In 1967, she recorded Edu Lobo e Maria Bethânia. Also in 1966, Bethânia performed in the show Pois É, together with Gilberto Gil and Vinícius de Moraes, at the Teatro Opinião. She also performed at the Barroco nightclub in Rio. In April 1966, Bethânia, invited by Guilherme Araújo, opened her show Recital. On September 26, 1965, the Vila Velha gang opened the show Arena Canta Bahia, at São Paulo's Teatro de Arena. In May of that year, Bethânia recorded her first single, and some months later, her self-titled debut LP. Because of the success, Guilherme Araújo, then assistant for Aluísio de Oliveira at the RCA label, invited her, through Veloso, to record for the label. Bethânia's opening on February 13, 1965, was very successful, and her dramatic performance of "Carcará" ( João do Vale/ José Cândido) launched her as an overnight national success, repeated during the São Paulo season. In January 1965, still a school student, she was surprised by the invitation to substitute for Nara Leão (an established young singer who had had a problem with her vocal cords) in her highly successful show Opinião. That same year, Bethânia acted alone in her musical Mora na Filosofia, directed by Veloso and Gil. The success was even bigger, and the group (without Zé) soon presented another show, Nova Bossa Velha, Velha Bossa Nova. The show was a success and was re-enacted two weeks later, with the addition of Tom Zé (still using his Antônio José moniker). The show, Nós, Por Exemplo, included Veloso, Maria Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, and Gal Costa (still using the name Maria da Graça). Veloso was invited to organize a Brazilian popular music show at the opening of Salvador's Teatro Vila Velha. The same year, the Velosos became acquainted with Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa. But Guimarães loved her timbre, and included her in his 1963 staging of Nelson Rodrigues' musical Boca de Ouro, where she performed a samba a cappella to introduce the play. At 16, Bethânia initially refused, as she had never sung under such pressure.
NO MAR FILOSOFIA REGGAE MOVIE
For Guimarães's short movie Moleques de Rua, Veloso composed a soundtrack which, according to him, should have had his sister singing in it. At that time, a novice Caetano Veloso had become the musical partner of the play director Álvaro Guimarães. The access to theater plays strengthened her desire to become an actress. At 13, her family moved to Salvador and she began to frequent the "university circles," intellectual groups gathering around art exhibitions and performances.
Her father was not musically inclined, but loved to listen to Dorival Caymmi and Noel Rosa, while her mother sang almost constantly at home, becoming her daughter's first musical influence. She is the sister of singer/songwriter Caetano Veloso and poet and songwriter Mabel Veloso. Maria Bethânia Viana Teles Veloso was born in Santo Amaro da Purificação, in the state of Bahia in 1946, the sixth of eight children. In 2019 she issued Mangueira: A Menina Dos Meus Olhos, a celebration of the Rio samba school. That same year, she was the subject of Georges Gachot's biographical documentary Musica E Perfume. In 2008 collaborated with Cuban singer Omara Portuondo on Maria Bethânia & Omara Portuondo, which garnered global acclaim. In 2003 she released the smash Brasileirinho, a collection of pointedly Brazilian songs and styles, accompanied by Nana Caymmi, Tira Poeira, and Uakti. 1997's Imitação Da Vida went to the top of the MPB charts and remains one of her best-known albums. 1976's Doces Bárbaros documented an MPB supergroup of the same name that included Bethânia, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Gal Costa and become one of the best-selling albums in Brazil's history. A slate of popular outings from the 1970s including A Tua Presenca, Drama, Pássaro Da Manhã, Alibi, and Mel expanded her reputation across the globe to Europe and Asia. Possessed of a slightly reedy alto that can bend to contralto, Bethânia's background as a theatrical actress infused her recorded and live performances with drama, yet retained a deeply personal, intimate connection to both her material and her audience. After releasing her self-titled debut in 1965 for RCA, she became one of the most prominent voices to emerge from the MPB/Tropicalia eras she has mastered genres ranging from samba, bossa, and pop to jazz, indigenous folk, and even rock. Brazil's Maria Bethânia is one of her country's most famous, gifted, and enduring singers.