LONDON : Gilberto Gil, the beloved elder statesman of Brazilian music, bid a final farewell to London on Wednesday night, playing songs from throughout his career and reminiscing about the three years he spent in exile in the city while his homeland was under military dictatorship.
Taking the stage, he launched into fan favourite"Expresso 2222". The thousands of Brazilians packing the venerable venue danced and sang along as he played his rock-influenced sambas. The two had helped found the Tropicalia cultural movement, mixing samba and bossa nova with African styles and U.S. and British rock. The military junta deemed them subversive and arrested them, detaining them for nine months before forcing them to choose exile or jail.
"I used to eat Jamaican food at the Mangrove," Gil told the audience, referring to a famed cafe in Notting Hill Gate.