Early on in the 1960s, Gil earned income primarily from selling bananas in a shopping mall and composing jingles for television advertisements; he was also briefly employed by the Brazilian division of Unilever, Gessy-Lever. He moved to São Paulo in 1965 and had a hit single when his song "Louvação" (which later appeared on the album of the same name) was released by Elis Regina. His first hit as a solo artist was the 1969 song "Aquele Abraço". Gil also performed on several television programs throughout the 1960s, which often included other "tropicalistas", members of the Tropicalismo movement. One of these programs, "Divino Maravilhoso", which featured Veloso, gained attention from government television censors after it aired a satirical version of the national anthem in December 1968.