The character arc of Gilberto Gil

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born 26 June 1942 in Salvador, Bahia, raised in the small town of Ituacu. Between then and now sit an accordion at ten, a business degree, tropicalia in 1968, arrest in February 1969, three years of exile in London, a return in 1972, Grammy Awards in 1999 and 2005, and five years as Brazil's Minister of Culture from 2003. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Gilberto Gil?

They put him in a cell, and he came back as the minister.

He grew up in Ituacu, a small town in the north east, the son of a physician and a primary school teacher. He was at music school from ten, playing the accordion, and it was hearing Luiz Gonzaga that settled what he would do. He took a business administration degree at the Federal University of Bahia, where he met Caetano Veloso in 1963, and the two of them became the centre of tropicalia, which put Brazilian traditional music together with international rock and refused to apologise for either half.

In February 1969, after a performance the year before, he and Veloso were arrested without charges. Three months in prison, four more under house arrest, and then exile. He went to London and stayed until 1972, hearing reggae and rock and jazz at close range and folding all of it into what he already had.

He came home in 1972 and made Expresso 2222, then Refavela, then decades more. He won Grammy Awards for Quanta Live in 1999 and Eletracustico in 2005, and took the Polar Music Prize in 2005, the first Latin American to receive it. Then, from 2003 to 2008, he was Brazil's Minister of Culture, working on access to culture and on digital rights. His line is worth reading for the distance between two points on it: arrested without charge by the state in 1969, running one of its ministries by 2003.

The moments

Gilberto Gil's timeline.

The 1950s

~1952

Music school at ten

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The accordion first, and then Luiz Gonzaga, who settled the question of what he would be.

The 1960s

~1963

He met Caetano Veloso

Milestone, and it changed everything. Two students at the same university, and between them a movement.

~1968

Tropicalia

Milestone, and it changed everything. Brazilian tradition and electric guitars in the same song, which annoyed almost everybody at first.

Feb 1969

Arrested without charges

Setback, and it changed everything. No charge was laid. Three months in prison, then four more under house arrest.

Sep 1969

Exiled to London

Setback, and it changed everything. Twenty seven years old, out of his country, in a city where nobody knew the songs.

The 1970s

~1971

London, and what he heard

Everyday. Exile is not a school, but he treated it like one.

~1972

He went home

Milestone, and it changed everything. Back in the country that had jailed him, with an album ready.

~1977

Refavela

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The African side of Bahia, played straight, years before that was an easy thing to do.

The 1990s

24 Feb 1999

A Grammy for Quanta Live

Milestone. Thirty years after the cell, an award from the other side of the world.

The 2000s

1 Dec 2002

Stay a musician, or take the ministry

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: take the ministry, taken, or stay outside government. He served from 2003 to 2008, working on access to culture and on digital rights, and won two more major prizes in the middle of it.

~2003

Minister of Culture

Milestone, and it changed everything. The musician the state had jailed in 1969 took charge of the state's culture in 2003.

May 2005

A second Grammy, and the Polar

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Two in one year, while holding down a cabinet post.

30 Jul 2008

He stepped down

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Five years in government, and then back to the work he had been doing since he was ten.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is audible: tropicalia rearranged what Brazilian music was allowed to be, and the ministry years put that argument into policy.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

His went from a cell to a cabinet seat in thirty four years. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

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Gilberto Gil: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Gilberto Gil's character arc?

A musician jailed without charges by his own government in 1969 and exiled to London, who came home in 1972, spent thirty years making records, and then served that same state as Minister of Culture from 2003.

What were the turning points in Gilberto Gil's life?

Meeting Caetano Veloso in 1963, and the tropicalia movement that came out of it. The arrest in February 1969 and the exile that followed. The return to Brazil in 1972, and the move into government as Minister of Culture in 2003.

Why was Gilberto Gil arrested?

No charges were laid. Following a performance the previous year, he and Caetano Veloso were arrested in February 1969, held three months in prison and four more under house arrest, and then exiled. He went to London and stayed until 1972.

What did Gilberto Gil do in exile?

He lived in London from 1969 until 1972, absorbing reggae, rock and jazz influences at close range. When he returned to Brazil he released Expresso 2222, and Refavela followed among the acclaimed albums of that period.

Was Gilberto Gil a government minister?

Yes. He served as Brazil's Minister of Culture from 2003 to 2008 under President Lula, working on cultural access and on digital rights. It was the same state that had held him without charges thirty four years earlier.

What awards has Gilberto Gil won?

A Grammy Award for Quanta Live in 1999 and another for Eletracustico in 2005. He also received the Polar Music Prize in 2005, the first Latin American to be given it, while he was serving in the cabinet.

What is tropicalia, the movement Gilberto Gil started?

The movement Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were at the centre of from 1968, putting Brazilian traditional music together with international rock. Gil had come to it from music school at ten, an accordion, and the forro of Luiz Gonzaga.

Where does this timeline of Gilberto Gil's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Gilberto Gil isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Gilberto Gil, English Wikipedia biography.
Recording Academy Grammy Award records, 1999 and 2005.
Polar Music Prize, 2005 laureate record.