You may not know him, but he’s a superstar in Brazil.
He was exiled from the country, landed in London in the early seventies, and then came back to Brazil for his victory lap, further success and even a stint in the government as Minister of Culture.
Now Rio is a dangerous place. You can’t walk around willy-nilly and after dark the cars don’t even stop for red lights. Gilberto’s studio is on a hill across the street from the American School, just shy of the favela. The American School wants to move, but no one will buy the land, at least not at a reasonable price.
Gilberto now lives in an apartment building with security features after his family was accosted in his previous home.
But his studio, high in the hills…
Visiting it was like a fall day in Los Angeles. We got behind the gate, every house has a wall and gate, and walked through to a staircase that brought us down to the studio, which to label it “home” would be doing it a disservice. Gilberto was elegant and wry and went into detail about his career and… He wanted to do music, but first he got a degree to please his parents, but after being on TV his career blew up and…
You may not know him, but you’ll learn from his story. You’ll enjoy the discourse. You’ll be brought to a foreign land, which is always illuminating, but ultimately learn…
The music business is always the same.
