Hermano Vianna is an anthropologist. He published the books "O mundo funk carioca" (The funk world of Rio) (1988) and "O mistério do samba" (The mystery of the Samba)(1995). He is also a script writer for television and cinema, having worked on the music documentaries "African pop" and "Folia na Bahia e Baila Caribe". At present he is writing the script for a TV special on the three decades of the career of Gilberto Gil.