Bela Gil: “I like me” –

Neriage red set // (Renato Nascimento/)

Yes. Short and simple. And without a hint of arrogance. beautiful Gil likes herself and she should (just like we all should like ourselves).

Cook, nutritionist, presenter and writer, the daughter of Gilberto Gil has an empathetic stance that she applies not only to the world and other people but also to herself. “My father is a supporter of radical kindness and for us. I really want the good of people and of all people. I think that when you want well, you won’t do it with violence, I think love rules in this place. So, my attitudes are ruled by love.”

In an interview with , she talks about this radical goodness, “haters”, her relationship with nutrition as a political act, mental health and more.

Orange set Renata Buzzo // (Renato Nascimento/)

How is this process of making photos for you? Is it something you are comfortable with?

Yes, but I think because there is work involved, right? My profession is not a model, it’s something I’ve been doing because opportunities have appeared but I think being in that place of “it’s not my job” , perhaps the demand is not so great, both from others with me and with myself. So, it’s quiet, I like it.

That’s what you said about charging yourself. Do you think you have healthy self-esteem?

I think so, I like myself. I am much less critical of aesthetic standards and beauty. I charge myself much more in relation to knowledge and study, this is what feeds me much more. I feel much happier, much prettier, when I feel knowledgeable, intelligent, cultured, I like that, my self-esteem is very much related to work.

Do you think this comes from childhood? This healthier self-esteem?

Yes. I never had questions like that in terms of beauty, physique. I feel good.

Orange set Renata Buzzo // (Renato Nascimento/)

Although you come from a family that has artists, you chose a profession that was not with the intention of fame, but that ended up making you a public person. How was this process for you?

It was a very organic process, it was very natural. I was always very shy, very homely, very introspective. So, my childhood friends and people who have known me since I was little never imagined that I would be on TV as a communicator and presenter, because I was very shy.

I was asked to present a program and, as food, food, is a passion of mine, I think it didn’t scare me that it was a TV program and there was a camera filming me. That didn’t happen, because I think that when we have a truth, a purpose, we transcend this place and everything becomes more comfortable and lighter.

Then the program worked and I ended up becoming this person that many people know.

Viviane Furrier striped knitting // (Renato Nascimento/)

Do you deal well with the public’s interest in your personal life as well as your professional life?

So, I guess that’s part of being famous, right? It’s the side effect, because you become a public person and people end up being interested not only in your work, but also in how you live, how you raise your children. And I completely respect anyone who is reserved, doesn’t want to share that. I think it’s part of it, I don’t think it’s all people who have to and need to open up, just like there are people who like my work but don’t want to know about my life.

But I am a person who ends up sharing a bit of my intimacy through social networks and interviews, for example. And I think this exchange is good, because it ends up influencing people. For example, the issue of maternity, childbirth, having my son at home… There are those who say “Wow, I don’t need to know what you use during menstruation” but, for me, it is revolutionary to be able to show people alternatives to disposable pad, . So, I think this opening brings alternatives for people to leave the status quo a little.

Viviane Furrier striped knitting // (Renato Nascimento/)

And what about the “haters”?

Ah, I have a legion of haters but, in recent years, I say that I did a “digital detox” because, with my political position on social networks, it ended up that many people, at the time of the 2018 election, for example, stopped follow me lost more than 100k followers and it keeps dropping.

So that gave a “clean”. When you enter my networks, you notice that the thermometer has changed. You go in and say “look, there are only compliments, only people sending kisses and little hearts”, but, before 2018, it was not like that… Even today there is still this hatred, in some situations. For example, with the Agro people, for example, there is a certain resistance from them to what I say, because it is a much less technical issue and much more ideological in their view. They fully believe that a soy monoculture will work to feed the world, when it doesn’t. I think it’s much more a question of ideology, than of numbers and percentages and technique, because if we really look, we see that this is not the case. So I point it out and they come up with an absurd way.

When I talked about brushing my teeth with turmeric, or barbecuing watermelon, eating placenta and such… All of that was kind of a “freebie” for the haters to party over me. So, even today, if something comes out of my network, something that reaches a wider audience, then it comes: “oh, it’s the placenta freak”.

