He was born in the northeastern of Brazil, in a city located in the northern part of the Vale do Pajeú, site of a hospitable population surrounded by mountains and vegetation. The name of the city, Triunfo, originated from a fight that took place between a powerful family from Campos Velhos, from the city of Flores and the inhabitants of the village of Baixa Verde. For the tourism, the municipality has the privilege of bringing together so many attractions, starting with the climate, which contradicts the arid northeastern hinterland, with temperatures ranging between 8ºC in the winter and 28ºC in the summer. It is located 400 km from Recife at an altitude of 1,004m, it has different vegetation from that which predominates in the region and a variety of places to visit like no other throughout the Northeastern Sertão. With all this climate variety it became known as “O Oásis no Sertão” but it was one of his sons that filled her with pride and made him famous all over the world by adopting his name as a surname, we are talking about Nelson Gonçalves Campos Filho, better known as Nelson Triunfo (66), son of accordion player, the boy from the country who made it in the world by being considered the father of Brazilian Hip-Hop. Nelsão, as he is affectionately called by all, started his artistic career as a soul and funk dancer in the 1970s, without a doubt he has always been the key figure in the history of Hip-hop culture in Brazil. Ingenious, humorous and with a strong personality. STREETOPIA had the honor of having a long chat with him and we would like now to introduce him to you. Check it out!
Nelson, you were born in 1954, in Pernambuco, correct? I wanted you to talk a little about your childhood and your family. What memories do you have of that time?
"Talking about my childhood comes a whole principle that I had, which was very important in my entire career, I was privileged when I was born there on the border of Pernambuco with Paraíba, in fact it was in Triunfo. It was a boy's childhood from the countryside of a modest city, who also lived by the farming fields. The farm was very present in my childhood, sometimes on vacation, my father used to visit the farming fields, I handled the cattle and all, and at the same time I studied in Triunfo and only returned to sleep there at night. I worked a lot on the farm, I worked with gardens, harvested guava, bananas. At school I was always a very good student, I was always one of the first in the class. I had a strong base, at that time there was already samba, there was already frevo, maracatu very present in my life! The forró! Luiz Gonzaga was a huge hit at that time, very successful! And other than that, I enjoyed Beatles, Jovem Guarda, the Black music from abroad. In my hometown, I saw many historical films with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, at that time that I also learned to spin top and split, do mortal jumps you know. I have very good memories of São João parties, when I was 13 years old I was going to play forró with that accordion player, my father was an accordion player and I was already initiating a little bit, sometimes we went to parties that had a bonfire. We cooked corn at the bonfire . I remember the mills to make rapadura, for a long time rapadura was the sugar of the northeast, it was something traditional. At the time of sugar cane, that was delicious! The smell of honey and sugar cane travels for miles. The school games, with racing and our Olympics, swimming, we had it all in the northeast. Many immigrants took these advances there. Triunfo even had the third most important school in Brazil. I liked to stay in the public square at night, dating the little girls (laughs), we called it a conquest, we looked at them, if she didn't take her eye off of you, that meant she was interested, she had speakers, you paid to play the songs and could offer songs to anyone you wished. After the last song, there was the cinema. Before the light arrived in Paulo Afonso, it only went on until 10:10 pm, after that there was just a candle. At that time, there was no television, it was still only radio. It was in the 70's that black and white television arrived but the images were not completely visible yet at the time..."
When the radio arrived inside your house a lot changed, right? Go deeper into the cultural interests that you had at that time, in addition to frevo, samba, maracatu, forró ... You lived several "cultural waves". Talk about the influences you had?
"I was already dancing a lot! I danced the frevo, which was the tradition, the samba, the forró, which at the time was called pagode. In my days, pagode meant a little party. Are we going to do the pagode? Are we going to party? It had nothing to do with the samba they call pagode today. At these parties, there was a lot of mixes of Beatles, Jerry Adriani, Roberto Carlos, Renato and Blue Caps, The Fevers, Martinho da Vila was starting… I lived it all, in addition to regional dances, that's why I had a great eclectic cultural diversity . I saw what was going on out there as well, how I wanted to get to know New York, and Germany! But I thought it was all distant ... And today, thank God, I already know all these places! The influences that I had with the types of dance, one dance always dragged the other, the dances are not the same, but there are steps that are repeated between one and the other, all this hallucinated me a little, it brought me joy, I started playing with a way that became true and everyone liked and applauded. And all of that became part of my life, that's when I made the decision to make dancing my profession..."
