Fado has become part of the "Intangible Heritage of Humanity"

Fado (in English destiny) is a Portuguese music genre which celebrates the Portuguese soul.

"Fado is often called "Portuguese Blues", somewhere in the emotional landscape between African drums, Spanish and Arabian ballads, and Delta confessionals". MORRICONE

The silence and mystery of the night is the best moment to listen to this melody. Fado is about suffering, about missing someone (Portuguese:saudade), about love, tragedy, fate, jealousy, the sea, anything that stirs our emotions…

Amália Rodrigues was the most famous singer of the 20th century. She continues to be an inspiration for a new generation of singers who are giving a new burst to fado.


Mariza

Mariza (with English subtitles)

Ana Moura

Amália Hoje

Camané

A journey to the past ...

Santa Maria da Feira’s castle

I have recently read the historical novel The White Queen (by Philippa Gregory) and have just started reading the second novel of this series, The Red Queen. Surprisingly, the English versions are cheaper than the Portuguese translations, so I decided to read these novels in English.

I am glad I have opted for these books. Firstly, I can remember some historical events of the British history which I studied a long time ago, but which were somehow forgotten. Secondly, I have access to two fascinating and thrilling novels, full of complex rivalries, loves and hatreds. Finally, I can practice my English skills and enhance my vocabulary.

Although there is fiction in these novels, much of it was thoroughly researched and studied by this established historian and writer. I have discovered this is a fantastic way to learn about history and remember it. 

Last week I went to a medieval fair in Santa Maria da Feira and for a while I was transported to a time of castles, knights, kings, queens, jousts,  artifacts and street merchants. In Portugal many different medieval fairs can be visited throughout the year. Portugal is a country with a rich historical and cultural heritage, consequently the perfect scenery for a journey to the past.

I find these fairs really exciting ... And you?

An interesting video about Portugal!

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXw5fMIYGqg

Portugal is in a great financial crisis and we need the help of all the European Union countries. It seems Finnland is still unsure whether to help Portugal; consequently a video about Portugal was made to show how great Portugal is.

I liked the video so much that I decided to share it with you.

Are you curious about the Portuguese language?

Try this site :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/portuguese/talk/

Portuguese is spoken in: Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau, São Tomé e Príncipe, East Timor and Macau

 

As I was surfing the web, I 've found this site which gives some good reasons to learn Portuguese. Read it!

Good Reasons to learn Portuguese

Source: http://www.eu-student.eu/why-you-should-learn-portuguese/

"Portuguese is spoken by more than 200 Million people, it’s the official language in Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tome and Principe and Macau. It is the 6th most spoken language in the world.
Learning Portuguese is very important if you want to get to know the Portuguese culture, speak to people around the world and create a closer link to locals who don’t speak English. If you plan to travel to one of the many countries, where they speak Portuguese – it will really facilitate communication.

Portuguese is also an official language in the European Union and MERCOSUR, the economic alliance among the different countries of Latin America including Brazil. As Portuguese is spoken in so many places, you will have many occasions to use the language.

While learning Portuguese, you make the first step in learning other Latin languages (Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian) which are very similar. Portuguese is a very romantic language.

Portugal has a very rich literature. To mention some of its famous writers you should have a look on Gil Vicente, who captured the humanistic spirt of the renaissance or more recently José Saramago who received the Nobel Prize in Literature en 1998.
Learn Portuguese and you can read amazing books in their original language."
Read the whole text at: http://www.eu-student.eu/why-you-should-learn-portuguese/

I love music ...

Tomorrow I am going to attend a big concert with some of the most important Portuguese music groups/ singers. This concert, whose name is RFM Prémios- Ernestos 2010, is going to take place in Espinho, Portugal.
Below you have a list with the names of these artists/bands.

Xutos e Pontapés
David Fonseca
Pedro Abrunhosa
João Pedro Pais
Luis Represas
Tim
Miguel Gameiro
Taxi
Ezspecial
Santos e Pecadores
Fingertips
Hands on Approach

The Algarve!

I'm travelling to the Algarve (in the south of Portugal) for some days.

I'll be able to appreciate:

the sea,
the beach,
the sunset,
beautiful landscapes,
good food and
the company of family and friends.

Have fun!

Cape Town : Portugal vs Spain

Portugal is going to play against Spain in this beautiful city today.

