Caetano Veloso Bio - Biography

Name Caetano Veloso
Height
Naionality Brazilian
Date of Birth August 7, 1942
Place of Birth Santo Amaro da Purificacao, Bahia, Brazil
Famous for Singing
Caetano Veloso is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s, at the beginning of the Brazilian military dictatorship. 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 November 14, 2012, Veloso was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year. Veloso's work upon his return in 1972 was often characterized by frequent merging not only of international styles but of Brazilian folkloric styles and rhythms as well. His popularity grew outside Brazil in the 1980s, especially in Israel, Greece, Portugal, France, and Africa. His records released in the United States, such as O Estrangeiro, helped gain him a larger audience. To celebrate 25 years of Tropicalismo, Veloso and Gilberto Gil released a CD called Tropicalia 2 in 1993. One song, "Haiti", attracted people's attention during the time, especially because it included powerful statements about sociopolitical issues present in Haiti and also in Brazil. Issues addressed in the song included ethnicity, poverty, homelessness, and capital corruption in the AIDS pandemic. By 2004, he was one of the most respected and prolific international pop stars, with more than 50 recordings available including songs in film soundtracks of Michelangelo Antonioni's Eros, Pedro Almodovar's Hable con ella, and Frida, for which he performed at the 75th Academy Awards but did not win. In 2002 Veloso published an account of his early years and the Tropicalismo movement, Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil.

In 2011, he again contributed two songs to the Red Hot Organization's most recent compilation album, "Red Hot + Rio 2." The two tracks include Terra (Prefuse 73 '3 Mellotrons In A Quiet Room' Version) and Dreamworld: Marco de Canaveses, in collaboration with David Byrne. His September 2006 album, Ce, was released by Nonesuch Records in the United States. It won two Latin Grammy Awards, one for best singer-songwriter and one for Best Portuguese Song, "Nao Me Arrependo". With a total of five Latin Grammys, Veloso has received more than any other Brazilian performer.