In the 70's a lot happened, right? You moved to Bahia, started attending the famous Black Balls, started to like James Brown very much at the same time and created your own dancing style. Comment on what these dances were like, what was going on and comment on the creation of the “Invertebrates”, which was the first Black dance group from the Northeast?
"Black dancing was not a business in Brazil back then, but today we have Hip-Hop battles, we have Soul, Breakdance battles, that was not the case at the time, I was one of the first guys to make this a cultural product and if you wanted us in a venue you had to hire us. In 1984, in the soap opera Partido Alto, we opened the soap opera, we were paid for it, so dancing was a profession too. I worked in a conscious way, also focusing on the social aspect. Our dance is also a feeling that we carry along. Children are an example: when you put on a sound and she starts shaking her head, who taught the kid that she had to shake her/his head? So, it's a feeling! About Invertebrates, when I left Triunfo, aged 16 to 17 and went to study in Paulo Afonso, there was a program at Cine Coliseu, it was in the middle of a square and it had a cinema, a beautiful stage and there was a program that was similar to the Chacrinha Program, singing freshmen, had groups launching songs, the name of the program was “O Coliseu Show” and then I started performing there, dancing, and a guy from Rio arrived and had another friend of mine at Paulo Afonso, who asked to go up on stage to dance with me and then we danced “Sex Machine”, by James Brown. Oh My Goodness! It was the best! It was really cool and when we got off the stage, a lady came and asked: “My son, wow! You danced, beautiful, you are wonderful! You have no bones! ”. Then she asked: “What is the name of the group?”, And then I took advantage of her “no bones”, I made it up right away and replied: “That's why our group's name is Invertebrates!”. From that day on we became Invertebrates (laughs). The Black Balls is more in the mid-70s, the great peak in Rio de Janeiro was 1976, but it continued in 1977, 1978, here in São Paulo it was until 1986, then the Black Balls ended, because there were already other things popping up , then they became something simpler, being the same people today that do ball of nostalgia, that uses more samba rock. In Rio, it was more soul and in São Paulo it was soul and samba rock and the lyrics were cool, it happened in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasília and Porto Alegre, these were the cities that concentrated the Black Balls. Then it spread to the northeast and to some inland cities. In Rio, it happened in Barra Mansa and in Volta Redonda, Teresópolis. But in the 80's it all started to mix with Hip Hop..."
In that time you let your hair grow, creating an image that would follow you for the rest of your life. You did not cut his hair for decades! Tell us about the importance of this look in the whole context?
"My style comes from aspects of my childhood, I was a very curious child, I read about everything, I got this from my father. Even though I was raised in the countryside, I was very acculturated and cultural. I always wanted to be a little crazy and my parents wouldn't let me (laughs). At the same token, I was already playing the drums, I was having parties, playing soccer championship, I was always a little crazy, but I had no freedom to do it all. When I went to live alone, I became a Black Power: it was beautiful and I liked it! In the USA the Woodstock Festival was going on and I was always up to date with everything going on out there. At that time, I was already part of the resistance, I went to Brasília, I spent three years working with the same hair. And then, I came to São Paulo. To this day, I never cut my hair! I have been away from Paulo Afonso for so many years, it was where I took the attitude of growing my hair, I became so famous there that I left there in 1974 and until today the kids let their hair grow like mine (laughs). And when the hair gets big they call it Nelsão (laughs). My fans from all over Brazil and those who know me from outside, they think there is something very cool about me, which is that time when I start dancing and I take off my cap and let my hair down (laughs), they love this part, so I did it in football as well, because I played football and every time I scored a goal I took off my cap and waved my hair, it's my trademark! Without hair you are not the real Nelsão! It is the real resistance that nobody managed to tie me, nobody managed to cut it, nobody forced me to follow some empty trend. Since the 70s I have been Black Power, ever since! Perhaps the only guy in Brazil who is Black Power from that time. It is already falling a little, I am 66 years old, it is not what it used to be anymore!"
