Gal Costa

Gal Costa was born Maria da Graça Costa Penna Burgos in Salvador, Bahia, on September 26, 1945. She became one of the defining voices of Brazilian popular music, with a career closely connected to Tropicália, the late-1960s movement that brought Brazilian song into conversation with rock, psychedelia and experimental art.

Costa began performing in Salvador’s musical circles alongside artists including Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Maria Bethânia. Her first album, *Domingo*, was recorded with Veloso and released in 1967. Its restrained arrangements and songs such as “Coração Vagabundo” belong to a different musical world from the electric performances that soon made her famous.

In 1968, Costa appeared on *Tropicália ou Panis et Circencis*, a collaborative album central to the movement. Her recording of Veloso’s “Baby” became one of its best-known tracks. That year she also performed “Divino Maravilhoso,” written by Veloso and Gil, with a forceful delivery that showed how far she had moved from the intimate style of *Domingo*. Her self-titled 1969 albums continued to explore that range, placing her voice amid adventurous arrangements and songs by her Tropicalist peers.

After Brazil’s military government forced Veloso and Gil into exile, Costa remained a prominent performer of their work. Her 1971 live album *Fa-Tal: Gal a Todo Vapor* captured an especially intense period onstage; it includes “Vapor Barato,” written by Jards Macalé and Waly Salomão. Her 1973 album *Índia* became notable both for its music and for its provocative cover art, issued during the dictatorship.

Costa’s repertoire extended well beyond Tropicália. She recorded “Modinha para Gabriela,” by Dorival Caymmi, for the 1975 television adaptation of Jorge Amado’s *Gabriela*. In 1976 she toured and recorded with Veloso, Gil and Bethânia as Doces Bárbaros. Later successes included “Festa do Interior,” from her 1981 album *Fantasia*, and “Chuva de Prata,” which appeared on *Profana* in 1984.

She kept making new records rather than relying only on her celebrated early work. *Recanto*, released in 2011, paired songs written by Veloso with electronic textures. Her 2018 album *A Pele do Futuro* drew on disco and other dance-oriented sounds, while *Nenhuma Dor* in 2021 revisited songs from her repertoire through duets.

Costa died in São Paulo on November 9, 2022. Her recordings trace more than five decades of Brazilian music, from the quiet bossa nova-inflected songs of *Domingo* to the theatrical experiments of Tropicália and the polished pop of her later career.