A well-done advertising of a liquor, that dates back to about 40 years ago, was based on an interesting slogan, “the (commercial name) has mix appeal”. The slogan had a couple of meanings, as follows: the liquor was particularly suitable to be mixed into cocktails and long drinks; the elective places for ordering it were the bars of discotheques, where there usually are mixed people listening to the DJ’s mixes. I’ve decided to renew the utilization of the slogan, by adapting it to a different topic, with some vague similarities. While the country with the biggest number of religions and cults is the USA, the country with the biggest importance of esotericism is Brazil. The kind of importance has reasons typical of Brazil: first, the nation is the result of the blending of Europeans, indigenous persons, and descendants of African ancestors; second, esotericism has resulted as the best way of fusing together cultures and religions, through procedures of hybridization; third, the necessity of getting a social integration of all the ethnics has required a masking of the lost identities, and of political criticisms; fourth, it’s easier to get a common ground for small groups, reserved to initiated members, who are disposable to accept a conventional wisdom, despite of risks of brainwashing, extortion, and abuse; fifth, in Brazil there are intersections of religions, migrations, and attempts of formation of new identities, that can give way to religious gatherings from one place to another.
As usual, the purpose of the page is offering a small summary, from which those interested might start a personal deepening. Approximately, in Brazil there are three different types of esoteric organizations. The first is Neo-Pentecostalism, that mixes together Evangelical religion with the spiritism of Kardecism, and is opened to indigenous shamanism, ayahuasca, and alternative medicine. The second is Afro-Brazilian heritage, including Candomblé, Umbanda, and Quimbanda. For Afro-Brazilians, an “exu” is a male spirit, and a “pombagira” is a female spirit. Exu Majoral is the supreme spirit of Quimbanda, corresponding to the devil of Satanism. Naturally, Exu Majoral inspires praxes close to the ones of Satanists. They say that Quimbanda is on the way to globalization. The third is Gnosis, based on the myth of Hermes Trismegistus, and on the ritual of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, as modified by the occultist Aleister Crowley. There are commentators who talk about UFO religions, traditionalism and eco-fascism, distrust of science and traditional medicine. Someone theorizes that esoteric sects are chiefly expressions of right-wing political positions. Differently, for what I’ve found, Brazilian leftism is not immune from esotericism, and is compatible to certain esoteric groups. In effect, political left has an intrinsic contradiction, egalitarianism can never justify any leadership, while esotericism can.
In conclusion, esotericism in Brazil is a way of mixing different traditions, in order to find new ways to stay together. Coming to music, as you can imagine, some Brazilian artists are openly in favor of esotericism. The fact is proven by the lyrics, in Portuguese, of many popular songs. 17 of those songs are present in the short mix of the page.
File name is “Max Look’s mini-mix, esoteric Brazil (Apr 2026)”, about 25’ and 30” of samples of about 1’, taken from beautiful Brazilian classics of pop, and mixed on the beat.
Dedicated to Exu Majoral, the playlist:
Jadim Castro – negra sin sandalia (1967)
Dom Um Romao – kitchen (cosinha, 1974)
MPB4 – noticias do Brasil (2024)
Maria Bethania – capitao do mato (2003)
Azymuth – morning (manha,1975)
Elis Regina & Adoniran Barbosa – tiro ao Alvaro (1978)
Jorge Ben – o namorado da viuva (1976)
Fino Coletivo – boa hora (2007)
Novos Baianos – baby Consuelo (1970)
Airto Moreira – Anatelio (the happy people, 1986)
Alcione Dias Nazareth – figa de Guinè (1978)
Egberto Gismonti – pra frente Brasil (1983)
Banda Black Rio – gafieira universal (1978)
Gilberto Gil – jubiabà (1987)
Luciano Perrone – samba vocalizado (1984)
Tim Maia – sossego (1978)
Luiz Gonzaga Jr. – o começo da festa (1975)
