Henrique George Mautner (born January 17, 1941), better known by his stage name Jorge Mautner, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, lyricist, violinist, actor, screenwriter, film director and poet, considered to be a pioneer of the MPB scene and of the '' Tropicalista'' movement.

Biography

Mautner was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

on January 17, 1941, one month after his mother, Anna Illich, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Yugoslav, and his father, Paul Mautner, an

Austrian Jew The history of the Jews in Austria probably begins with the Jewish diaspora, exodus of Jews from History of ancient Israel and Judah#Roman occupation, Judea under Roman occupation. Over the course of many centuries, the political status of the ...

, emigrated from Europe to Brazil to escape from the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Despite being a sympathizer of

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

, Paul was a part of the Jewish underground resistance. Anna eventually suffered from a major

paralysis Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

due to a trauma caused by the fact that Jorge's sister, Susana, was not able to embark to Brazil with them, and so until he was 7 years old a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

, Lúcia, took care of him; Lúcia was a ''

mãe-de-santo A ''Mãe-de-santo'' (, or ialorixá, is a priestess of Umbanda, Candomblé and Quimbanda, the Afro-Brazilian religions. In Portuguese those words translate as "mother of hesaint , which is an adaption of the Yoruba language word ''iyalorishá' ...

'', and introduced Jorge to

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...

. In 1948 Jorge's parents divorced, and Anna eventually remarried Henri Müller, a violinist who played for the São Paulo State Symphony, and who taught Jorge how to play the violin. His family later moved to

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, where he studied at the prestigious Colégio Dante Alighieri; despite being an excellent student, he would, however, be expelled before he could graduate from high school because of a text he wrote, considered "indecent" by his teachers. Mautner began to write his first book, ''Deus da Chuva e da Morte'', when he was 15 years old; it was published in 1962, and in the following year it won the

Prêmio Jabuti The Prêmio Jabuti (the "Tortoise Prize") is the most traditional literary award in Brazil, given by the Brazilian Book Chamber (CBL). It was conceived by Edgard Cavalheiro in 1959 when he presided over the CBL, with the interest of rewarding autho ...

. ''Deus da Chuva e da Morte'' would be the first part of what is today known as his ''Mitologia do Kaos'' trilogy, which also comprises ''Kaos'' (1963) and ''Narciso em Tarde Cinza'' (1965). In it, Mautner would define the main ideology of what he calls the "Kaos Movement". In 1962 he joined the

Brazilian Communist Party The Brazilian Communist Party ( pt-BR, Partido Comunista Brasileiro), originally the Communist Party of Brazil (), is a communist party in Brazil founded on 25 March 1922 which makes the disputed claim of being the oldest political party stil ...

, after being invited by

Mário Schenberg Mário Schenberg (var. ''Mário Schönberg'', ''Mario Schonberg'', ''Mário Schoenberg''; July 2, 1914 – November 10, 1990) was a Brazilian electrical engineer, physicist, art critic and writer. Early life Schenberg was born in Recife, Brazil ...

. Mautner was arrested during the

1964 Brazilian coup d'état The 1964 Brazilian coup d'état ( pt, Golpe de estado no Brasil em 1964), colloquially known in Brazil as the Coup of 64 ('), was a series of events in Brazil from March 31 to April 1 that led to the overthrow of President João Goulart by membe ...

, but was later released, under the conditions of "expressing himself more carefully". In 1966 he recorded his first musical release, the 7" single "Radioatividade", through

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. Soon after he travelled to the United States, where he worked for the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and as a translator of Brazilian books. He later met poet

Robert Lowell Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV (; March 1, 1917 – September 12, 1977) was an American poet. He was born into a Boston Brahmin family that could trace its origins back to the ''Mayflower''. His family, past and present, were important subjects i ...

, serving as his secretary, as well as

Paul Goodman Paul Goodman (1911–1972) was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism. Goodman was prolific across numerous literary genres and non-fiction topics, including the arts, civil rights, decen ...

