In the 5 years since Belchior’s death, understand why young people rediscovered the musician

This Saturday, April 30th, marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Antonio Carlos Belchiora singer from Ceará involved in several controversies about his disappearance and known for writing songs of a social nature, which questioned the 1970s.

In recent years, his music has been rediscovered by a new generation of fans, especially after performing by artists such as Los Hermanos and emicidathe return of Vinyl and the current political-economic context.

That’s what experts heard by the CNN.

The teacher Ivan Vilela, from the University of São Paulo (USP), believes that all the songs on the album “Alucinação”, released in 1976, stand out because, at the time, he was a young man from the Northeast who did not accept prejudice and had difficulties in accepting “the oppressive reality of an elite that historically oppresses the subaltern classes”. Vilela says that Belchior proposed changes to the world.

“So much so that, in his song ‘Apenas Um Rapaz Latino-Americano’, he questions Caetano Veloso’s position that everything is wonderful in Brazil, when he says: ‘But I bring a song from the radio in my head; in which an old Bahian composer told me; everything is divine everything is wonderful’”.

Belchior, who died on April 30, 2017, at the age of 70, left an extensive musical trajectory, with eighteen albums released. Check below, a list of reasons that try to analyze why Belchior has not disappeared from the imagination and ears of young people.

society demand

for the teacher Paulo Niccolifrom Fundação Escola de Sociologia e Política de São Paulo (FESPSP), the singer is a great representative of Brazilian popular culture and has songs that seek to embrace society’s demands that, consequently, reverberate to political engagement.

“Belchior reappears at a time when we are going through many ills, which have intensified in the pandemic”, he says. He cites as an example the high unemployment rate, in addition to cases of racism and homophobia.

“Popular culture [assim como as músicas do cantor cearense] has a memory and a critical census of not accepting reality”, says the professor, who says that Belchior is used as “a tool by social movements to raise political ambitions”.

In the same vein, professor Ivan Vilela declares that the singer’s songs continue to show current themes. “Even though it’s from the 1970s, time has passed and we’ve only incorporated technology: the mindset is the same. So it will always be interesting. He (Belchior) speaks of things that are necessary”.

“Popular music has this chronicler characteristic of narrating reality.”

Music style

Viela believes that there is a difference with current songs because Belchior has a very particular style of writing and expressing himself. Alexandre Matiasjournalist for the website “Trabalho e Sujo” and music curator, agrees and also highlights that the singer’s main characteristic is his vocal timbre: “He was inspired by Bob Dylan”, he says.

“Belchior’s music is universal and has such an appeal. Belchior is part of the golden generation of Brazilian popular music”, comments Matias.

According to Spotify, Belchior’s most listened to songs currently are:

• Lucky Guy – 21 million times heard
• Just One Latin American Boy – 20 million times
• Wild Heart – 14 million times
• Hallucination – 13 million times
• Comment on John – 7 million

Among the fans of Belchior’s melodies today there are young people like the medical student Anna Carolina Rinaldo23, who met the singer when she was introduced to the song “Divina Comédia Humana”, which “made complete sense” in her life.

generation different from Elaine Cristinaa 53-year-old labor lawyer who, since adolescence, when “she was mature enough to understand the connection that the musician makes with reality”, listens to her songs.

For her, the best song is “Alucinação”. “Even though it was written in the chaotic context of a military dictatorship, it is still relevant today,” she says.

“Belchior was a solitary poet who portrayed his everyday dilemmas and which fit perfectly into ours. He is interesting precisely because of this connection and for bringing a questioning, reflective and realistic awareness of the moment”.

Elaine Cristina

already the shepherdess Livia Martins, 25 years old, usually puts the songs from Ceará in his sermons, specifically “Sujeito de Sorte”. She says that she chose the song due to its poetic impact, and likes to “put references that people can recognize, this makes the message more accessible and easy to understand”.

Livia puts the music in the middle of the preaching, “in a way that seems to flow with the rest of the sermon”. Specifically the passage: “last year I died, but this year I don’t die”.

She says people feel welcomed.

Popular culture vs mass culture

Professor Niccoli says that there is one more movement for young people to be interested in Belchior’s music: the difference between popular culture and mass culture.

According to him, the culture of the masses only serves market interests, in which the lyrics have no depth or political engagement, “turning music into a market”. And Belchior “promotes a counterculture movement”, with lyrics that debate – in a profound way – about love and social issues.

“That’s why his entire work diverges from much of what is produced today. When the beat of the sound seems to be more important than the lyrics themselves.”

new voices

Emicida played an important role in the propagation of an excerpt from the song “Sujeito de Sorte”, by including, in 2020, the stanza in the main track of his album “Amarelo”, performed by the singer Majur.

However, the journalist of the website “Trabalho e Sujo” and music curator, Alexandre Matias says that the “rapper surfed a wave”. “When Emicida uses a stretch, this wave back from Belchior is already happening”.

Matias says that in 2002, 20 years ago, a movement arose in search of vinyl records and “Alucinação” – as well as other productions by singers such as Tim Maia and Caetano Veloso – was rediscovered. “And this audience meeting with Belchior’s first album made people stop to listen to ‘Sujeito de Sorte’”.

“It was a movement to rescue works forgotten over time. So much so that, soon after, other records gained the status of masterpieces,” he says.

Before that, Matias comments that people knew mainly – and almost only – the song “Medo de Avião”.

Also in 2002, the band Los Hermanos re-recorded “À Palo Seco”. And, according to the curator, if this re-recording movement hadn’t existed, perhaps Emicida would not have included a part of Belchior in his music.

Another artist who also sings Belchior’s songs on his show is Tim Bernardes, 30, lead singer of the band Terno. In his solo performances, the musician sings “Paralela”.

about the future

Experts disagree on whether young people will continue to listen to Belchior in the coming years. While Matias says that it is not possible to know what will happen, the professors from FESPSP and USP say that as long as there are young people wanting change, there will still be fans of the singer.

“Faced with a country that suffers from economic issues, music from Ceará should perpetuate itself as a source of engagement”, says Niccoli. “Other songs still need to be re-recorded to rescue Belchior’s memory.”

In the artistic scene, the singer Fagner in May, he will release an album of unpublished songs written by him and Belchior at the time of the dictatorship and which ended up being retained by the Department of Political and Social Order, the DOPS.

The album will be released on the Universal label and features new songs and guest appearances. One of them is “Alazão”, written by Fagner, Belchior and another composer from Ceará, Fausto Nilo.

“Bolero in Portuguese” has the voice of Ivete Sangalo, who was invited by Fagner to collaborate. The singer Frejat, who lent his studio for the recordings, also participates in the album.

THE CNNFagner stated that “Belchior will be remembered for a long time, even because we live in a shortage of quality”.