So there is this very eccentric Beauty in people’s imagination. But anyone who has been with me for a long time, who follows me, who understands my values ​​and practices, loves it. We have a very nice and very faithful audience in the sense of being respectful, listening, being open to news, there is this really cool exchange on my networks. There are the haters, but there are also those who stayed.

Neriage blue set; Gila earrings // (Renato Nascimento/)

You have a very empathetic attitude towards yourself, other people and the world. Do you have anything to say about where this comes from?

My father he says something that has always been the practice, the focus of his education, which is about “radical kindness”. He says that this was something essential for him to pass on to his children. He is a fan of radical kindness and this is the heritage he leaves us. I think this more empathetic, less violent, less critical, less judgmental way comes a lot from that. I really want the good of people and of all people. So, having the opportunity to eat well, to have a healthy life, to have an amazing family, to be happy, should be the basics, everyone should have everything to be happy.

And I feel like I want to be able to share that with more people. I think that my most empathetic way comes from this place of understanding my situation within society and how I can make people feel, feed, nourish themselves, what is good. I would like it to be an equal opportunity for everyone. I think it comes from this place, from wanting well. I think that when you want well, you won’t do it with violence, I think love rules in this place. So, my attitudes are governed by love.

Neriage blue set; Gila earrings // (Renato Nascimento/)

You spoke a little about your family, you gave an interview about your marriage, which is open and I thought it was really cool. You’ve been together for almost 19 years, do you have any secrets?

It’s a very good relationship, very light, very pleasant, and this security that we have with each other, with our territory, with our home, with our family, with having each other’s arms, I think it brings a freedom. It has dialogue, transparency, truth, respect for what was agreed. This is all very important. And there’s love and passion, always renewing.

I thought it was cool that you said that about the arrangement, because a lot of people understand that an open relationship is “woah yay” and, in fact, it is not like that, there is a lot of respect, dialogue and care for the feelings of the other.

Yes, I think this dialogue takes away some of the fear, the fear of losing the other. Fear is a very bad feeling, right, when we feel afraid we do disrespectful things. This also applies to motherhood. I think that when we raise our children without imposing fear, the dialogue gets even better. It’s much better to have a son who knows he can count on you for everything he needs, than a son who keeps lying, going out to drink in secret, to do things in secret, because he’s afraid of your reaction. For what? Let’s talk, do you really need this? And it’s the same thing for relationships, fear makes us do a lot of things that we could solve in another and much healthier way.

green set // (Renato Nascimento/)

Do you feel that motherhood has changed you in any way?

So, I became a mother when I was 20 years old. So, it was very parallel to the construction of adult life. I think my daughter helped me a lot in this process. I’m Capricorn so I have a sense of maturity from a very young age. It wasn’t difficult for me to have my daughter aged 20, going to college, working, because that’s what fed me, I like that challenge, I like that responsibility, it feeds me. Maybe for other people, in the same situation, it could be a very big burden, like “wow, now I have a lot on my plate, I’m lost”. But I have a very good support network, a family that helps me, friends that help me a lot too.

So, I feel that motherhood, having Flor at that age, was important and very good for my growth.

You are vegetarian. That too since childhood?

No, I became a vegetarian at about 16 years old, because my body naturally rejected meat, processed foods, junk food, things like that. Since then, I changed my diet and started to study more about nutrition, about cooking, because I understood that my path was there. I said “guys, if food influences me that way, from my mood, my focus, my balance, my well-being, everything is very related. There is something magical here that I need to understand what it is.”

So, I went in search of nutrition to understand how food works inside us, to find out why there is all this alchemy, how it happens. This is a curiosity that I had a lot and that’s why I decided to do nutrition. Gastronomy came along because, for me to eat well the things I wanted, I thought it would be better to learn to cook, I wasn’t born with the gift of cooking.

At some points in my life I went back to eating meat. When I got pregnant with my daughter, my first desire was for meat, so I said “I need this, because my body is asking for a lot”. There are people who have a good pregnancy, but it was a very strong desire. I rarely ate meat. During Nino’s pregnancy,…