, with whom he developed a strong friendship and suffered an everlasting influence from him. In 1968 he briefly returned to Brazil, where he worked as screenwriter on Neville d'Almeida's film ''Jardim de Guerra'', that was only released two years later. In 1970 he travelled to London, where he befriended

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Minister of Culture in the administration ...

and

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 ...

. He later returned to Brazil, settling in Rio de Janeiro once more, where he began to write for the humoristic newspaper ''

O Pasquim ''O Pasquim'' was a Brazilian weekly newspaper published in Rio de Janeiro from 1969 to the mid 1970s. It was critical of the military dictatorship and it is considered the founding periodical of Brazil's alternative press. The idea for the peri ...

''. In the same year he directed the film ''O Demiurgo'', which starred himself, Gil, Veloso, José Roberto Aguilar,

Péricles Cavalcanti Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age. Pericles or Perikles may also refer to: * ''Pericles'' (ship), a sailing ship launched in 1877 * SS ''Duncan U. Fletcher'', a Libert ...

and Leilah Assunção. The film was censored by the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

though, and never received a wide release. (In 2013 Mautner made the film available in its entirety through his official YouTube channel.) Around the same time he met

Nélson Jacobina Nélson Jacobina Rocha Pires (1953 – May 31, 2012) was a Brazilian lyricist, songwriter and guitarist, famous for his enduring partnership with fellow musician Jorge Mautner, with whom he wrote, among many other songs, the 1974 hit " Maracatu At ...

, one of his most prolific songwriting partners, with whom he wrote, among many other songs, the 1974 hit " Maracatu Atômico". On December 10, 1973, Mautner was invited to partake in the ''Banquete dos Mendigos'' "show-manifesto", idealized and directed by

Jards Macalé Jards Anet da Silva (Rio de Janeiro, March 3, 1943), known as Macalé, is a Brazilian composer, singer and actor, known for his influential role in Brazil's tropicália movement in the 1960s. Background Jards Macalé was born in Rio de Janeiro ...

. The show, that happened at the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro and was backed by the UN, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

, and also counted with the presence of

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, ...

Dominguinhos José Domingos de Morais (12 February 1941 – 23 July 2013), better known as Dominguinhos, was a Brazilian composer, accordionist and singer. His principal musical influences were the music of Luiz Gonzaga, Forró and in general the music of the ...

Edu Lobo Eduardo de Góes "Edu" Lobo (born August 29, 1943) is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and composer. In the 1960s he was part of the bossa nova movement. His compositions include ''Upa Neguinho'' (with Gianfrancesco Guarnieri), ''Pra Dizer Ad ...

Gal Costa Gal Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos (born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos; 26 September 1945 – 9 November 2022), known professionally as Gal Costa (), was a Brazilian singer of popular music. She was one of the main figures of the tro ...

Gonzaguinha Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento, Jr. (September 22, 1945 – April 29, 1991), better known as Gonzaguinha (), in Portuguese Little Gonzaga, was a noted Brazilian singer and composer. He was born in Rio de Janeiro and he was the son of Luiz Gonzaga ('G ...

Johnny Alf Alfredo José da Silva (May 19, 1929 – March 4, 2010), popularly known as Johnny Alf, was a Brazilian musician, sometimes known as the "Father of Bossa Nova".Larry Rohter"Johnny Alf, a Father of Bossa Nova, Dies at 80" ''The New York Times'', ...

Luiz Melodia Luiz Carlos dos Santos (7 January 1951 – 4 August 2017), widely known by his stage name Luiz Melodia, was a Brazilian singer-songwriter whose music was a characteristic crossover of multiple Music genres including Música popular brasileira (M ...

Milton Nascimento Milton Nascimento (; born October 26, 1942), also known as Bituca, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has toured across the world. Nascimento has won five Grammy Awards, including Best World Music Album for his alb ...

MPB4 MPB4 (Short for ''Música popular brasileira 4'') is a vocal and instrumental Brazilian group formed in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, in 1965, and has been active since. The group's main genres are sung samba and MPB, and they are considered among the ...

