Other words: Six times Caetano

Irreverent and provocative like its subject, Outras palavras reconstructs the life and work of one of the greatest Brazilian artists of all time.

Caetano Veloso is one of the greatest symbols of Brazilian popular music and culture. Multifaceted, transgressive, and committed, he amassed a legion of fans over decades of his career, avidly following his prolific and spectacular output, leading movements, and never shying away from political positions.

The youth in Santo Amaro, carried away by the films of Federico Fellini, the short stories of Clarice Lispector, and the LP Chega de Saudade ( Enough of Longing) by João Gilberto; the false antagonism with Chico Buarque, a musical rivalry fabricated by the press, and the clashes with activists; the new musical poetics of Tropicália; the avant-garde aesthetic and its experiments; the involvements and disappointments with political projects; and the many romantic entanglements that inspired—openly or not—some of the most beautiful compositions in Brazilian music: in Outras palavras (Other Words) , journalist Tom Cardoso invokes Caetano's spirit of leadership in our music, his intellectual independence, and his impressive ability to remain prominent for decades on end.

In six thematic chapters—the man from Santo Amaro, the controversialist, the leader, the avant-garde, the lover, and the politician—the author brings together testimonies, interviews, and extensive bibliographical research to present the reader with a multiple portrait of a chameleon of Brazilian popular culture.

On the back cover of this book, Rodrigo Faour (researcher and author of History of Brazilian Popular Music Without Prejudices ) defines the artist as follows: “A Narcissus advocating for the devil, amidst right-wing and left-wing extremism, of squares and slackers, with his way of 'being and existing' on stage and in life, breaking conventions and prudishness on various levels, including the cruelest of all: standardized speech.”