In 1976 you arrived in São Paulo, how was your arrival in the drizzle land? It was in that time that you completely dedicated yourself to dance, participated in a lot of shows, being part of the Black Soul Brothers. Could you comment on that?
"Starting in Paulo Afonso I had some groups that asked me to dance and when the time came I was a huge success. It was there that I started dancing! This happened on the weekend, because I worked at the time. It was no different in Brasilia ... I worked in topography, studied at night and on the weekend I went to the balls. Sometimes, we went to Rio to enjoy the Black Rio Balls, I bought those stomping shoes ... Then in 1976, I came to São Paulo a couple of times, but I came to do television: Silvio Santos, Chacrinha, there you go! At the end of 1976, I finished my studies in Brasília and in the beginning of 1977 I came to São Paulo once and for all, but when I came to São Paulo I decided that I didn't want to work with topography anymore and that I would dedicate myself to what I always liked , in music, in dance, in compositions. And I started strong, in 1977, with Tony Tornado, Miguel de Deus, Moisés da Rocha do Samba Pede Passagem, who at the time had a Black Music team, I already knew the teams in Rio de Janeiro, I went there quite often! At that time, Black Rio was busted! And in those years, I already had the Robot, the Wave inside my dance, a bit of a head spin, I was one of the first people to do Breaking movements here in Brazil. In 1982, it was already possible to see people here dancing Popping and in 1983, there is a very interesting video called “Gilberto Gil Funk-se Quem Puder”, at that time we already danced in the streets, but we danced more Funk. It is possible to see Original Funk e Cia. Leaving Soul and entering the Street Dance. But in fact, we never left Soul Funk, we just got into Hip-Hop and we are still there today, in a great mix in Freestyle. There are the original things, but there are always new things coming!"
In 1977 the recording of Miguel de Deus's album took place and Mr. Funk, of his authorship, is on the disc. And still in the 70s, Funk e Cia appeared. Tell us about this work and about the group?
"In fact, in 1977 it was a year that a lot happened, I went to TV Tupi, where today is the MTV and there I met Tony Tornado, Moisés da Rocha, who worked at Difusora, they invited me to a dance that was big in São Paulo, at Associação Atlética São Paulo, they even invited teams from Rio de Janeiro to make a sound with them and Miguel de Deus appeared there, who invited me and even on his album there is a song that is mine, Mr. Funk and we also created Black Soul Brothers, it was the name of the first group that I formed in São Paulo, it existed only for the work of Miguel de Deus' album. As soon as I finished this work, I thought about forming a much bigger and more powerful group, that's when I thought about Funk e Cia. And in 1977 I started putting together Funk e Cia. With very good, great people! There were 10 components! All of them were handpicked! I formed Funk e Cia. With the best dancers of Black Music in São Paulo. They were the ones who participated in the Funk-Quem Quem Puder. We moved from Soul to Hip-Hop, then came other formations of Funk and Cia. Over the years the components have been changing. Today there is Funk e Cia. But nowadays it is more dancing and singing. But the heavy line-up was from 1978 to 1983. They were chosen in a very demanding way, I went to the black dances and watched the guys dance, get in the circle and sometimes painted the one who danced a lot, then I talked to him and invited him for Funk and Cia. They were the best dancers of Black Music in São Paulo..."
How was it to participate in shows by such important artists as Tim Maia, Gilberto Gil, Sandra de Sá and Jorge Ben Jor? Is it true that Tony Tornado called you “The Tree Man”?
"It was important for me to dance with all these names of Brazilian Black Music, because I was also a dance star, so I felt at home and got along very well with everyone, it was really cool and in the case of Tony Tornado, the first time that he saw me the guys were with him, Serginho and said "wow, his hair looks like a tree!". And he said, "truth looks like a tree man" (laughs). And at the time of a show, when he went to perform, “now with you guys, the Tree Man”… Then, he never presented me differently from that name and something else, at the black dances in Rio and the South best dancers, that they respected me a lot. In Black Rio my name was the Tree Man"
In 1978, James Brown came to Brazil. You talked to him ... What was it like meeting James Brown in person? What did you talk about? Is it true that you got a gift from him? Talk about the iconic photo taken by Penna Prearo in which you appear?
