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Date of birth: June 26, 1942 in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
Musical style: samba and bossa nova
Gilberto Gil’s own style blends bossa nova, samba and English pop. In his 27 years as a performer, this renowned musician has explored every facet of Brazilian music, and, with others, has sought to give full expression to its diversity.
Personality:
Gilberto Gil can certainly be described as an artist committed to a variety of causes — today he’s Brazil’s culture minister. In the sixties he was one of the founders of the Tropicalia movement — a music and arts revolution that had widespread influence. The then military government of Brazil disapproved, and in 1969 Gil, with fellow Tropicalia activist, Caetano Veloso, were exiled to Europe, where he continued to record his music. His songs have always been about social issues: ecology, women’s rights and Black consciousness. Gilberto Gil has also presided many of Brazil’s environmentalist organisations, such as the Ondazul NGO, and has fought to preserve Salvador de Bahia’s cultural and architectural heritage. He was the city’s cultural secretary from 1987 to 1988.
In 2003, Gilberto Gil was appointed Minister of Culture. He is an activist in the Green Party and supported the electoral campaign of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party.
Commitments:
Gilberto Gil has been named a UNESCO artist for peace. He gave a UNESCO concert in 2004 to mark the close of the international year for the commemoration of the struggle against slavery and its abolition.
The UNESCO artists for peace are internationally renowned personalities who use their influence, charisma and prestige to help promote UNESCO’s messages and programmes. Through their careers and humanitarian commitment, they have made an important contribution towards the objectives and aims in UNESCO's four fields of competence, which are education, culture, science and communication/information.
In 2004, he performed at a concert for peace at Geneva’s Victoria Hall, in memory of Sergio Vieira de Mello and the other victims of the attack against the United Nations office in Baghdad on August 19, 2003.
On October 8, 2005, Gilberto Gil will perform in the United against Malaria concert, Youssou N'Dour & Friends, at the Arena, Geneva.
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