Culture Czar

Gilberto Gil, Refavela: Era Nova and Refavela

Well, I was going to try and stick to new Brazilian music, but occasionally I'm going to stray. If you were directed to this site, you most likely know all about Gil (Minister of Culture and all-around mackdaddy of Brazilian music). However, this track, Era Nova, is off of a little-heard album from the mid-70's entitled Refavela.I met the producer while working on an independent research project on Tropicalia in Bahia, which was really exciting considering this is probably my favorite album that Gil recorded in his career.

The title Era Nova is a clever wordplay on the phrase "it was new" which is sometimes substituted with "nova era" during the song, meaning "new era." The album was recorded after Gil and others made a trip to Nigeria. You can hear the heavy afro-pop influence on the style of the album, which is really solid all-around.

Refavela comes from an architectural movement of the time, very much influenced by the make-shift constructions in Brazilian favelas, or shantytowns (bringing to mind the whole Derelict thing from the movie Zoolander, except without the comedy). It was meant as an ironic statement concerning the appropriation (and really exploitation) of the favelas without any returning of the favor.The album was slammed by the press when released in 1974, as being "over-political." The song "Que bloco e esse?" (recorded under the title Ile Aiye on the album) was dedicated to the afro-bloc Ile Aiye, a really phenomenal organization from Bahia that combats racism through its songs and dance. More about them later... for now, enjoy these two cuts.