Among some considerations, from points of intersection between Tropicália and Brazilian Popular Music, it was found that the tropicalists converged with MPB in recognizing samba and bossa nova as genres representing a more notable tradition in the cultural scene. However, in seeking to avoid the hierarchization of musical genres and styles, the tropicalists fought against the elitism of MPB that was established at the time.