Sambista who will be the attraction of the Mime Festival regrets the departure of Rita Lee, says that even the samba has its offenders and reveals one of the most important albums of his life: ‘The Prophet’, by Thelonious Monk
It was the sad afternoon of Wednesday the 10th, after Rita Lee’s funeralWhen Paulinus of Viola he answered the phone from his home in Rio de Janeiro. The call was and was for an interview about her coming to Sao Paulo next Sunday, Mother’s Day, when she will perform as the main attraction at the closing Mimo festival. A show that will be generous, free, in the pleasant Parque Villa Lobos, and that will count on the participation of her talented daughter, Beatrice Rabello. But Rita, the “queen of rock”, was present from the beginning of the conversation with the “prince of samba”. “I was watching the footage on TV, so sad we lost someone like her.”
Territorial borders should not be respected when talking about certain names, suggests Paulinho. And even samba and rock, two genres that have always been monarchized, face little danger when they elect their kings and swear by their queens. Rita would be the queen of rock for who? “Look, apparently we grew up in different universes, she in rock and I in samba, but this doesn’t seem true to me. In 1992, in the same Ibirapuera park, where it was veiled, we played a great show, with Caetano, Jorge Ben, João Gilberto and you, Rita. It was very interesting, nothing seemed to separate these people.” Paulinho’s speech becomes unbearable because it is also irresistible. “She was the transgressive they say, but in the best sense of the word. And I love that record by Tutti Frutti”.
The conversation about Rita has to end somehow before we can talk about the show. But, wait a second: did you say Tutti Frutti? “Yeah, I love that record.” The album is Fruto Proibido, from the post-Mutantes phase, which includes Esse Tal de Roque Enrow, Agora só Fácil Você and Ovelha Negra. “So you like the most rock and roll Rita of all?” “Yes” she says “Or rather, I like that too”.
Is being transgressive a charm granted to rockers but condemned in the world of samba, which carries tons of past on its shoulders? “No,” says the sambist. “Samba was and can be transgressive too. João da Baiana, Donga, Garoto, Radamés, Laércio de Freitas, Esmeraldino Salles, Valdir Azevedo, Canhoto da Paraíba, Pixinguinha, Lupércio Miranda, all these people were transgressors in the language of the choro.” And Paulinho da Viola?
Invited to reflect on his own transgressions, and could cite, for example, the daring construction of harmony in Sinal Fechado, from 1969, Paulinho grasps the past’s emergency exit: “Look, I’m a man of the 19th century, I don’t I know what I’m doing here, I’m not good with cell phones, I don’t understand these royalties, which no longer pay like they used to, I don’t know how to deal with this matter of releasing one song at a time on Spotify”. And smile.
Rita’s name is no longer there, but her spirit does not move, and it is he who raises the next other question: “Many defend the genetic legitimacy of those who represent certain musical genres. In other words: if you are Brazilian, don’t you dare sing rock. If you’re an American, don’t you dare play the choir. Where are you at?” “I would never make a fuss about it. One time, in 1986, I went to Japan with only tambourine player Celsinho Silva. The other players would be all Japanese. And they were amazing performances.”
A new portal in his memories takes us to Recife, at the end of the 60s, when Paulinho went to make his first presentation in the city. “There was a Swiss in the same inn where they put me, very modest, in the Cordeiro neighborhood” (impressive how he remembers everything). “He loved listening to jazz on a record player and that’s how I discovered one of the most extraordinary albums of my life. The Prophet, by pianist Thelonious Monk. You can’t imagine how much he moved me.”
Turning 80 gives Paulinho the right to do what he wants, how he wants, when he wants. New album? “I have some compositions, but I don’t yet know the best way to release them. I don’t know how to approach this whole thing of releasing one song at a time.” Wood processing? (What he has at home and where he spends most of his time setting things up)? “He’s been somewhat disabled by the pandemic.” So, retirement? “Now that I can’t stop anyway” (laughs). “I don’t think I’ll stop doing shows or anything like that. I’ll keep going as long as I can. Of course there is more wear and tear to taking planes, even using the priority queue. The problem is that there are now more people in the priority queue than in the priority queue. normal.” And the mime show? “I’m taking Beatriz. It will be beautiful.”
