Carolina Pimentel
Reporter - Agência Brasil

London - Today (8), on the second day of his State visit to the United Kingdom, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and met with members of the British Parliament in Westminister Palace. He also went to the Barbican Cultural Center to see the Tropicalia exhibit [Tropicalia was a Brazilian cultural movement in the late 1960's].

The exhibit, which comprises artwork, music, photographs, and books from the period, will remain in the British capital through May. Tropicalia sprang from an installation created in 1967 by the Brazilian artist, Hélio Oiticica. The movement was a blend of psychedelia, the Beatles, and Brazilian popular music, together with other elements. Some of the prominent participants in the movement, which lasted from 1967 to 1972, were singer/songwriters Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, and Jorge Ben and the musical group Os Mutantes ("The Mutants").

Today the Brazilian president will also give the closing speech at the Brazil-United Kingdom business seminar, which gathered representatives of various economic sectors from both countries to discuss new investment opportunities in Brazil.

Translation: David Silberstein