Work · 1967 · São Paulo [-23.55, -46.63]
Alegria, Alegria
Caetano Veloso's 'Alegria, Alegria', performed with an electric backing band at the 1967 TV Record festival in São Paulo, scandalized purists by importing rock instrumentation into a Brazilian song contest. Its rush of fragmented urban images broke with the protest-song earnestness then expected of the festivals. The performance is widely cited as one of Tropicália's igniting moments.
Evidence1
- MusicBrainz: Alegria, alegria (work)MusicBrainz
musicbrainz.org/work/c39dfbda-638f-3e1a-991b-86f2e4670843
accessed 2026-06-04
Connections1
reacted against by → João Gilberto
'Alegria, Alegria' set an electric guitar against the acoustic purity that João Gilberto had made sacred to a generation, scandalizing the festival audience that revered him. The performance was a knowing affront to bossa nova's cool, even as it carried bossa's harmonic literacy inside the rock. It is rebellion sung in the parent's own language.