{"id":556,"date":"2012-10-15T15:23:03","date_gmt":"2012-10-15T15:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.brown.edu\/wecannotremainsilent\/?page_id=556"},"modified":"2022-03-18T13:43:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T17:43:12","slug":"capitulo-i-a-gente-quer-ter-voz-ativa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.brown.edu\/create\/wecannotremainsilent\/capitulos\/capitulo-i-a-gente-quer-ter-voz-ativa\/","title":{"rendered":"Cap\u00edtulo I: A gente quer ter voz ativa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chico Buarque (right) at the 1968 Festival International de Can\u00e7\u00e3o<\/em>. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

“We want to have our own voice” – Chico Buarque, “Roda Vida,” 1967<\/p>\n

In 1967, songwriter Chico Buarque composed the score for Roda Viva, <\/em>a musical.\u00a0<\/em>Roda Viva<\/em>,\u00a0which translates as the spinning wheel, depicted the life of a rock star consumed by fame. Buarque’s song Roda Viva<\/em>, a recounting of the cyclical nature of life and the powerlessness of individuals to resist the rotations, was also considered to be a veiled protest song against the dictatorship.<\/p>\n

Chico was born in 1944 to the<\/span>\u00a0the academic\u00a0<\/span>S\u00e9rgio Buarque de Hollanda.\u00a0Their family\u00a0lived in several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in\u00a0<\/span>Rio de Janeiro, S\u00e3o Paulo, and Italy. Like his father, he wrote and studied literature when he was young. He was influenced by the <\/span>bossa nova\u00a0compositions of\u00a0<\/span>Tom Jobim\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Jo\u00e3o Gilberto. He rose to fame early in the 1960s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

Lyrics:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tem dias que a gente se sente 
Como quem partiu ou morreu 
A gente estancou de repente 
Ou foi o mundo ent\u00e3o que cresceu 
A gente quer ter voz ativa 
No nosso destino mandar 
Mas eis que chega a roda viva <\/p>\n\n\n\n


E carrega o destino pra l\u00e1 
Roda mundo, roda-gigante 
Roda moinho, roda pi\u00e3o 
O tempo rodou num instante 
Nas voltas do meu cora\u00e7\u00e3o <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A gente vai contra a corrente 
At\u00e9 n\u00e3o poder resistir 
Na volta do barco \u00e9 que sente 
O quanto deixou de cumprir 
Faz tempo que a gente cultiva 
A mais linda roseira que h\u00e1 
Mas eis que chega a roda viva 
E carrega a roseira pra l\u00e1 
Roda mundo (etc.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A roda da saia, a mulata 
N\u00e3o quer mais rodar, n\u00e3o senhor 
N\u00e3o posso fazer serenata 
A roda de samba acabou 
A gente toma a iniciativa 
Viola na rua, a cantar 
Mas eis que chega a roda viva 
E carrega a viola pra l\u00e1 
Roda mundo (etc.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

O samba, a viola, a roseira 
Um dia a fogueira queimou 
Foi tudo ilus\u00e3o passageira 
Que a brisa primeira levou 
No peito a saudade cativa 
Faz for\u00e7a pro tempo parar 
Mas eis que chega a roda viva 
E carrega a saudade pra l\u00e1 
Roda mundo (etc.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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There are days that we feel
Just as someone that has left or died
Maybe, we have stopped in time
Or either the world is the one who has evolved<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We want to make our voices heard
and be the owners of our own destiny
But there comes the wheel of life
and takes our destiny far away<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world turns, big wheel,
The windmill turns, the trompo turns
Time has twirled in a flash
Among the turnarounds of my heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We go ahead against the tide
until we can no longer resist
It’s only at the ship’s homecoming that we notice
how much we had left undone
For so long we have grown
the most beautiful rose that exists
But there comes the wheel of life
and takes the rose far away<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world turns, big wheel
The windmill turns, the trompo turns
Time has twirled in a flash
Among the turnarounds of my heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her long hemline skirt,
the mulata doesn’t want to swirl it anymore
I don’t play serenades anymore*
The circle\/party of samba is over<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We take the initiative,
putting our violas out in the streets to sing
But there comes the wheel of life
and takes the violas far away<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world turns, big wheel
The windmill turns, the trompo turns
Time twirled in a instant
Among the turnarounds of my heart<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The samba, the violas, the rose
which one day, the fire has burned
All were only brief illusions,
which the early breeze has carried away<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our hearts, the nostalgia grows
It tries hard to stop time
But there comes the wheel of life
and takes the nostalgia far away<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world turns, big wheel
The windmill turns, the trompo turns
Time twirled in a instant
Among the turnarounds of my heart<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Photo of the Uni\u00e3o Nacional dos Estudantes<\/em> (National Union of Students, UNE) headquarters burning. Image courtesy of UNE.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Read more about people mentioned in the cap\u00edtulo: Marcos Arruda<\/a>, Jean Marc Van der Weid, Regina Van der Weid, Brady Tyson, Niva Padilha, and Jovelina Ramos<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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