SHOWS
FRIDAY
18:00 – ARENA B3
MANUEL DE OLIVEIRA (PORTUGAL)
21:00 – MASP – GREAT AUDITORIUM
NICO SORIN PIAZZOLLA ELECTRONIC (ARGENTINA)
13.05 SATURDAY
12:00 – ARENA B3
KIKO DINUCCI – PART. JUÇARA MARÇAL (BRAZIL)
2.30 pm – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
DJ MARINA LOPES (BRAZIL)
15:00 – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
ARNALDO ANTUNES + VITOR ARAÚJO (BRAZIL)
16:30 – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
PRINCE FATTY INVITE MONKEY JHAYAM & SHNIECE (BRAZIL/ENGLAND)
6 PM – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
LAKECIA BENJAMIN (USA)
19:00 – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
DON LETTS DJ SET (ENGLAND)
20:30 – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
JUPITER AND OKWESS (CONGO)
14.05 SUNDAY
2.30 pm – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
DJ MARINA LOPES (BRAZIL)
15:30 – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
LUCINHA TURNBULL (BRAZIL)
17:00 – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
MARIO LUCIO AND THE KRIOLS (CABO VERDE/PORTUGAL)
18:30 – VILLA-LOBOS PARK
PAULINHO DA VIOLA (BRAZIL)
WORKSHOPS
REGISTRATION FOR THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM MUST BE CARRIED OUT BY EMAIL EDUCATIVO@MIMOFESTIVAL.COM, INDICATING THE WORKSHOP OF INTEREST IN THE TITLE.
THE CLASSES ARE SUBJECT TO THE CAPACITY AND CAPACITY OF THE SPACES.
12.05 FRIDAY
2.00 pm – MASP – GREAT AUDITORIUM
PRINCE FATTY (ENGLAND)
EXPLORING THE ORIGINS OF DUB
13.05 SATURDAY
10:00 – MASP – SMALL AUDITORIUM
MANUEL DE OLIVEIRA (PORTUGAL)
IBERIAN GUITAR – TERRITORY, IDENTITY AND INNOVATION
16:30 – MASP – SMALL AUDITORIUM
NICO SORIN (ARGENTINA)
THE CHALLENGE OF ADAPTING ASTOR PIAZZOLLA’S WORK TO DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTAL SETS
14.05 SUNDAY
2 PM – MASP – SMALL AUDITORIUM
LAKECIA BENJAMIN (USA)
A PORTRAIT OF THE NEW JAZZ
FORUM OF IDEAS
MEDIATOR: LUIZ THUNDERBIRD
12.05 FRIDAY
16:00 – MASP – GREAT AUDITORIUM
MARIO LUCIUS AND JUPITER (CABO VERDE/CONGO)
MIGRANTS OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY
13.05 SATURDAY
3 PM – MASP – SMALL AUDITORIUM
LUCINHA TURNBULL (BRAZIL)
THE WOMAN IN THAT ROCK AND ROLL
14.05 SUNDAY
4.30 pm – SÃO PAULO CULTURAL CENTER – PAULO EMÍLIO ROOM
DON LETTS (ENGLAND)
THE REBEL FEAR
FILM SHOW
SÃO PAULO CULTURAL CENTER – PAULO EMÍLIO ROOM
12.05 FRIDAY
17:00 – THE DIVAS OF TAGUERABT
DIRECTOR: KARIM MOUSSAOUI
DOC | 15mins | 2020 | FREE | FRANCE
MY AFRICA
DIRECTORS: RICHARD MINIER AND ÉDOUARD SALIER
DOC | 1H21 | 2019 | FREE | FRANCE
7 PM – É D’OXUM – THE FORCE THAT LIVES IN WATER
DIRECTOR: DAYANE SENA
DOC | 26mins | 2023 | FREE | BRAZIL/BA
MANGUEBIT
JURA CAPELA DIRECTOR
DOC | 1H41 | 2022 | 12 YEARS | BRAZIL/PE
13.05 SATURDAY
3pm – NEON GHOST
DIRECTOR: LEONARDO MARTINELLI
PUSSY | 20mins | 2021 | 12 YEARS | BRAZIL/RJ
Alan
DIRECTORS: DANIEL LISBOA AND DIEGO LISBOA
DOC | 1H32 | 2022 | 16 YEARS | BRAZIL/BA
17:00 – SUNDAY MORNING
DIRECTOR: BRUNO RIBEIRO
PUSSY | 25mins | 2022 | FREE | BRAZIL/RJ
DOM SALVADOR & ABOLITION
DIRECTORS: ARTUR RATTON KUMMER AND LILKA HARA
DOC | 1H28 | 2020 | FREE | BRAZIL/USA
19 – HLETRUX: LIVING IS FRENESI
DIRECTOR: MARCIO DEBELLIAN
DOC | 35mins | 2023 | 10 YEARS | BRAZIL/RJ
WHAT NEVER LOSES ME
DIRECTOR: MARINA THOME
DOC | 1H24 | 2021 | 12 YEARS | BRAZIL SP
14.05 SUNDAY
15:00 – REBEL FEAR
DIRECTOR: WILLIAM E. BADGLEY
DOC | 1H27 | 2020 | 12 YEARS | UK
RAIN OF POETRY
Source: Terra
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.
