Attraction of an award that honors Tim Maia, Margareth Menezes remembers how she met him

King of amusing, almost folkloric stories in his shows and interviews (those he attended, of course), Tim Maia (1942-1998) also made friends with the current Minister of Culture of the Lula Government (PT), Margareth Menezes.

Honored this Wednesday (12) night at the Brazilian Music Awards, at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, the “síndico” had in Margareth, in the early 1990s, another one of his fans.

He didn’t know her, which didn’t stop him from, when approached by the singer, “sticking”, with that way of his, to the artist, then signed to the Universal record label. She was working on the production of his second album, “Canto pra Subir”, and says that she went to see him sing at a packed Circo Voador, in Rio. Margareth remembers this story fondly.

“The show was quite late, as usual,” he recalls. “Everyone was already very excited, but at the same time, they knew that this was already part of the performance. He came in, sang about eight songs, but was dissatisfied, he complained a lot about the sound.” In other words, Tim Maia being Tim Maia.

It was then that Tim decided to take a break (another classic), with the promise that he would “sing until the morning”. The artist, at the beginning of her career, couldn’t wait and went to him to introduce herself and say goodbye. “‘Tim, hi, I’m Margareth, I’m a superfan. I came here to meet you and say goodbye’. He then grabbed my arm and said: ‘Are you leaving? No, you’re not’. And he never let go of me. “, account.

That improvised talk, since she didn’t know the repertoire in English that Maia suggested, made him realize that there was a talent there. In the end, he invited Margareth to another show, in Urca, and even offered her “a thousand”. “I had the gift of having this opportunity in a Circo Voador full of people!”

In tonight’s tribute at Municipal, the minister will join 26 other artists who will perform classics from Tim’s songbook. Alongside Sandra Sá and Sued Nunes, she will sing “Vale Tudo”, “Sossego” and “Você e Eu, Eu and you”.

And anyone who attends the awards ceremony will be able to see a rare moment, especially in the last year and a half. After Margareth took over Lula’s Ministry of Culture, at the beginning of 2023, she hasn’t done so many shows anymore, despite trying to get away whenever she can, just as Gilberto Gil did when he took on the same role during Lula’s mandates, between 2003 and 2008.

“I always made it clear, including to the president, that I would continue doing shows, just like Gil did. There is no mystery about this, there is the ethics committee that supervises, and if everything is done correctly, there is no problem. Everything I’ve built in my life so far has been through my artistic career”, he says.

Despite saying she is accomplished at the head of the department and willing to “collaborate in some way with the country’s cultural sector”, the minister states that she misses the routine of presentations.

“I need to maintain this. When I have vacation, I try to share [o tempo] between rest and shows. I have managed to separate the Ministry moment from the artistic moment. But I’m an artist, and my artist’s soul also needs to be fed.”

Time has been so short that she says she has barely listened to music. When she finds a gap, there are some favorites in her playlist. “There’s an artist called Fatel, who is a boy from Juazeiro (BA), who I’ve known for a while and admire a lot. I also recently discovered Ayrton Montarroyos. And Josyara, I love, a wonderful musician and singer. “

The singer and minister is celebrating 40 years of career, and says she is proud of being able to build a name in Brasília, but avoids talking about remaining in politics at the end of her term. “My focus is to work, to do inclusive work to cover everyone.”

The chat, via WhatsApp messages, was pleasant as it talked about music, Tim Maia and his management at the head of MinC. But it was enough to ask certain questions for the answer to come up empty.

Through her advisor, Margareth said “she did not feel comfortable answering” questions about the policies supporting country music in her ministry and funds allocated to singers who have supported Jair Bolsonaro, nor about her relationship with the first lady , Janja