Refavela Lyrics in English by Gilberto Gil
Refavela is a unique and intriguing word, a portmanteau created by Gilberto Gil himself, combining the prefix "re-" (meaning again, back, or intensification) with "favela" (a Brazilian slum or shantytown).
In the song, "Refavela" isn't just a place; it's a concept. It represents a reimagined, re-evaluated favela, highlighting its cultural richness, resilience, and the vibrant life within it, rather than just its poverty. It's a powerful symbol of cultural re-appropriation and pride, making it a truly memorable and thought-provoking word.
Gilberto Gil wrote "Refavela" right after coming home from years of political exile in London, and that trip shows up in the horns and the funk groove sitting under a very Bahian chant. The title is a play on the word itself: a favela is a hillside slum, and the whole song keeps turning that word inside out to show what is actually inside it.
It opens on a call-and-response chant, "Iaiá, kiriê" answered by "Kiriê, iaiá" (an old Afro-Brazilian ritual greeting), before the verses get specific: someone "desce o morro e vem transar" (comes down the hill to hook up), moving through "De uma cidade a cintilar" (a city that sparkles). Gil names the housing projects, "Prum bloco do BNH" (a state housing block), in the same breath as the Black Rio youth scene, "Do black jovem, do black Rio" (from Black youth, from Black Rio), and lands on a line that holds beauty and poverty at once: "Miséria, roupa de cetim" (misery, dressed in satin).
