>> Gal Costa
bio: By the threads that history weaves in every period of twelve months, 2005 could be classified as a time of continuity and same-old in politics. Lula was there: the year started with the announcement of the petista (of PT, the labor party) government to the International Monetary Fund with an assurance that yes, the Brazilian debt of $15.5 billion would be settled in only two years and yes, we would avoid following the moratorium of Argentina. In compensation, we confront here the disorder of the ‘mensalão’, a monthly bribe paid to members of congress, which, like all the other dire events around the National Congress ended in that famous Italian pasta dish covered in cheese and tomatoes.
2005, therefore, carried its colors into politics. French president Jacques Chirac sought help in the archives of ‘Gaullean’ laws by using the declaration of Emergency (created by De Gaulle in the 60’s) to contain popular manifestations in the neighborhoods in Paris in a series of protests coordinated by North African immigrants who considered themselves excluded from French society. Ooh La La! In May France had already said ‘Non’ to the referendum of the constitution of the European Union.
In London, British prime minister Tony Blair of the Labor Party, is re-elected for his third mandate and sanctions, under popular pressure, a law that bans the custom of hunting with dogs. In Nigeria, the Secretary-General to the UN chairs a meeting of 25 African leaders who would receive from the rich countries of the Northern Hemisphere, annual aide of $55 billion. It is unknown whether this intention was fulfilled. Simultaneously, in a wedding at Windsor Castle, Prince Charles makes official his notorious romance with Camilla Parker-Bowles. The ceremony succeeded in subduing the minor scandal caused by Prince Harry, who chose a Nazi uniform as his outfit for a costume party.
The real gaffe added up to the declaration by the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that the Jewish holocaust of World War II "did not pass for historic fact." In Israel, Shimon Peres is elected prime minister. On the 24th of April, Benedict XVI begins his papacy as the supreme leader of the Catholic Church. The last Pope of German nationality was a monk in the 11th century. In Liberia, Ellen Johnson - Sirleaf is the first woman elected to preside over a country on the African continent.
In disappearances, 2005 did not bring such tremors. In addition to John Paul II, dead on April 2, Rosemary Kennedy, oldest sister of JFK exited definitively from circulation; British composer and conductor, Edgard Briton; the son of Nelson Mandela, Makghato, from AIDS; and singer Chet Helms. In Brazil, the era of radio ended upon the death of Emilinha Borba. In sports, the great bicyclist, Lance Armstrong, retires from competition. Michael Jackson is found not guilty of child molestation. Chico Buarque turns 61, and CD’s are recorded of his work performed by other artists, such as Fafá de Belém and Eugênia Melo e Castro, for example. Gal Costa completes sixty years of life and declares to the press that she considers herself "at most 42."
In retrospective, 2005 brought happenings sufficiently positive for Gal. The singer began the year selecting a repertoire for the new CD. She listened to more than 300 compositions. The final result of the musical selection would have liner notes by journalist and composer Carlos Rennó, while the CD, later named "Hoje," (Today), would bring a perfect finish with production and arrangements by César Camargo Mariano.
Between March and April, Gal still performed the show "Todas as Coisas e Eu,"(All the Things and I) taking it, after the national tour to cities like São Paulo, Recife, and São José do Rio Preto. On the 4th of June there was a memorable event: homage is paid to the artist at the Heineken Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was the first time the event chose a singer to be the center of the programming. The avenues of the Puerto Rican capital were covered with billboards of Gal’s face.
In July she was the principal attraction of La Mar de Musicas Festival in Cartagena, Spain in the edition produced in homage to Turkey. In the same month she performs in Rome at Voci di Donna within the traditional schedule of Academia Santa Cecilia. Subsequently, she sings at the festival Veranos de la Villa, at Cuartel Conde del Duque in Madrid. On July 13, she participates in Paris in the concert "Viva Brasil" produced by the Brazilian group Pão de Açucar. Also appearing in the show were Gilberto Gil, Lenine, Jorge Benjor, Henri Salvador, and Daniela Mercury. In August along with Mercury and Zélia Duncan, Gal sings in another great musical event organized by Pão Music in São Paulo. At the end of the show she receives title of Citizen of São Paulo.
In September, as she turns 60, she is on the cover of the magazine "Bravo" and commemorates the date by issuing on the label Trama, her 32nd album, "Hoje" with unpublished songs. During the same month she participates in Colombia in the 17th Festival Internacional of the Teatro Livre of Bogotá, performing shows in the capital and in Barranquilla. Days later, she was the principal attraction in the Casino de Viña del Mar, in Chile.
Her new recording company issues the DVD "Ensaio" (Rehearsal) from TV Cultura, recorded in 1994, with direction by Fernando Faro. Universal edits on DVD the festival "Phono 73 – O Canto de um Povo (the Song of a People), with rare images of that event which reunited the star studded cast of the then record company Phonogram from the auditorium of Anhembi, São Paulo. The year closes with the decision of Gal to do the new show "Hoje", which only came to début in the first quarter of 2006.
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