José Carlos Capinam
José Carlos Capinam, better known as Capinam or Capinan, is a Brazilian poet, lyricist, and member of the Bahia Academy of Letters. He became nationally known for his songwriting in Brazilian popular music. In the 1960s he became active in Brazil's tropicália movement alongside figures such as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, the movement's main ideologues.
Biography
Capinam was born in Entre Rios, Bahia, in 1941. At 19, he moved to Salvador, the capital of Bahia and attended the Federal University of Bahia, where he studied law. At university, he was a member of the National Student Union and befriended musicians Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. The 1964 military coup d'état forced him to leave Salvador, and he relocated to São Paulo. There, he worked on poems for his first book, Inquisitórial, before eventually returning to Salvador to study medicine.In 2000 he composed the opera Rei Brasil 500 Anos with Fernando Cerqueira and Paul Gold to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Brazil's discovery. In 2006 he became the first MPB composer to join the Bahia Academy of Letters, succeeding Hildegardes Vianna.
Songs
He has co-written songs with Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and others:- Gil: "Viramundo" ; "Ponteio" "Miserere nóbis", "Soy loco por tí, América"
- Veloso: "Clarice" ; "The Empty Boat"
- Paulinho da Viola: "Canção para Maria"