Beauty and conviction from one of Brazil’s most important artists
During a 2014 tour, Joan Baez performed five shows in Brazil. At the March 23rd date in São Paulo, she sang “Pra não dizer que não falei das flores” to an appreciative crowd. The song, also known as “Caminhando,” took on the presence of an anthem with the audience, who loudly sang along, at times overpowering Baez’s voice. Standing next to her on stage that night was songwriter Geraldo Vandré—hat in hand and arms at his sides, in blue jeans and an oversized green jacket, microphone in front of him, but choosing not to sing a word. When “Caminhando” concluded, Vandré took a bow with Baez to electrified applause. It had been forty-five years since Geraldo Vandré had first performed the song that had caused great adversity in his life.
Brazil didn’t take part in the Vietnam conflict, so their citizens didn’t share in the same antiwar protests that were part of Baez’s message in the 1960s. Instead, the Brazilian people suffered through a harsh military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985, that ignited their own internal opposition. The new government suppressed freedom of expression, which impacted musicians, songwriters, filmmakers, journalists and anyone thought to be voicing a disregard for the regime’s authority. Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque and Geraldo Vandré are four singer-songwriters who experienced hardship by the regime. Veloso and Gil were jailed and then forced to leave Brazil to live in exile in England until 1972. Chico Buarque fled to Italy, returning in late 1970 to face years of censorship. Veloso, Gil and Buarque became superstars, but Vandré, who lived in exile from 1969 to 1973, did not go back to a life of making records and performing when he returned to Brazil. His path seemed more like that of a recluse.
Born in Paraíba in Northeast Brazil in 1935, Geraldo Vandré originally planned to practice law. While he attended school, Vandré also performed music, both on radio and at a festival in 1954, using the name Carlos José. After finishing law school, he opted for music as his profession. In the early sixties, with bossa nova in fashion, Vandré pursued a more established style, rooted in northern regional music. His strong conviction for Brazilian music to maintain a traditional sound conflicted with Tropicália, a rock-influenced movement introduced by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Their 1968 album, Tropicália: ou Panis et Circencis, featured an all-star cast and the group’s use of electric instruments created fear in the regime, who thought it might cause Brazilian youth to rebel against the government. But Geraldo Vandré would find himself in the company of Tropicália members when his songs were viewed as a threat to the regime. “It can be argued,” explained Marco Foglia in Rebel Songs Banned, “that Vandré tried not only to criticise the dictatorship, but also attempted to change people’s minds, especially young peoples’, to encourage them to protest against the regime.”
In 1966, Vandré’s song “Porta Estandarte” was the winning entry at the National Festival of Brazilian Popular Music. Over the next few years, Vandré’s entries in music festivals would evoke controversy and make him a target of the regime. At another festival that year, his song “Disparada” tied with Chico Buarque’s “A Banda” for first place. Both songs had political messages which resonated with the festival audience. Two years later, in 1968, the two artists would square off again at another music festival, once again competing with political songs. Buarque, at that time in Italy, won first place with the nostalgic “Sabiá,” defeating Vandré’s “Pra não dizer que não falei das flores” (“Caminhando”), which came in second. Some thought “Caminhando” had earned more votes but had lost because it was perceived as a protest song with anti-military lyrics. Entries were not performed by the songwriter, but to calm the festival crowd booing the results, Vandré took out a guitar and sang “Caminhando,” only to be passionately joined by the audience (as the crowd would years later with Joan Baez). With an active anti-dictatorship student movement growing in Brazil in 1968, the regime censored the song.
“Caminhando” became a bestselling record, even though the government banned it from being sold in record stores. In December 1968, Brazil passed Institutional Act No. 5 (A1-5), giving the regime larger power to squash any threats of resistance. Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were arrested, and, after two months in prison and four months under house arrest, they left Brazil for England. It was rumored that on the day of their arrest, the government had also planned to pick up Vandré, but could not locate him. Vandré departed Brazil on his own in February 1969, living in Chile and France until 1973. Veloso, Gil, Buarque and Vandré all recorded albums in exile, the former three singing in the language of their exile country. Vandré recorded his last album, Das Terras de Benvirá, in France in 1970, still choosing to sing his new songs in his native Portuguese.
Living in exile became challenging for Vandré, and he was hospitalized in 1972 after suffering a breakdown. His return to Brazil the following year came with mixed reports of an arrest at the airport or of Vandré staying peacefully with friends. When he resurfaced, it was not to play music, except for a few television appearances. There were two live performances in 1982 and 2018 and talk of recordings made, but new albums have not surfaced. Today, “Caminhando” is frequently performed by Brazilian artists and YouTube is filled with cover versions by musicians of all ages. One video features school children with guitars strumming the song in unison on a grassy hilltop overlooking a sweeping valley. The effort of the artist who had suffered so much for his beliefs was not in vain.
The album, available digitally, that carries the name of the famous song is a reissue from 1979. Prá Não Dizer Que Não Falei das Flores includes two versions of “Caminhando,” the live broadcast from the 1968 festival and a studio cut. Sandwiched between these tracks is the complete 1966 album, 5 Anos de Canção. Of the five albums Vandré released, 5 Anos de Canção is the one I enjoy the most. The music is pretty, and the guitar is lovely, with vocals that are soft and relaxed. But, the album’s cover photo tells a different story. 5 Anos de Canção shows a tight close-up of the singer’s face with both a look of sadness and anger in his expression. It had only been two years since the regime had taken power and the impact was apparent. Still, if these are songs of resistance, it’s hidden in this beautiful music. Almost a decade later, Milton Nascimento, who also experienced censorship, used a similar close-up shot of his face for the cover of his 1975 album, Minas. After nine years of dictatorship, the look of exhaustion in his eyes from fighting for artistic freedom is hard to miss. On Vandré’s album, you see the rage.