Things got a little weird at Lincoln Center’s free Summer for the City concert series last Thursday, July 17, as Brazilian Avant-pop pioneers Os Mutantes took the stage at Damrosch Park to deliver a set of fun, genre-bending irreverence to an enthusiastic crowd. The temperature, which at one point hit 90 degrees, didn’t stop New Yorkers from packing the outdoor venue to gather, eat from an array of food trucks, and dance to the music. The event, hosted in collaboration with Brasil Summerfest, was part of Lincoln Center’s Brazil Week, a week of programming that celebrates the country’s vast array of diverse cultural expressions.
Os Mutantes, a group who championed a unique style of music that combined Afro-Brazilian rhythms with rock and experimental pop sensibilities, are linked to Tropicália, a radical 1960s art movement that developed in response to harsh military and left-wing nationalism that developed in the face of the Brazilian dictatorship that maintained power from 1964–1985. The group participated in a form of creation that some critics have called a sort of “cultural cannibalism.” Consuming the traditional sounds of their homeland and 1960s pop, the band presented a uniquely beautiful, amorphous sonic blend previously unheard by the world. The at times absurd lyrical content and irreverent footprint of sound was viewed as a rejection of the violent nationalist powers that occupied both left and right wing factions in Brazil at the time.
Their 1968 self-titled debut album and “Tropicália ou Panis et Circencis,” a collaboration between Os Mutantes and several prominent Brazilian artists that includes Gilberto Gil, are seen as landmark works in the movement, which ultimately dissolved in the early ’70s.
Sérgio Dias, guitarist, vocalist, and only remaining original member, was joined by singer Esmeria Bulgari, Claudio Tchernev on drums, keyboardist Henrique Peters, Vinicius Junqueria on bass, and guitarist Camilo Macedo for a roughly 90-minute set that included an eclectic mix of career-spanning hits, including crowd favorite selections from their first record like “Panis et circenses” and “A Minha Menina,” which translate to “Bread and Circuses,” from Latin, and “My Girl,” from Portuguese, respectively.
Crowd members from around the world danced, clapped, and sang along, gathering at the front of the stage and seated down long aisles. “Are there any Brazilians?” Dias asked the audience, who answered with rousing applause. “I’ve lived here for 10 years, so I am a New Yorker,” he proclaimed to the crowd, smiling from ear to ear. Dias, who was seated for most of the performance, seemed to be in good spirits, often laughing and smiling as he directed his bandmates through tunes with visual cues. At 74, his chops have not faded — he can still make his way around an axe with ease and grace.
Despite the fierce, prevalent political divide across the USA in the face of scandal and injustice in the White House, a sense of unity pervaded the audience, who moved to samba and mambo rhythms, took in shiny Beach Boy-like vocal harmonies, and rocked out to noisy rock’n’roll guitar solos. The audience mirrored the set: fun and quirky, a pastiche of the culturally diverse landscape in NYC and the world. One can’t help but draw parallels between the political climate of 1960s Brazil and the U.S. today, and how art, even in irreverence, can be used to combat the ever-burgeoning divide that plagues Americans.
As the sun went down and the set wrapped up, Dias and Os Mutantes gathered at center stage for one final bow. Waving goodbye to the audience, Dias grabbed his cane and made his way off the stage. He never said anything overtly “political,” but the message was clear: Things like art and community can be used as tools to unite people, no matter who you are.
I’m sure the sound and the rythm of a Brazilian band was too much fun.🥰🌞 I’ve missed it @ Lincoln Center. 😔