Lead singer of Legião Urbana has always been critical of the period in which the country was ruled by a military regime, between 1964 and 1985
Between 1964 and 1985, Brazil experienced a military dictatorship, a period in which the National Congress was dissolved and civil liberties were suppressed. Although your band – the urban Legion – broke out in the year in which the regime ended, Renato Russo experienced a good part of one of the most undemocratic moments in the country since the Proclamation of the Republic.
The vocalist, who died in 1996, spoke out against the dictatorship at various times in his career. One of them occurred in 1994, two years before his death, during an interview with MTV Brasil (transcription via Whiplash). At the time, the singer promoted the solo album The Stonewall Celebration Concert – which, according to him, brought an anti-authoritarian message.
“This solo album of mine has a different motivation. It’s to speak against fascism itself. The mainstream press is faltering and dropping the ball. I see big newspapers here in Rio de Janeiro giving full pages to bald fascists. The guys saying they like to beat up and nobody does anything. There are Nazis in every corner. In São Paulo, there are these bald assholes, who are closeted queers.”
Renato, who was openly bisexual, defined the fascists in question as “idiots with ideology”. So he felt inspired to respond on his record. And, during the interview, he reinforced that he would not like to see the return of the military dictatorship – something that was requested at the time and continues to be requested until today, even if by a small portion of the population.
“They are idiots with ideology and I thought, to keep my conscience clear, it would be nice to respond to this. This problem still exists. Here in Brazil, there are people with this talk that the military needs to return. You’re welcome! This happened less than 10 years ago. Have these people forgotten already? Have we forgotten how bad it is not to have freedom?”
Renato Russo in another speech against the dictatorship
Also in 1994, but alongside Legião Urbana, Renato Russo addressed the same theme in participation in the Free Programpresented by Serginho Groisman at the SBT. A video available on YouTube (transcribed via Whiplash) presents the moment when the singer speaks about the song “1965 (Duas Tribos)”, which refers to the beginning of the military dictatorship.
“This song ‘1965 (Duas Tribos)’ is from the album The four Seasons (1989). I’ve never seen anyone talking about this song, but basically it talks about a moment in our country that suddenly shut everything down. I always think it’s important to remember that today the situation can be difficult as hell, but we have something very precious, which is freedom. I can come here and sing. You can come here and ask whatever questions you want.”
According to Renato, until recently, “depending on the ideas your father or brother had, people could come to your house”. The artist mentions the measure authorizing police to arrest people they consider suspicious and prevent judicial review.
“They would catch this person and you would never know what happened. There is no mention of that. It’s a dangerous thing to say ‘we were happy back then’. I don’t remember being happy back then. Write an essay saying that the president is wonderful, when suddenly, a long time later, we discover that people were being killed in the name of a great thing that we don’t know what it is. I think that sucks. The song specifically talks about torture and this idea of Brazil being the country of the future.”
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