"It was very cool! We met at Congonhas Airport, was Paulo Inglês (English Paulo), who was our interpreter and a few more guys from Chic Show. We had a great chat, I told him that I liked him and that I was a huge fan of his rhythm, I said that I was a dancer in Brazil, that there were black balls in Brazil and he said that he had seen reports about it and everything and I said for him that the show at Palmeiras was going to have a lot of people! I danced a little for him to see and he said: “The best, the best!”. Then he presented me with a cape which I took to the show that I would perform after him and unfortunately when I went to change in the dressing room the cape disappeared. Someone got in there and just out of wickedness took it. The photo shows me in this show with the cape before it was stolen!"
Nelson, could you comment on the importance of James Brown to world culture, and talk about the legacy he left and tell us what you felt when you received the news of his passing in 2006?
"James Brown's music was undoubtedly one of the biggest revolutions of black music in the world, it was a song that brought dance, changes, Original Funk itself became several other things, even Heavy Metal came from Funk. Funk is a very crazy song. The vast majority sampled James Brown, they were songs that became very well-known to the people, the Rap sung on top of those bases, it was already getting moral too. He was a unique guy, who left almost nothing for anyone to do most of the Urban Dances, comes from Original Funk. Undoubtedly, it is the biggest original base for several styles, which are the ones that happen even within our Hip-Hop Culture, when we are at the parties that have Poppers, Lockers, B-Boys, B-Girls, even House and Freestyle, in all of these dance styles, they are based on Original Funk. The news of his passing was very sad, it took me apart, it was a very bad and very sad time, he had no sign of being bad and suddenly he left ... it was crazy! I remember when I came back from Berlin, in 2006, it was December and I came crying inside the plane, because I was listening to a radio and played that song "O Mundo dos Homens". The feeling of loss I experienced was unbearable!"
Many consider you the father of Hip-Hop in Brazil, talk about your connection with the whole culture and with the Breakdance? What was the Breakdance like in the 80s? What was spinning? And tell us about the days and the importance of São Bento?
"Actually Breakdance here in Brazil, in the late 70s, Funk and Cia. We already did Robot, Wave, even I had three people in the group who were capoeiristas, they did Head Spin, they gave mortals jumps, they already had a lot of these things that today the B-Boys do there, then the Six Step that was Footwork arrived, when we went to the street in 1973, there were guys doing Moinho de Vento and there started the first breakers in Brazil, because up we had some things at Funk e Cia but connected to Soul and it was joining everything and, in 1983 and 1984, we already had a good floor dancers, but in the conception of those dances of the time. It was during Beat Street that more movements and techniques and greater knowledge of all elements were improved. In 1984, there was already a magazine talking about the elements of Hip-Hop over time, there was the evolution of dances, the guys were perfecting it to the point that I already said that Breaking had many young people who were better than Olympic gymnasts. So, this thing about Breaking being at the Olympics, I see it as a repair. I think that since 1999 we were already in a very capable evolution! About São Bento, we danced in the past in various places in São Paulo, then we stayed on May 24th, in 1984, on May 24th, it became a point. In 1985, he started looking for another place, it was when São Bento appeared that it was only on Saturday, the meetings took place Saturday afternoon! At the end of 1985, São Bento was busted and there was no room for anyone else, in 1986 the great battles of the crews began, becoming a national point. In 1993, the first Interstate Breaking Battle took place in Brazil. Mano Brown himself, KL Jay went there, Thayde, that was 1985, who was part of Dragon Breakers, then became Back Spin Crew, then Thayde and DJ Hum formed the duo and started other works. The two main bases of all this were the 24th of May with São José and São Bento. And the Hip-Hop House in Diadema..."
Well Nelson, you talked about the Olympics... Going into that, this year Breakdance became part of the Olympic games. And B-Boys and B-Girls are beginning to be seen as athletes. What is your opinion on this subject?
