Maria Bethânia: Música y perfume [DVD]

MARIA BETHÂNIA. MUSIC AND PERFUME immerses us in the universe of Brazilian music guided by the hand of MARIA BETHÂNIA, one of the greatest singers in Brazil.


An icon of the counterculture before becoming the queen of romantic ballads, MARIA BETHÂNIA, by allowing us to penetrate the intimacy of her work, offers us the dreamed opportunity to understand the history of her country's music from within.


Taking as a starting point the launch and live presentation of two new albums by MARIA BETHÂNIA, one of them a tribute to the romantic lyrics of VINICIUS DE MORAES (notable poet and writer, co-author with ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM of the famous Garota de Ipanema and an old friend of MARIA BETHÂNIA) and the other Brasileirinho, a journey into the heart of the history of Brazilian music, the film takes us through the sources of inspiration of a movement that is the result of jazz and classical European music and then led him to bossa nova and later to the style that came to be called tropicalism.


The film offers a look inside the intimate atmosphere of MARIA BETHÂNIA's work, surrounded by her musicians, artistic advisors and friends, representing a wonderful opportunity to understand the essence of Brazilian music history. MARIA BETHÂNIA describes her musical spirit in parallel with the development of Brazilian society and music.


The documentary shows, in detail, the different moments in the recording process of an album including discussions about the lyrics, choice of fragments, rehearsals with the musicians, as well as the recording studio's fascination with the complexity in the structure of the song. Brazilian music. And, welcoming us to her homes in Rio de Janeiro and San Salvador de Bahía, MARIA BETHÂNIA comments on her musical tastes, her way of working and the preparation of recording sessions in studios and concerts.


The conversations that we can see in the film happen with the people closest to MARIA BETHÂNIA such as CAETANO VELOSO, her brother and another of the undisputed geniuses of Brazilian and world music, or the international stars GILBERTO GIL, CHICO BUARQUE, who wrote many songs for her, NANA CAYMMI and MIUCHA. The early life of Maria and Caetano, as well as their first artistic works, is remembered thanks to an inn in Santo Amaro da Purificaçao, a town in the Bahia region in which they spent much of their childhood. With each encounter, we are able to leave the present, including the music as it is recorded and sung today, and return to history and its roots to better understand this music developed from baroque to tropical traditions.