Brazilian Popular Music and Globalization
Globalizing Caetano Veloso
Liv Sovik
Summary: Taking as its starting point a statement made by Caetano Veloso (“I sing in Spanish to feel what it’s like to be in the Other’s skin or, as my producer says, to increase market share”), this paper explores the Brazilian identity discourse of the Tropicalista movement for which Caetano is the chief spokesman. It examines the meaning of the statement in historical and contemporary contexts, contrasts Caetano’s stance and Homi BhabhaÃs valorization of the interstices, and compares the pop artist’s position on the culture industry to that of scholars of globalization, especially Renato Ortiz’s concept of the “international-popular.
About the Author
Liv Sovik (Ph. D USP) is Professor of Communication at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, formerly at the Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador