Maria Bethânia

Origin

Santo Amaro, BA

Also known as

Maria Bethânia Vianna Telles Velloso, Abelha Rainha, A Rainha da Música Brasileira, Maria Betânia

Years Active

1964

Genres

MPB, bossa nova, samba, regional music, romantic song

Instruments

voice

Biography

Born in Santo Amaro, Bahia, Maria Bethânia is one of the most emblematic and respected voices in the history of Brazilian music. Sister of Caetano Veloso, she began her professional career in 1964, but gained national prominence the following year by replacing Nara Leão in the historic show 'Opinião' in Rio de Janeiro. Her visceral interpretation of the song 'Carcará' became a symbol of resistance and catapulted her to immediate stardom, establishing her mark as a performer with a strong stage presence and dramatic intensity.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Bethânia established herself as a record-breaking artist. With the album 'Álibi' (1978), she became the first woman in Brazil to surpass the mark of one million copies sold, helping to popularize MPB on a large scale. She was the founder of the group Doces Bárbaros, alongside Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Gal Costa, a movement that celebrated friendship and the avant-garde of Bahian culture. Her discography, which exceeds 50 albums, masterfully transitions between samba, romantic songs, and regional music, always intertwined with the recitation of poetry by authors such as Fernando Pessoa and Clarice Lispector.

Beyond her musical importance, Bethânia is a figure of deep spiritual and cultural connection, having been initiated into Candomblé by the Terreiro do Gantois and maintaining a strong devotion to Catholicism. Recognized as 'Doctor Honoris Causa' by several universities and an immortal of the Bahia Academy of Letters, she remains one of the most awarded artists in the country. Her public image, often barefoot and with loose hair on stage, reinforces an artistic identity that uniquely unites the sacred, the popular, and the erudite.

Discography

• Maria Bethania (1965)
• Edú Lôbo e Maria Bethânia – Edu e Bethania (1966)
• Recital na Boite Barroco (1968)
• Maria Bethânia (1969)
• Ao Vivo (1970)
• A Tua Presença... (1971)
• Vinicius + Bethania + Toquinho – En La Fusa (Mar Del Plata) (1971)
• Rosa dos Ventos - O Show Encantado (1971)
• Drama (1972)
• Chico Buarque, Maria Bethania, Nara Leão – Quando o Carnaval Chegar (Trilha Sonora Original do Filme) (1972)
• Drama 3º Ato "Luz da Noite" (1973)
• Drama - Luz da Noite (1973)
• A Cena Muda (1974)
• A Cena Muda (Live) (1974)
• Chico Buarque & Maria Bethânia Ao Vivo (1975)
• Caetano, Gal, Gil, Bethânia – Doces Bárbaros (1976)
• Pássaro Proibido (1976)
• Doces Barbaros 1 + 2 (1976)
• Pássaro da Manhã (1977)
• Álibi (1978)
• Maria Bethânia e Caetano Veloso – Ao Vivo (1978)
• Mel (1979)
• Talismã (1980)
• João Gilberto, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethânia – Brasil (1981)
• Alteza (1981)
• Nossos Momentos (1982)
• Ciclo (1983)
• A Beira e o Mar (1984)
• Dezembros (1986)
• Maria (1988)
• Memória da Pele (1989)
• Reconvexo (1989)
• 25 Anos (1990)
• Olho D'Água (1992)
• As Canções que Você Fez pra Mim (1993)
• Las Canciones que Hiciste para Mi (1993)
• Ao Vivo (1995)
• Âmbar (1996)
• Imitação da Vida (1997)
• João Bosco, Gilberto Gil, os Novos Baianos, Timbalada, Netinho, Banda Cheiro do Amor, Banda Eva, Elis Regina, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Marina Lima, Zizi Possi, Gal Costa, Maria Bethânia – Colors Brazil - Masters Of The Brazilian Music (1998)
• A Força que Nunca Seca (1999)
• Diamante Verdadeiro (1999)
• Brincar de Viver (1999)
• Maria Bethania, Caetano Veloso, João Gilberto, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque – Brazil (2000)
• Maricotinha (2001)
• Maricotinha Ao Vivo (2002)
• Maria Bethania Romantica (2002)
• Brasileirinho (2003)
• Cânticos Preces Súplicas à Senhora dos Jardins do Céu (2004)
• Maria Bethânia Clássicos (2004)
• Que Falta Você Me Faz (Músicas de Vinicius de Moraes) (2005)
• Mar de Sophia (2006)
• Pirata (2006)
• Omara Portuondo e Maria Bethânia (2007)
• Dentro do Mar Tem Rio - Ao Vivo (2007)
• Doces Barbaros 1 (2007)
• Doces Barbaros 2 (2007)
• Encanteria (2009)
• Tua (2009)
• Amor Festa Devoção Ao Vivo (2010)
• Oásis de Bethânia (2012)
• Noite Luzidia (ao Vivo) (2012)
• Carta de Amor Ato 1 (2013)
• Noite Luzidia Vol. 1 (2013)
• Noite Luzidia Vol. 2 (2013)
• Carta de Amor Ato 2 (2013)
• Carta de Amor (Ao Vivo) (2013)
• Meus Quintais (2014)
• (O Vento Lá Fora) (2014)
• Cleonice Berardinelli, Maria Bethânia – O Vento La Fora CD + DVD (2015)
• Abraçar e Agradecer (2016)
• Tempo, Tempo, Tempo, Tempo (ao Vivo) (2016)
• Maria Bethânia e Zeca Pagodinho – De Santo Amaro a Xerém (2018)
• Mangueira - a Menina dos Meus Olhos (2019)
• Noturno (2021)
• Caetano e Bethânia Ao Vivo (2025)