This manifesto voices a radical position on Brazil and its reality, and openly opposes the picturesque vision of Brazilian culture that, perhaps unwittingly, furthers underdevelopment. The signers of the document advocate the elimination of cultural agencies and institutions. They criticize the lack of debate and new ideas in the specialized press and in the academy. The manifesto stands in opposition to all forms of censorship and supports alternative culture, radical student movements backed by independent intellectuals, and a dramatic break from any and all social, sexual, moral, and literary norms.

The second Tropicalista manifesto was issued by artists from the state of Pernambuco at the Oficina 164 gallery in Recife, capital of that state, on the occasion of the opening of a show by Raul Córdula Filho, an artist from the state of Paraíba. The manifesto expresses support for the Tropicalist movement based in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. Tropicália wasthe title of an installation produced by Hélio Oiticica for the exhibition Nova Objetividade Brasileira held in April 1967 at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM-Rio). It was also the name of a song by singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso, and later still, the name of an LP to which several members of the movement for Música Popular Brasileira, or MPB, contributed. The movement came to be called simply “Tropicália” or “Tropicalismo.” Although its essence lay in popular music, the movement extended into the realms of theater, film, and the visual arts.

Jomard Muniz de Britto—the main force behind the manifesto—is primarily a poet and an essayist, but has also worked in film and multimedia. In northeastern Brazil, he would become a leading figure in avant-garde poetry and in Tropicalismo.

Regarding the sixties and the Tropicália movement, see Casimiro Xavier de Mendonça’s presentation of the exhibition “63/66: Figura e Objeto” [doc. no. 1111423].