A birthday hug for Gilberto Gil
Source: Ministério da Cultura do Brasil, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Born in Salvador, Bahia, June 26, 1942, Gilberto Gil is an icon of Brazilian popular music. He is also known for his activism, serving as Culture Minister in the Lula administration, and his support of the Fluminense soccer club, rival of the giant Flamengo club. (“Fluminense,” meaning “fluvial,” is also the demonym for people from Rio de Janeiro state.) “Aquele Abraço” (“That Hug”), one of his most popular songs, is a tribute to Rio (some critics have noted that the hug might refer to the open arms of the Christ the Redeemer statue above the city) and also a critique of the Brazilian dictatorship. It was released in 1969 as a single and on his third studio album, which was self titled, but also known as “Cérebro Eletrônico” (“Electric Brain”).
“That Hug”
Rio de Janeiro is still beautiful
Rio de Janeiro is still
The River of January,¹ February, and March
Hello, hello, Realengo²
That hug
Hello fans of Flamengo
That hug
Chacrinha³ continues
Shaking his belly
And honking at the girl
Leading the crowd
And still gives
The orders in the yard
Hello, hello, Chacrinha
Old warrior
Hello, hello, Terezinha⁴
Rio de Janeiro
Hello, hello, Chacrinha
Old clown
Hello, hello, Terezinha
That hug
Hello, girl from the favela
That hug
Everyone from Portela
That hug
The whole month of February⁵
That dance step
Hello Ipanema Band
That hug
My path through the world
I clear myself
Because Bahia already gave me
A ruler and a compass
The one who knows about me is me
That hug
To those who have forgotten me
That hug
Hello Rio de Janeiro
That hug
All the Brazilian people
That hug
¹ “Rio de Janeiro” translates literally as “River of January”
² According to an article on the Fluminense fan blog “Panorama Tricolor”: “The mention of the Realengo neighborhood is a clear and explicit provocation to the military of the dictatorship period, bearing in mind that Gilberto Gil was imprisoned in that same neighborhood’s Military School, today the 9th Motorized Infantry Brigade Command, headquartered in the Praça do Canhão (“Cannon Park”), and right afterwards exiled from Brazil.”
³ According to the Itaú Cultural online encyclopedia: Chacrinha “always accommodated Bahian composers very well on his TV program. Coming out of the golden times of radio, Chacrinha was a reference point for the tropicalistas, with his gaudy figure that contradicted the well-behaved esthetic that was predominant on Brazilian TV.”
⁴ “Alô Alô Terezinha” was a nonsense expression Chacrinha used a lot. It’s also the name of a 2009 documentary film about him. “Chacrinha, o Velho Guerreiro” (“Chacrinha, the Old Warrior”) was a biopic about him released in 2018.
⁵ The month of Carnaval.