"Boat movements": Engaged art, tropicalism and counterculture by José Carlos Capinan

Abstract

Poet and author of emblematic lyrics of our popular song, José Carlos Capinan was an important figure for the “protest song” of the 1960s and for it’s counterpoint, Tropicalismo, in addition to signing countercultural songs from the early 1970s. The role of our artist on those fronts – a role that, however, is much more plural and goes beyond that period – is the theme of this interview held in January 2016 in Salvador. Conflicts, individual and generational impasses, as well as transformations of Brazilian society in times of dictatorship, are approached from the perspective of Capinan. It is expected, with the publication of this material, to contribute with the research on Brazilian popular music in the mid-twentieth century.