''Alegria, Alegria'' (Joy, Joy or Happiness, Happiness) is a song written and performed by

Caetano Veloso Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso (; born 7 August 1942) is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo, which encomp ...

. Often referred to as "the Brazilian anthem of 1967", it later appeared on his influential eponymous 1968 album. At first booed at the 1967

Rede Record RecordTV (), formerly known as Rede Record, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In 2010, it was elected by the adverti ...

festival for its use of electric guitars, Caetano's interpretation and attitude eventually won the audience over. It placed fourth at the festival. Caetano has called it his "best-known song", comparing it to the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

' "

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. A product of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' songwriting partnership, it features a guitar riff by Richards that opens and drives the song. The riff ...

" in terms of its place in his oeuvre.Pareles, John (September 9, 1992)
"At lunch with Caetano Veloso"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. He partially based the song's

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

on the previous year's winner,

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...

's much more conventional "A Banda", purposely incorporating controversial

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

– provided by the Paulino band The Beat Boys – to provoke the crowd. Although "alegria" means "joy" or "happiness" in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, the theme of the song is

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

. Caetano took the title phrase from the popular TV personality

Chacrinha José Abelardo Barbosa de Medeiros (September 30, 1917 – June 30, 1988), better known as Chacrinha (), was a Brazilian comedian, radio and TV personality. His career was at its peak from 1950 to 1980. He was author of a famous Brazilian phra ...

, who had in turn borrowed it from singer

Wilson Simonal Wilson Simonal de Castro, was a Brazilian singer, born in Rio de Janeiro on February 23, 1938. He died in São Paulo on June 25, 2000. He was a singer with great success in the 1960s and in the first half of the 1970s. He was married two times a ...

. The song is, alongside

Daniela Mercury Daniela Mercury (born Daniela Mercuri de Almeida on July 28, 1965) is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, dancer, producer, actress and television host. In her solo career, Mercury has sold over 20 million records worldwide and had 24 Top 10 single ...

's " O Canto da Cidade", remembered by the population for the 1992

Fernando Collor de Mello Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Coll ...

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

. The miniseries '' Anos Rebeldes'' – the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for which was "Alegria, Alegria" – was a hit at the time, and Caetano's song was sung during public manifestations in favor of impeachment. Fittingly, Mercury later recorded the song for an album celebrating the thirty years of the

Tropicália Tropicália (), also known as Tropicalismo (), was a Brazilian artistic movement that arose in the late 1960s. It was characterized by the amalgamation of Brazilian genres—notably the union of the popular and the avant-garde, as well as the m ...

movement. The song was voted by the Brazilian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' as the 10th greatest Brazilian song.

References

Caetano Veloso songs 1967 songs Portuguese-language songs {{1960s-song-stub