Curiosities

A veritable happening, with a pinch of anarchy that left even the TV Tupi technicians perplexed. This was “Divine, Marvelous”, the weekly TV show led by Gil and Caetano, created from a long-held dream of the Tropicalists by promoter Guilherme Araújo.

Directed by Fernando Faro, produced by Antônio Abujamra and filmed by Cassiano Gabus Mendes, the first program was broadcast on October 28, at 9 pm., and left a lot of people shocked by the audacity of the pair and their guests.

On this opening show were the Mutantes, with whom they sang “Baby”. The group then swapped their guitars for drums improvised from crumpled tin cans, and accompanied Gil in “A Luta contra a Lata ou a Falência do Café” – “The Fight against the Can or the Bankruptcy of Coffee”, with the participation of Gal Costa. The program also featured disconcerting performances from Caetano who threw himself to the floor and performed a headstand. Not to be left out, Gil laughed, danced and whirled about the stage.

It is no surprise that this televised party ended up causing cries of outrage from more conservative sections of society. Upstanding fathers wrote angry letters to the program directors and provincial politicians expressed their repugnance at what they called “aggressive behavior”.

“Divine, Marvelous”, bearing the same title as the until-then unreleased song by Gil and Caetano, was broadcast every Monday, live, with a studio audience and a variable set. Among other guests appearing on subsequent shows were Tom Zé, Torquato Neto, Nara Leão, Juca Chaves and Paulinho da Viola.