FROM LAGOA DA CANOA TO THE U.S.A., FROM THE U.S.A. TO THE WORLD: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF HERMETO PASCOAL IN SEARCH OF HIS MUSICAL CONCEPTION

Just a little boy, around seven, I was already in touch with music. (…) My father played an eight-bass accordion, the pé de bode, a type of accordion, and I played a fife that I made myself, out in the woods, with a tube made from the castor-oil tree. Being albino, I couldn't stay out in the sunshine. I was stubborn, and would disappear in the woods when my father went to work in the fields. I was sort of like the Indians, but I was a different Indian. (…) Since I was musical, I felt that urge to play. And I wanted to know if the birds liked that or not. When my father took me to the fields in an oxcart, I'd make some small flutes to play with the birds. And when he returned, he'd see the tree full of birds. Even now, when I play in a place where there are birds, I can communicate with them.

The frogs… the frogs were a wonderful audience. Frogs are the most sensitive and faithful audience in the world. They're very intelligent. Roadside frogs are already accustomed to the noise of engines, but, even if you turn off the engine and walk towards them, they'll know there's someone coming their way. A frog can be used to give a warning. It feels everything. They already knew me because I always went to the same lagoon. Frogs have perfect orchestras.