My friend Pablo published a nice post talking about the reaction of composer Tom Zé to the unfortunate statements made by University of Bahia (UFBA)’s Medicine Course coordinator, Antônio Dantas. Dantas had said that the low performance of his Medicine students in ENADE (a Brazilian national exam for those who finish the university) would be a result of the “low IQ of Bahianos.” According to him, Bahianos are so stupid that they only know how to play a berimbau (Bahia’s most typical musical instrument) because that instrument has only one string. If it had more, then they wouldn’t be able to play it…

But what about Joao Gilberto, the Bossa Nova master and guitar virtuoso? Isn’t he Baiano? Is he Paulista?

Talking in an ironic way, Tom Zé asked if Antonio Dantas was not a Bahiano himself. Then, he gives a lesson on the berimbau:

“The berimbau is part of a culture that enriches Bahia. The fact that it has only one string is just an added complication that shows how good an instrumentist has to be to master it. A greater sensitivity is required to play the berimbau, and besides, a greater commitment. You need to understand what is the function of the berimbau within the capoeira system, because the berimbau has a microtonality of its own, especially difficult for people educated in the western diatonic scale. The berimbau is something much more complex than that “one string only stuff”. The richness of its timbres and its functionality… The berimbau was not made for playing western music, it was made to another idea of the world . That is what we need to understand.”

And when asked if Dantas statements were due to prejudice, he answered with his ironic style:

“It’s not that. It’s just a matter of ignoring the subject’s subtlety.”

Read Tom Zé’s full interview in Pablo’s Corner. (the text is in portuguese. To read a Google-translated copy of it, click here)

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Posted in Music, Society
Tags: Antonio Dantas, Bahiano, Bahianos, berimbau, Pablo, IQ, Tom Ze
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