Francisco Buarque de Hollanda relied on clever
wordplay that escaped censors' scrutiny, but was
clearly understood by his fans

Ernest Barteldes

Chico Buarque, Meus Caros Amigos, originally 
released in 1976 by Polygram.
Distributed by Musicrama.  Available in most stores 

Life in Brazil in 1976 was difficult. For the previous 12 years, the country had been going through a harsh military dictatorship that had all but annihilated their opponents either by sending them off to exile (current president Fernando Henrique Cardoso was one of them) or to dungeons (to say the least) from where few escaped.

The media was heavily censored. Newspapers, magazines and the general media had to submit their articles to the official censors before they were released to the public. More than once, classic poetry was printed on the front pages of O Estado de S. Paulo (Brazil's equivalent to The New York Times) as replacements to articles that had been forcefully pulled in the last minute.

It was in that political climate that Chico Buarque, then already a legend of Brazil's music, released Meus Caros Amigos, which is considered by many one of the best works of his career. Buarque was known for his criticism towards the military government. However, being aware that he could not simply voice his opposition in his lyrics—some of his songs had been banned by the government—he relied on clever wordplay that escaped censors' scrutiny, but was clearly understood by his fans. Caetano Veloso and other composers did the same.

One example of his clever wordplay is "Você Vai Me Seguir" (You Will Follow Me), in which Buarque hid the message in a song seemingly about a woman:
 

Você Vai Me Seguir Chico Buarque/Rui Guerra Você vai me seguir Aonde quer que eu vá Você vai me servir, Você vai se curvar Você vai resistir Mas vai se acostumar Você vai me agredir Você vai me adorar Você vai me sorrir Você vai se enfeitar E vem me seduzir Me possuir, me infernizar Você vai me trair Você vem me beijar Você vai me cegar E eu vou consentir Enfim me apunhalar Você vai me velar Chorar, vai me cobrir E me ninar

You Will Follow Me translated by Ernest Barteldes You will follow me Everywhere I go You will serve me You will curve yourself You will resist But will get used to it You will hurt me You will adore me You will smile at me You will make yourself attractive You will seduce me You will possess me, harass me You will betray me You come to kiss me You will blind me And I will consent You're going to stab me You will be at my wake You will cry and cover me And sing me to sleep

The best political statement, however, is on "Meu Caro Amigo" (My Dear Friend), in which Chico (with partner Francis Hime, who also plays piano in several tracks of the album), sends a friendly letter to a friend—obviously someone living in exile at the time. An excerpt follows:
 

Meu caro amigo me perdoe, por favor Se eu não lhe faço uma visita Mas como agora apareceu um portador Mando notícias nessa fita Aqui na terra 'tão jogando futebol Tem muito samba, muito choro e rock'n' roll Uns dias chove, noutros dias bate sol Mas o que eu quero é lhe dizer que a coisa aqui tá preta Muita mutreta pra levar a situação Que a gente vai levando de teimoso e de pirraça E a gente vai tomando, que também, sem a cachaça Ninguém segura esse rojão

My dear friend forgive me please If I can't pay you a visit But since I found someone to take a message I send you news on this tape Back at home they are playing soccer There's much samba, choro* and rock and roll It's sunny some days, others there's rain But I have to tell you that things aren't too good A lot of ways to carry on with the situation And we go on by being stubborn and out of spite And we go on drinking, for without cachaça** No one can take it

"Meus Caros Amigos," is however, not only about politics, but also great music and lyrics.

One of my favorite tracks is "Mulheres de Atenas" (Women from Athens) in which the author talks about the conformist lives of the women who lived in the Old Age—maybe an unclear statement for Brazilian women. The melody is also beautiful, especially with maestro Luis Claudio Ramos' string arrangement during the bridge—something that comes completely unexpected to the listener.

Another great moment is the opening track, "O Que Será" (What Is It), which features a duet with another Brazilian legend, Milton Nascimento, who co-wrote several songs with Buarque, but not this one. The song was on the soundtrack of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, which was released to mixed reviews in the U.S. in the late seventies, after becoming the biggest-grossing film in Brazilian box office history (it lost its place to Titanic in 1997). The American movie-going public, however, didn't get the humor in the story

Chico wrote several songs from a woman's point of view, which would later be recorded by divas such as Gal Costa and Maria Bethânia. In this album, "Olhos nos Olhos" (Eyes to Eyes) tells the story of a woman who, after being dumped, swears that when her lover maybe sees her again, she will be back on her feet, and wonders if he will stand seeing her happy without him.

Meus Caros Amigos has definitely stood the test of time after 26 years, and if you must only have one of Chico Buarque's albums, this is the one to have, although my wife prefers 1974's Sinal Fechado. Although the political messages might seem a bit outdated—there hasn't been anyone in political exile from the country since 1979—the album sounds just as new, since Chico's sambas are timeless, as are his other melodies.

* a variation to samba

** Brazil's national drink

For more on Chico Buarque or his works, please log on to http://www.chicobuarque.com.br or http://www.musicrama.com

Ernest Barteldes is an ESL and Portuguese teacher. In addition to that, he is a freelance writer who has regularly been contributing The Greenwich Village Gazette since September 1999. His work has also been published by Brazzil, The Staten Island Advance, The Staten Island Register, The SI Muse, The Villager, GLSSite and other publications. He lives in Staten Island, NY. He can be reached at ebarteldes@nycny.net  

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