Gilberto Gil is to Brazil what Mulatu Astatke is to Ethiopia. A singer, instrumentalist and composer, Gil is Brazil’s ambassador of culture and he’s played this role both as a musician and as an activist. He served as Brazil’s minister of culture in the administration of then-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from 2003 to 2008, amongst his other political involvements.
He’s been criticised for merging Brazilian music with other world influences such as rock, reggae, African, Asian and Indian sounds, but he sees it as a way to connect to different cultures, especially those relating to black culture, and as his contribution to the modernisation of Brazilian music. On the other hand, he is hailed for being vocal against injustices in his music.
He’s in South Africa this week for a musical project that explores the cultures of the southern people, called Connecting South.
This is a documentary depicting Gil as he travels from the suburbs of Bahia, Brazil, to the Aborigines of Australia and the townships of Gauteng, looking for artists and personalities who work as protectors of their people’s culture.
The crew behind the documentary is the same team who did a feature on Senegalese world musician Youssou N’ Dour, connecting the Senegalese culture and music to the black culture of the north Americans. Their focus on Gil is a continuation of their cultural odyssey and they share the same vision with Gil.
“The aim is to get a general understanding of the differences in the northern and southern hemispheres. History has shown the north as the colonisers and the south as the victims of that. The original people of the south have been exposed to exploitation and a lack of proper opportunities and this has led to the social and economic divide.
“Music has been one of the elements for their survival and the sustenance of the people’s culture. It’s been one of the ways people have been able to expose to themselves and the outside world what was happening to them,” Gil explains.
The film also aims to answer the questions: can music be a means of resistance more efficient than politics? and what is the role of culture in the whirlwind of globalisation? Gil has already proved the power of his music, which as part of his activism, is what got him to government.
The South African leg of the documentary will result in two concerts taking place this week at the Market Theatre, with Gil featuring great local artists such as Xhosa traditionalist, Madosini; jazz and classical pianist Paul Hanmer and “The Voice”, Vusi Mahlasela; joined by the Wits choir; the Miagi (Music Is a Great Investment) Youth choir and the Fatima Choral Community choir from Soweto.
Gil had a hand in picking who would be joining his performance, although he admits to not knowing a lot about many of South Africa’s musos.
“Part of my portfolio as the minister of culture was to forge cultural relations with other continents and countries. We have been able to easily connect with Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa like Angola and Mozambique. It’s taken longer with South African due to the language barriers, but Connecting South is another way to do it,” he says.
This is Gil’s second visit here, but the first time he’s going perform. He went to Pretoria five years ago as the Brazilian minister of culture.
His legacy in that position includes developing cultural programmes aimed at the poor sectors of society, like setting up grants to provide music technology and education to poor areas of the cities.
“The people then got more protagonistic of their own art and they became self-sufficient,” Gil says. But would he advise a South African artist to become a minister of arts and culture?
He laughs and says: “Most people in Europe appreciated that I was the minister of culture because I’m a music-ian and can prove that I’m a cultural man.
“But this comes with its situation, each country and moment. It’s up to the pres-ident and the person. And the candidate has to have a profound understanding of the cultural elements of South Africa and must have extensive experience in travel-ling and encountering different cultures. I think a person like Vusi Mahlasela is best suited for the job.”
With the World Cup going to Brazil in 2014, Gil is preparing to catch every game, but is open to any official work that is offered to him. Already his music is the soundtrack to adverts for the World Cup and the Olympic Games to be held in Brazil in 2016.
l Catch Gilberto Gil at the Market Theatre in Connecting South tonight and tomorrow at 8pm. Tickets are R160 through Computicket.