“I’m a ‘gogoia’ fruit, I’m a lass”

Gal Costa and the Tropicalismo in the feminine

Abstract

This study aims at discussing the phenomenon of musical performance considering an overlap of relevant concepts from music, anthropology and gender and sexuality studies. Departing from the idea that Brazilian singer Gal Costa developed a performative discourse – vocal and corporal – properly tuned to the tropicalistas purposes, I analyze the possibilities of using the body to produce performative images that brings up the discussion about the possible intersections between music, eroticism and sexuality. In a dialogue with the work of authors such as Clifford Geertz, Terence Turner, Mary Douglas, Marcel Mauss, Juduth Butler and Georg Bataille, I hope to contribute to a critical review of Tropicalismo, in wich the musical interpretation and corporal techniques occupy the center of the discussion. The objective is to propose a debate about the subjectivity involved in the performative process that is fabricated on the singer’s body.