As a young musician during the 60s, Caetano was politically involved, and his activism had him arrested during the military dictatorship in Brazil. That made him move to London where he lived a few years in exile, and then returned to Brazil in 1972. Asked about his experience in London, Caetano said, "London felt dark, and I felt far away from myself." However, he improved his music there while working with British music producers. He's been labelled one of the greatest songwriters of the century even though he sings mostly in Portuguese.
Caetano appeared in "Talk to Her", one of Pedro Almodóvar's films, where he performed "Cucurrucucú Paloma", a Mexican folk song about longing for a lost love. This is arguably the most emotional rendition of the song ever, and a definite theme for the story of the film which revolves around the difficulties of communication between the sexes, loneliness and intimacy, secrets and infidelity, and the persistence of love beyond loss.
The actresses who work with Almodóvar are labelled "Almodóvar's women", which I find somewhat ironic because most of them are beautiful women like Victoria Abril, Penélope Cruz, and Almodóvar is a well advertised gay figure. Maybe that is why he's been so successful in his directing career; he always seems to find a space where love is immaculate no matter the circumstances, and that is a beautiful thing...
Dicen que por las noches
no más se le iba en puro llorar;
dicen que no comía,
no más se le iba en puro tomar.
Juran que el mismo cielo
se estremecía al oír su llanto,
cómo sufrió por ella,
y hasta en su muerte la fue llamando:
Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay cantaba,
ay, ay, ay, ay, ay gemía,
ay, ay, ay, ay, ay cantaba,
de pasión mortal moría.
Que una paloma triste
muy de mañana le va a cantar
a la casita sola
con sus puertitas de par en par;
juran que esa paloma
no es otra cosa más que su alma,
que todavía espera
a que regrese la desdichada.
Cucurrucucú paloma, cucurrucucú no llores.
Las piedras jamás, paloma,
qué van a saber de amores?
Cucurrucucú, cucurrucucú,
cucurrucucú, cucurrucucú,
cucurrucucú, paloma, ya no le llores.
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