In a new album launched by her own “Quitanda” label,  Maria Bethânia wanders through the folkloric and affectionate universe of the water carried by the rivers which run through Brazil.

In Pirata, Bethânia assumes the “persona” of a country girl, for whom the sea (as it is also the case of heaven) is a vague and unapproachable blue vastness with which she dialogues in her thoughts. A country girl that despite never having seen the sea is capable, by using fresh water as a mirror and a prism to approach and absorb the mysteries of the universe that surround her.

Pirata is the result of the memoirs of a singer who has always been fascinated by rivers, waterfalls, and all the living forms that thrive under and around water. In this record, Bethânia presents us a reliquary of some fundamental episodes in Brazil’s popular culture, in addition to songs never before brought forth and others written by composers with classic voices. Thus, Pirata is a record rich in short stories which succeed in transmitting their conceptions in unison. It reflects the dialogue between the girl born in Santo Amaro da Purificação (a small town in Bahia) and the eternal interpreter coexisting in each other.

“O mundo do rio não é o mundo da ponte” (The world seen by the river is not the same world seen from the bridge). That verse by Guimarães Rosa, which precedes the song “Francisco, Francisco” by Roberto Mendes and Capinam, makes clear the duality existing in Pirata: the singer that dives in those “sugary waters”, and that, at the same time, observes them from a distance assuming a strong critical attitude. Bethânia becomes involved in citizenship affairs when singing: “Francisco, Francisco / Tantas águas corridas / Lágrimas escorridas, despedidas, saudades / Adeus velho Chico / Diz o povo nas margens” (Francisco, Francisco / So much water has run though / So many tears were shed, farewells, longings / Goodbye old Chico / Say the people on the banks). This refers to the present discussion concerning the transposition of the waters of the São Francisco River, known as the river of national integration because it runs entirely within the Brazilian territory connecting the Southeastern region with the Northeastern one. This is the world seen from the bridge, from a vantage point, casting an apprehensive look upon the domestic issues.

But Bethânia plunges deep into the several rivers that make up her works. She begins with the plain but wise popular poetry in “Pedrinha Miudinha” (Small Stone), a public property song – like “Cantigas Populares” (Popular Ballads) – with the insertion of the text “Orixá” (an Afro-Brazilian deity), by Jorge Portugal. Next comes “História pro Sinhozinho” (A Story for the Young Master), by Dorival Caymmi, and the dense poetry of “O Tempo e o Rio” (Time and the River), by Edu Lobo and Capinam. “Todo cais é uma saudade de pedra” (All docks represent someone that you love turned into stone). Those words from the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa lead the way to the classic “Os Argonautas” (The Argonauts), by Caetano Veloso. To satisfy her yearnings (saudades), Pirata sails now towards Bethânia’s native town with “Santo Amaro”, by Roque Ferreira and Délcio Carvalho, “Memória das Águas” (Water Memoirs), by Roberto Mendes and Jorge Pontual, and “Onde Eu Nasci Passa um Rio” (A River Runs Trough the Place Where I Was Born), by Caetano Veloso.

“Perto de muita água tudo é feliz” (Near plenty of water there is nothing but happiness). That statement by Guimarães Rosa fits perfectly to the verses “Não quero outra vida / Pescando no rio de Jereré...” (All I want is to spend my time / Fishing in the Jereré River…), from the ballad “De Papo pro Ar” (Idling), by Joubert de Carvalho and Olegário Mariano. Moving from happiness to love dejections in “A Saudade Mata a Gente” (Saudade may kill you), by João de Barro and Antonio Almeida, and “Sereno” (Dew), by Antonio Almeida, preceded by “Amor é sede depois de se ter bem bebido” (Love is thirst after drinking during a long time), also by Guimarães Rosa. “Água de Cachoeira” (Water from Waterfalls), by Jovelina Pérola Negra, Carlito Cavalcanti, and Labre, a musical jewel from Ms. Jovelina’s repertory which had until then left in oblivion, show the force of those waters: “Água de beber, água de molhar, água de benzer, água de rezar” (Drinking water, soaking water, holy water, praying water). And Pirata makes again its way towards citizenship issues with the text “Poesia” (Poetry), by Antonio Vieira: “O aluno devia bater palma / Saber de cada um o nome todo / Se sentir satisfeito e orgulhoso / E falar deles para os de menor idade / Os nomes dos poetas populares” (The student should applaud / Know the full name of each one / Feel himself pleased and proud / Mention them to the younger fellows / The names of the popular poets). The same is true with “A Coroa” (The Crown), by Humberto do Boi do Maracanã), a traditional theme of the Bull Celebrations in the state of Maranhão.

“Sempre pensar em ir / Caminho do mar / Eu não sei o que os rios têm de homem do mar...”(Always considering going / Towards the sea / I do not know what makes rivers resemble a seaman…), fragment from the poem “Rio” (River), by João Cabral de Melo Netto, marks the intrinsic connection between the contradictory and, at the same time, complementary “Mar de Sophia” and “Pirata”. Elements from salty and sugary waters merge in the cases of the first releases of “Sereia de Água Doce” (Fresh Water Mermaid), by Vanessa da Mata, and “Eu que Não Sei Quase Nada do Mar” (I, who do not know nearly anything about the sea), by Ana Carolina and Jorge Vercilo). Sailing through a polarity concept, Pirata finishes its course in the barrenness of the back-country, which, according to Guimarães Rosa, “…é uma espera enorme”(…means to be left in a great expectation), and in the consequent hope contained in “Meu Divino São José” (My Divine Saint Joseph), a public property prayer.

Bethânia reinvents herself once more. She fetches in her deepest and ancestral references the elements that provide freshness for her new work. Pirata is a project that, above all, places its bets in the force and in the sophistication of the Brazilian people through the creativeness of its popular artists. And this refers not only to songs. An example of this is the insert in this record, the conception of which is based in the handicraft of the embroiderers in the banks of the São Francisco River. It displays the various artistic expressions interacting among themselves and synthesized through Bethânia’s interpretation. Pirata flirts with the real Brazil, journeying across the several faces of the genuine artistic creation produced by a country so complex but still largely unknown; and all that through fresh and clean waters, which are becoming increasingly scarce here. -- Orginal written in Portuguese by Sidimir Sanches