"This is evolution, all those who were against evolution were left behind: I was not! I came here, I founded Casa do Hip-Hop in Diadema and others have founded other houses, it is an evolution, sometimes some complain about the notoriety and everything, but there is no way to say that Breakdance, that Graffiti are not commercial . Graffiti is all over the world today, big buildings in big cities have Graffiti, DJs have always been there, throwing parties. Rap is all over the world and B-boy has always been in evidence, in all these years there were wonderful battles, before there was the Battle of the Year that was in Germany but today it is all over the world, in Korea, Japan, Russia , in the USA, all over the world they have B-Boys and today the guys challenge even the law of physics, make incredible body movements, I even remember the Invertebrates, the evolution and the precisions are awesome! Today I consider a good B-Boy, really advanced, as a good solo gymnast. That is why I say that it is no surprise to me that Breakdance made it to the Olympics, it is sort of a reparation for me, since we should have been there ever since 1999. It is evident!"
Speaking of the Casa do Hip-Hop de Diadema, talk about its importance in the scene and in the recovery and education of young people?
"Casa do Hip-Hop was born out of a project, Repensando, which we already conducted in schools, were the first classroom openings for Hip-Hop Culture and there was a person called Elisete, who worked in education together with Paulo Freire and she was called to work in Diadema, which was the first city that the PT elected their mayor in Brazil and, with that, it was the education people and there were kids there who asked to take the work that happened in São Paulo there and we started work in some cultural centers there. And suddenly, it broke out, there was a division of neighborhoods, Diadema was seen as one of the most violent cities in São Paulo. We started the work in 1990, the work grew and in 1994 we already had the Centro Cultural do Caema, which later would become the Casa do Hip-Hop. At that time, Marcelinho Back Spin and I wanted to make Casa do Hip-Hop and there it became a standard cultural center, we did the events and pumped. We created Hip-Hop in Action, between the cultural centers, to perform there all the end of the month where all the workshops took place together in Caema and all the cultural centers, we always worked on the 4 elements and it became something of ours, it was a developed social work, that started to come people from all over Brazil to learn with us and already worked as Casa do Hip-Hop and, in 1999, we became Casa do Hip-Hop de Diadema, I was in the mainstream media, I was in Fantástico, in Globo Reporter, a lot of things, showing social work with young people and there were many young people who left there and who are now all over the world. In the State of São Paulo alone, there should have been more than 50 Hip-Hop Houses, ours was the first Hip-Hop House in Latin America. We raised several young people, several multipliers of Hip-Hop through Casa do Hip-Hop..."
Nelson, you once declared that you wrote your story in “Brasil dos Preonceitos” (A Brazil of Prejudices), did you suffer a lot from that? Is it true that during the dictatorship you were arrested and even beaten? How do you feel today, how do you see some people in the current government defending the return of the dictatorship?
"Today people who defend the dictatorship are people who go with the flow not knowing what they are talking about, as these people have always existed in history, they do not even know what the dictatorship was and they talk nonsense and others must be the children of the military, because of course the children of the military were raised within a doctrine that they do not find a problem, to see the country being governed by military and people who have this swastika, this aversion to the left and want to be the best through stupidity and not through intelligence, you see how many people know nothing and wants to discuss politics, politics is a science, it is the knowledge of society, both on the side of good and on the side of evil, in the case of these it is on the side of evil, so they see the whole artistic side as a threat. In my case, I suffered a lot of prejudice, the prejudice of being from the Northeast, mainly with my accent when I got here, I was even prejudiced in food when I asked for flour in some places to put in beans, the flour was hidden under the counter so no one could see it , it was shameful to use flour. Another thing: I was the guy with the Black Power hair and they were prejudiced against my accent, but I stood up to what I was, as I said, my hair, I never changed. I represent the Northeastern of Brazil and also showed a lot of the knowledge that I had from abroad, I read a lot. So the guys came with a pissed-off, racist, silly arguments and I just intellectually crushed them with my ideas and they couldn't do much with me. I was one of the guys who got arrested the most in the city, I was arrested because I was dancing, performing and for the police it was a trickster