Caetano Veloso

Caetano Veloso
Veloso in 2019
Born
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso

(1942-08-07) 7 August 1942 (age 82)
Occupations
  • Singer-songwriter
  • writer
  • political activist
Years active1961-present
Spouse
Andrea Gadelha
(m. 1967; div. 1983)
Paula Lavigne
(m. 1986; div. 2004)
Children4; including Moreno
MotherDona Canô
RelativesMaria Bethânia (sister)
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Labels
Websitecaetanoveloso.com.br
Signature

Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (Portuguese pronunciation: [kajˈtɐ̃nu emɐnuˈɛw viˈɐ̃nɐ ˈtɛliz veˈlozu]; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicália, which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s, at the beginning of the Brazilian military dictatorship that took power in 1964. He has remained a constant creative influence and best-selling performing artist and composer ever since. Veloso has won nine Latin Grammy Awards and two Grammy Awards. On 14 November, 2012, Veloso was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.[1]

Veloso was one of seven children born into the family of José Telles Veloso (commonly known as Seu Zeca), a government official, and Claudionor Viana Telles Veloso (known as Dona Canô).[2] He was born in the city of Santo Amaro da Purificação, in Bahia, a state in northeastern Brazil, but moved to Salvador, the state capital, as a college student in the mid-1960s. Soon after that, Veloso won a music contest and was signed to his first label. He became one of the originators of Tropicália with several like-minded musicians and artists—including his sister Maria Bethânia—in the same period. However, the Brazilian military dictatorship viewed Veloso's music and political action as threatening, and he was arrested, along with fellow musician Gilberto Gil, in 1969. The two eventually were exiled from Brazil and went to London where they lived for two years. In 1972, Veloso moved back to his home country and once again began recording and performing. He later became popular outside Brazil in the 1980s and 1990s.

  1. ^ "News". Grammy.com. 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  2. ^ Fernandes, Bob (20 March 2009). "BA: Aos 101 anos, D. Canô Velloso publica livro de memórias". Terra Magazine (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.