Brasília - Brazil's minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil, who is also a famous musician, composer and singer, has been awarded the Polar Music prize by the Real Swedish Academy of Music - also known as the Nobel Prize of Music.

The prize is awarded annually to two outstanding people in the music world. This year's winners, Gil and the German baritone, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, will each receive 150,000 euros. In the past the award has gone to people like Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Ravi Shankar and BB King.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Alessandra Bastos
Translator: Allen Bennett
10/26/2004