maria bethania

Sweet Barbarians and Tropicalismo

If you're interested in Brazil and its music -- and Bahia in particular -- one of our favorite films is Outros (Doces) Bárbaros (2002) directed by Andrucha Waddington. The film documents a reunion between the four incredible artists who performed on the formative album, Doces Bárbaros (released in 1976), including: Gilberto GilMaria BethâniaGal Costa and Caetano Veloso

docesbarbaros

These artists were at the center of Brazil's counter-culture movement of the 1960s and remain highly influential to this day in Brazil. The entire film is available on YouTube (linked below), however it unfortunately doesn't have English subtitles.

A related film, called Os Doces Bárbaros, was released in 1976. This full film is also available on YouTube, but again without English subtitles.