DIY MFA Radio · Gabriela Pereira

440: Music and Magic: Writing a Brazilian Story for an English-Speaking Audience — Interview

·49 min·4 clips

Heloisa Prieto's father spent two months yearly in the Amazon, shaping her novel about music and indigenous healing.

This episode of DIY MFA Radio features host Gabriela Pereira interviewing celebrated Brazilian author Dr. Heloisa Prieto about her new English-language novel, *The Musician*. Prieto, who has sold over 2 million books in Brazil, discusses writing a Brazilian story directly for an English-speaking audience. She explains she chose to write in English first, finding a more lyrical freedom compared to her native Portuguese. The conversation centers on Prieto's novel, which follows an orphaned, musically gifted protagonist named Thomas who can see sounds as embodied creatures. Prieto shares the deep personal inspiration from her father's lifelong connection to Guarani indigenous culture and his work in the Amazon. She details her collaborative process with musician Estas Toné and her decades of friendship with Indigenous author Daniel Munduruku. The book's structure uses multiple narrators and journal interludes to portray diverse mindsets, reflecting Brazil's cultural mosaic. Prieto recounts a transformative moment when an Indigenous storyteller reimagined the "Ugly Duckling" tale, arguing the true happy ending would be acceptance without transformation. She describes learning from the Chicona people, who value collective creation over individual authorship. The author connects her themes to Greek mythology and the tragic fates of many rock stars, exploring the idea of artistic gifts being stolen. She reveals the narrative shifts from magical realism to a gothic thriller as the protagonist faces real enemies. An interesting insight is Prieto's view that imbalance in nature, according to a Guarani origin myth, stems from adults not listening to children. She describes the novel's motif as "Who am I?", framing it as a self-discovery text built from life's fragments. The author explains she never provides full explanations in her stories, preferring open endings that mirror how we experience glimpses of people and places. She notes writing in English offered a distinct mindset, allowing a different lyrical voice than her Portuguese narratives. The tone is a warm, conversational exchange between two Brazilian writers, filled with personal anecdotes and mutual enthusiasm. The style is educational, delving into cross-cultural storytelling, narrative craft, and the translation of lived experience into fiction. Listeners interested in magical realism, narrative structure, cross-cultural writing, and the fusion of music with storytelling will love this episode. Those seeking a strictly technical craft discussion or a linear plot summary might find the conversation too wide-ranging.

As heard by us

A spare, eerie conversation about fairy tales, myth, music, and the cost of a gift.

Dr. Heloisa Prieto talks through fairy tales, myth, and the thin line between enchantment and danger. Thomas, the orphaned, wealthy, gifted center of her book, gives the discussion a clear point of focus.

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Why you'd press play

Choose this if you want a Brazilian-leaning interview about writing, fairy tales, and magical realism.

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