Legião Urbana | media-criticism

Legião Urbana Omnia Vincit:

An analysis of “Que Pais e Esse” and its influence in Brazilian history

by Helen Borges Delfino, '14

Major: Communication, Media Production & Criticism

Rock is style that has influenced the world since its conception. Rock N’ Roll is many times used to express anger, demand change, and make voices heard.Even in countries where one would not imagine Rock even existed, such as tropical countries like Brazil, Rock has played a huge influence not only in the culture but even in politics.That is no exception for band Legiao

Urbana, with their hit album entitled “Que Pais e Esse?” which is also the title of the most famous

song of the album and one may say of the band as a whole.“Que Pais e Esse?” served as a wakeup call to Brazilians around the country to start doing something to better their situation.

It was a cry for help, a scream for justice, and a shout for Rock N’ Roll was made history, and is to this day one of the most well acclaimed albums of one of the most – if not the most successful and influential rock band in the history of Brazilian music.In this essay, the context of the bands appearance in the Rock scene and the band’s background will be analyzed.Second, the album “Que Pais e Esse?” will be discussed, giving focus to influences from other bands as well as some of the most famous songs of the album.Then, the importance of the album will be examined, giving focus to its face and voice: Renato Russo.

Context and Background

Legiao Urbana’s music was always relevant, from their very beginning in the late 70’s till their disbandment in the mid 90’s.The period in which they played was a period of change for the nation, and all citizens, mostly the youth, were filled with doubt and disappointment towards

the government.It was April 1st, 1964, when Brazilian leftist president Joao Goulart was

overthrown by the Brazilian Armed Forces, leading to a military dictatorship which you devastate the nation for the next 20 years.

As Ronald Milton Schneider (2014) explains in his contribution to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “with the fall of Goulart, power effectively passed to the leaders of the rebellion, who instituted sweeping political changes. The commanders set out to restore economic and financial order, eliminate what they perceived as communist infiltration, and purge corrupt and subversive elements; however, they also desired to retain a modified form of representative government.”From that point on, the authoritarians assumed the position of defending democracy by destroying it. The nation was afraid, oppressed, and above all: angry.

They needed a voice to scream their concerns and doubts to those who would listen.That is when bands like Legiao Urbana came along.

The necessity for strong, opinionated citizens and the high demand for creativity allowed a generation of artists, composers, performers, and scholars to flourish.Many of these great minds

were forced into exile, others were tortured, kidnapped, and eliminated.As James Green (2006) explains, “…The Brazilian regime had become associated with torture and the arbitrary rule of law.” (p. 87)

At that time, artists’ lives literally depended on their creativity, since even the slight suspicion of opposition to the military government could get you killed.It was that high demand for creativity that gave birth to some of the most successful bands in the history of Brazilian music.

One of those bands is Legiao Urbana.Renato Russo, the lead singer of Legiao Urbana, is

undoubtedly to this day, one of the highest regarded and most respected musicians in the history of Brazilian music.

Que Pais e Esse?

“Que Pais E Esse”, which translates roughly to “What kind of country is this?” was Legiao

Urbana’s third album, released by the label EMI in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.EMI was a very active label in the Brazilian music industry at the time, having recorded famous names in Brazilian

music, such as Elis Regina, among others.The record consists mostly of songs written by Renato in the early 80s.As explained by Borges (2014), in an interview, Renato once said that he was very reluctant to leave the songs out of their first album, which was released in 1982, because he thought the country’s situation would one day get better, and the angry songs which were mostly about how tired and frustrated we were with the corruption of our government, would become obsolete.Then, after the military regime was over, he realized that the conditions of the Brazilian people didn’t get a lot better (as far as health care, quality of life, education, justice, etc) and that our enemy was still the same, just wearing a different uniform.It was at that point that he realized he should release the songs.To this day, several of the songs from this album- Mostly the song “Que Pais e Esse?” are still used an expression of the frustration of the Brazilian people towards the government.

Renato Russo has never hidden the fact that he was heavily influenced by foreign bands,

mostly in the British and American rock scene.Bands like The Police, The Cure, the especially The Smiths are heavy influences in his music in general, and the heavy guitar and bass

characteristic of most The Smiths songs can be clearly heard in tracks such as “Conexao

Amazonica” – Amazonian Connection -, and the title song “Que Pais e Esse.”Other bands which

influenced Russo’s music were Led Zeppelin and singers such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

In heavier songs, such as “Tedio (Com um T Bem Grande pra Voce)” - Boredom (With a Really

Big B for You) - you can see a clear influence from the Sex Pistols.In more mellow ones, such

as “Angra dos Reis”, you can see clear influences from The Cure, which was also one of Russo’s favorite bands.

Conclusion

It is fair to say that when you think of Brazilian music, rock n’ roll is not one of the first

things to come to mind.With that being said, when albums such as “Que Pais e Esse?” are listened

to and analyzed, one can see that the Brazilian Rock scene of the 1980s may have been one of the

most fruitful and influential periods in Brazil’s history.In this essay we analyzed the context of

the bands appearance in the Rock scene and the band’s background.Second, the album “Que Pais

e Esse?” was discussed, giving focus to influences from other bands as well as some of the most

famous songs of the album.Then, the importance of the album was examined, giving focus to its

face and voice:Renato Russo.This album reflected perfectly the message of Legiao Urbana,

which was to “teach people how to rebel and manifest their frustration, without ever forgetting that

love sees no color, religion, sex or gender, and that the dignity and resilience of our people can

never be taken away from us, not even by military force.” (Borges 2014)

References

Borges, H. (2014). Cultural Artifact: Brazilian rock music and the Urban Legion. Unpublished

manuscript, George Mason University.

- See more at:

http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/656.htm#sthash.5VDP5MbV.dpuf

Green, J. Clerics, Exiles, and Academics: Opposition to the Brazilian Military Dictatorship in the United States, 1969–1974. LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY.

Nascimento, F. S. Mentiras Sinceras: Um Estudo sobre as Letras de Cazuza. Universidade

Federal da Bahia. Translated by Helen Borges for the purposes of this assignment.

Retrieved, from https://repositorio.ufba.br/ri/bitstream/ri/10972/1/dissertacao%20Fabio%20Nascimento.

Renato Russo. (2012, March 7). . Retrieved, from

http://www.e-biografias.net/renato_russo/

Schneider, R. M. (2014, June 16). MILITARY INTERVENTION AND DICTATORSHIP.

Retrieved, from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/78101/Brazil/272263/Military-intervention

and dictatorship