Paulinho da Viola Paulinho da Viola (born Paulo César Batista de Faria on 12 November 1942) () is a Brazilian '' sambista'', singer-songwriter, guitar, cavaquinho and mandolin player, known for his sophisticated harmonies and soft, gentle singing voice. Biograph ...

and

Raul Seixas Raul Santos Seixas (; 28 June 1945 – 21 August 1989)allmusic Biography/ref> was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza", the last one roughly transla ...

, among others. It spawned a double-disc live album, which due to censorship issues was only released in 1979. In 1988 Mautner took part in a short-lived "joke side project" formed by then-

Titãs Titãs () are a Brazilian rock band from São Paulo. Though they basically play pop/alternative rock, their music has touched a number of other styles throughout their 30-year career, such as new wave, punk rock, grunge, MPB and electronic mu ...

member

Arnaldo Antunes Arnaldo Antunes (, born Arnaldo Augusto Nora Antunes Filho, September 2, 1960) is a Brazilian musician, writer, and composer. He was a member of the rock band Titãs, which he co-founded in 1982 and left ten years later. After 1992, he embarked ...

named Vestidos de Espaço, which also comprised

Branco Mello Branco Mello (; born Claudio Corrêa de Mello Júnior on March 16, 1962) is a Brazilian musician and actor, best known as the vocalist and bassist of Brazilian rock band Titãs. He has also played small but significant roles for the movies. C ...

Charles Gavin Charles de Souza Gavin (born July 9, 1960) is a Brazilian drummer and music producer, perhaps best known for his 25-year tenure with rock band Titãs. Before Titãs, he had brief stints at Ira! and RPM. Early life and first works At age 8, hi ...

Paula Toller Paula Toller (born on August 23, 1962) is a Brazilian singer and songwriter. Toller is most known as the lead singer of Kid Abelha. In 1998, she released her self-titled first solo album, which was very well received. Her second solo album, titl ...

Kid Abelha Kid Abelha was a pop band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, formed by Paula Toller (lead vocals), George Israel (sax, guitar and vocals) and Bruno Fortunato (acoustic and electric guitar). The group has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 live albums and 2 ...

and record producer Liminha. The band's only release before their demise in the following year was a 7" single with the tracks "Pipi Popô" and "A Marcha do Demo"; the latter was included in the Titãs compilation album ''

E-collection ''E-collection'' is the fourth compilation album released by Brazilian rock band Titãs Titãs () are a Brazilian rock band from São Paulo. Though they basically play pop/alternative rock, their music has touched a number of other styles thr ...

'' from 2000. In 2002 Mautner served as a guest musician on

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

band Metrô's third album, '' Déjà-Vu'', providing violin and additional vocals for a track. In the same year he released a collaborative album with

, ''Eu Não Peço Desculpa'', which won the

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

in 2003. A documentary about Mautner, directed by

Pedro Bial Pedro Bial (born March 29, 1958) is a Brazilian television producer, producer, television director, director, writer, journalist and a TV presenter. He is best known for hosting the variety show ''Fantástico'', and the reality show ''Big Brother B ...

and Heitor d'Alincourt, was released in 2012 to positive reception, entitled '' Jorge Mautner: O Filho do Holocausto''; it was inspired by his autobiography of the same name, published in 2006. In the same year he collaborated with

Rogério Skylab Rogério Tolomei Teixeira (born September 2, 1956), better known by his stage name Rogério Skylab, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, lyricist, classical guitarist, poet, essayist, record producer, actor and former television presenter. His uni ...

in his album '' Abismo e Carnaval'', writing the lyrics and providing additional vocals for the track "Palmeira Brasileira". On January 17, 2016, coinciding with his 75th birthday, Mautner published his eleventh book, ''Kaos Total''. On July 28, 2016, it was reported that Mautner suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the Hospital Samaritano in Rio. He underwent a surgery to implant four

stent In medicine, a stent is a metal or plastic tube inserted into the lumen of an anatomic vessel or duct to keep the passageway open, and stenting is the placement of a stent. A wide variety of stents are used for different purposes, from expandab ...

s into his heart, but eventually recovered. One month later, on August 30, he announced that he began work on a 10-volume series of books about his years as a militant for the

during the mid-1960s. In 2017 Mautner appeared in

Laís Bodanzky Laís Bodanzky (born 23 September 1969) is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known for '' Brainstorm'', a film about the situation in mental institutions in Brazil. Over 15 years, she has coordinated the educational ...

