“I think I like S. Paulo And I like S. João I like S. Francisco AND S. Sebastião And I like boys and girls” On the morning of October 11, 1996, in every corner of Brazil, an urban legion mourned the death of their leader. Young people felt like orphans and national rock lost its biggest star. Ten years have passed since the premature death of Renato Russo and the inexorable end of the band Legião Urbana. Never, in Tupiniquin lands, have there been such fervent fans (the more correct word is, perhaps, followers). The band's name reflected exactly the behavior of the immense following of admirers that Renato Russo and his minions gathered over more than a decade of success. The band released four albums and many tracks became the soundtrack to the lives of many young people and teenagers. “Será”, “Geração Coca-cola”, “Teorema”, “Eduardo e Mônica”, “Faroeste Caboclo”, “Pais e Filhos”, “Meninos e Meninas”… The hits followed one after the other. Renato Russo sang about freedom and the end of prejudice, in its most varied facets, without actually admitting his homosexuality. He once declared that “artists have no sex”. Some consider that the composer contributed to forming a more tolerant generation. For many gays, however, the fact that Renato Russo never spoke openly about his sexual orientation brought little benefit in this regard. Just like in Cazuza, HIV proved to be relentless with Renato Russo. Both suffered the devastating effects of the retro virus and ended up succumbing. Probably, Renato Russo's greatest achievement was to give voice to the desires of young people; speak their language. An entire generation (“coca-cola generation”) grew up with the Solitary Troubadour's verses and cried over his death and the posthumous silence of the great singer and composer.
in Culture