thing, it was so much that they asked for a signed labor card. How was I going to dance on the streets and have a labor card with a formal employment? Who was going to employ me? So, if you didn't have a formal contract, you weren't a worker! It was awful! They were taken prisoner for vagrancy, where everyone was applauding. And they didn't want that. So I was one of the guys who got arrested the most for defending culture. And when I got sick, many new ones were left unattended on the streets, because I was the oldest, I came from other generations, I was a revolutionary. Today I am 66 years old and I didn’t stop thank God! Everyone sees me as their own family! I always helped everyone as much as I could! Our work has always been one of help and advocacy! How many kids were part of that work and today they are doctors! World Champions! Another interesting reminder is that when I went to dance at Chacrinha, the guys said it wasn’t for me to speak but just for dancing, at the time there were a lot of people who sang in English, then I danced, danced and danced, I left without talking to anyone and then I went to find out why the guy didn't want me to speak, then on another occasion the same thing happened I was going to sing a song called 84 at 24 and when I sang a woman from the production said that I had a language problem and that it wouldn't work that way, anyway, what happened was pure racism with me! The language problem was my northeastern accent! For them, my way of speaking was a matter of shame! And I was winning all this, the same ones who spoke badly of me, seeing me on television, seeing me winning, became my friends! It was another victory for Triunfo!"
Nelson, talk about the tributes you've received in your life? And also the theater, the film, the biography and your statue in Triunfo?
"I have already received some awards and honors, such as that of Hutuz for Best Community Leader, I won in São Paulo in 2008 the title of Citizen Paulistano, also in 2008 the Commendation of National Culture, the recognition that the Ministry of Culture has for some people who develop very important works within the culture of the country, there was the “Se Liga Mano” which was a play made in 96 to 97, had 60 actors, they were all students of the Cultural Center of Diadema, it was something wonderful! Triunfo, the film, directed by Cauê Angeli, which aired 30 times on Canal Brasil, made in 2014, is an interesting film that tells a little about my story, it was awarded in several places, including a festival in Spain. Here comes my biography, which was made by Gilberto Yoshinaga in March 2014, who read it very much! And finally the statue in Triunfo, people had been thinking for a long time that they would pay homage to me and they made a statue there and that shows a change, because in the past they paid homage in this person’s absence, in my case they do a statue in life and I was very happy! I see that things are a result of the seeds you plant. The statue was made by the City of Triunfo, in the backlands of Pernambuco, my hometown!"
What have you been doing in this pandemic time?
"I have stayed at home mostly, calm, I have been composing, I write, I have read a lot, doing my lives and I have behaved in this way, with care, while we wait for the vaccine. I think it will take a while and this pandemic phase is still far from over…"
What message would you leave for the new generation that will continue this history of Hip-Hop in Brazil?
"I see them as the sequel, there are B-Boys and new B-Girls that are wonderful! I also know that there are a lot of B-Boys today that are at their peak which, when they arrive in 2024, may not be there anymore and new ones will appear, everything is a matter of time, but I also think that some of the old ones will be mentors, technicians, things so, I believe a lot in young people, especially in their dance, however, I would like to see them more politicized, valuing education, books, information, these things that I would like to tell young people, in addition to being athletes, dancers, who try to be good people, people who do not harm others, because what you do not like being done with you should not be done with others! Be amazing and find happiness!"
Finally, Nelson, is there anything in your life that you would change if you could? How would you like to be remembered?
"I would like to be remembered in some way as part of the representatives of Brazil who go to the Olympics. As a guru, as a symbol of Brazilian Street Dance. I would like to be remembered for being part of this first team that will be chosen to represent Brazilian Breakdance at the Olympics! Some people think I'm crazy, “We, who are different, we are labeled are being crazy. I like to be seen that way, because it is often the crazy people who positively changed the world! Maybe if I were different, I wouldn't like myself! I was discoverers and inventors of things, the ones who changed the world once and for all! In the past I did what I could and continue to do well, without stress, in a nice and smooth way on this journey!"
Luciana Mazza: Journalist, Filmmaker and Editor at Portal Breaking World