's film '' Just Like Our Parents'' as Homero Fabri. In April 2019 he released his first studio album in 12 years, entitled ''Não Há Abismo em que o Brasil Caiba''. One of the album's tracks is a tribute to

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

activist

Marielle Franco Marielle Franco (; born Marielle Francisco da Silva, 27 July 1979 – 14 March 2018) was a Brazilian politician, sociologist, feminist, socialist and human rights activist. After earning a master's degree in public administration from the Fl ...

, murdered in 2018. The album was considered one of the 25 best Brazilian albums of the first half of 2019 by the

São Paulo Association of Art Critics SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

Personal life

In 1968 he married historian Ruth Mendes, with whom he had a daughter, Amora (born 1975), who became a famous ''

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

'' director.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Live albums

Singles

As a session member

;Metrô * 2002: '' Déjà-Vu'' (violin; additional vocals in "Leva Meu Samba") ;Rogério Skylab * 2012: '' Abismo e Carnaval'' (lyrics and additional vocals in "Palmeira Brasileira")

Bibliography

* 1962: ''Deus da Chuva e da Morte: Mitologia do Kaos, Vol. I'' (Editora Martins; re-issued in 2002 by Azougue Editorial) * 1963: ''Kaos: Mitologia do Kaos, Vol. II'' (Editora Martins; re-issued in 2002 by Azougue Editorial) * 1965: ''Narciso em Tarde Cinza: Mitologia do Kaos, Vol. III'' (Editora Exposição do Livro; re-issued in 2002 by Azougue Editorial) * 1965: ''Vigarista Jorge'' (Von Schmidt Editora; re-issued in 2002 by Azougue Editorial) * 1973: ''Fragmentos de Sabonete'' (Editora Relume-Dumará; re-issued in 2002 by Azougue Editorial) * 1978: ''Panfletos da Nova Era'' (Editora Global; re-issued in 2002 by Azougue Editorial) * 1985: ''Fundamentos do Kaos'' (Ched Editorial; re-issued in 2002 by Azougue Editorial) * 1993: ''Miséria Dourada'' (Editora Maltese; re-issued in 2002 by Azougue Editorial) * 2002: ''Floresta Verde-Esmeralda'' (Azougue Editorial) * 2006: ''O Filho do Holocausto'' (Editora Agir) * 2016: ''Kaos Total'' (

Companhia das Letras Companhia das Letras is the largest publishing house in São Paulo, Brazil. It was founded by Luiz Schwarcz and his wife Lilia Moritz Schwarcz in 1986. Companhia das Letras began as a literary publishing house and gradually grew into 17 independen ...

)

Books about author

* 2004: MORAIS JUNIOR, Luís Carlos de. ''Proteu ou: A Arte das Transmutações. Leituras, audições e visões da obra de Jorge Mautner'' (Editora HP Comunicação; re-issued in 2011 by Editora Litteris) * 2004: ''Jorge Mautner em movimento'' (Edited by César Resac)

References

External links

Jorge Mautner
on Facebook * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mautner, Jorge 1941 births Living people Brazilian Jews Brazilian communists Brazilian violinists Brazilian people of Austrian-Jewish descent Brazilian people of Yugoslav descent Brazilian screenwriters Brazilian male poets Brazilian translators Brazilian autobiographers Portuguese–English translators Brazilian male film actors Brazilian film directors Portuguese-language film directors 20th-century Brazilian male actors 21st-century Brazilian male actors Jewish musicians Jewish Austrian writers Latin Grammy Award winners Música Popular Brasileira singers Musicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) 20th-century violinists 21st-century violinists 20th-century Brazilian male writers 20th-century Brazilian poets 21st-century Brazilian male writers 21st-century Brazilian poets Brazilian male singer-songwriters 20th-century Brazilian male singers 20th-century Brazilian singers 21st-century Brazilian male singers 21st-century Brazilian singers