The Portuguese team is known as the Navigators in homage to the first Portuguese who reached these coasts in the fifteenth century and opened the sea route to India and to the East.
These Portuguese were led by Bartolomeu Dias(1488), a great Portuguese explorer and navigator. Some years later (1497-1499)Vasco da Gama sailed through these same waters and succeeded in arriving at India by sea. This was a time of great feats …

Let’s hope the Portuguese can once more beat their opponents and conquer the route to victory.

Madredeus with English subtitles

Madredeus (vocalist:Teresa Salgueiro)

Music from the movie Lisbon Story (Wim Wenders 1995)

The 7 Natural Wonders of Portugal

Portugal is currently voting for its 7 Natural Wonders. There is a list of the 21 finalists in 7 different categories which range from protected zones to caves and which can be voted at www.7maravilhas.sapo.pt.

The winners will be announced in the Azores (itself a nominee) in September 2010.

I have already voted! And you?

The wonders of Portugal

Pictures of Portugal. Music by Madredeus (Portuguese group)



On July 2007 the New 7 Wonders of the World were announced in a spectacular ceremony at the “Estádio da Luz” in Lisbon.

On that same day, in the same location were also announced the 7 Wonders of Portugal, which had been chosen by the Portuguese during the seven previous months.

Portugal has such a rich historical heritage (the initial list included 793 national monuments); consequently choosing the 7 final ones was not an easy task.



Here are the 7 finalists!

Portugal is celebrating ...

World Cup 2010:



Raul Meireles celebrates the first of many. Seven, to be precise. Photograph: Lars Baron/Getty Images

Watch the best moments
Portugal 7-0 North Korea -

Portugal and the Portuguese ...

In this month edition of the magazine Activa, I read a very interesting article about the Portuguese people. The article was written by Catarina Fonseca.

I found it so fun and interesting that I decided to present some ideas.
Free translation

We,Portuguese, are:


fanatic for football

bad at deciding one’s priorities in life- We have a jeep, but we may not have a tooth, because we don’t feel like spending money at the dentist. We have a smartphone, but our dinners are just bread with butter. We spend our holidays at Varadero, but our house mortgage is at risk.

conciliators- There is always a solution for anything. If someone has a car accident, people say : “It could be worse. He/she could have died”. If someone dies, people say: “It was better this way than sit all life on a wheelchair.”

always late- In every classroom or in every workplace there is always someone whose alarm clock failed to ring. Many think: “Why arriving on time?” Then we’ll have to wait for the others. No one likes waiting, we become restless and start thinking about life…

modest- We are incapable of accepting a true appraisal. If someone tells us: “What a nice skirt!” we immediately reply “ I bought it on the sales or “ It’s so old.”

adventurous- Since the moment we set foot on a caravel during the time of the Great discoveries, we feel unable to stop. There is a Portuguese in every corner of the world, no matter how far, hidden or dangerous it is. In fact, the more dangerous the place, the more adrenaline we feel…

sensitive- We always have a tear in the corner of the eye. There is a (bad) poet in every Portuguese. We may have several defects but we have a heart of gold. In fact, we love misfortunes. We are so soppy. We adore love poems (that others write, because we are too macho)

envious- The moment we see someone getting successful and rich, we try to pull him/ her down. If a woman has success, she has reached it horizontally … If a man earns much money, he has licked his employer’s boots. Politicians are all corrupt; laywers are all thieves… Footballers are the ones who may earn more in a second sleeping than we all life working, because they are our reason to be living; besides they are respected abroad.

pessimist- There are no greater supporters of Murphy’s law. Everything that may go wrong, will surely go wrong…

able to find a solution for everything- there is nothing that will not function again if a Portuguese is there. The true Portuguese is the one that had dismantled four laptops, five mobiles and fourteen radios to see what they had inside (when he was only four years old).

insecure- We are afraid of trying, because we are afraid of what people may say about us. We always think that the others will say something negative. Improbably, someone will say: “It was so good you did it, I’m so glad”. No. They will, surely, criticize us. This creates in us a fear that paralyses us. It makes us prudent. Society becomes a litlle bit paranoic. People are too conscious about themselves …

patriotic- We can’t stand hearing someone saying bad things about us. The only people who can criticize us are we, the Portuguese. Obviously.

dangerous at the steer wheel- More than dangerous, we are a totally mortal people: more people die in Portuguese roads than in the battles of Afonso Henriques (The first King of Portugal).

solitary- Catastrophes are our speciality. No one raises funds as quickly as us. We truly like helping. We are good at crisis. We are bad at routines. It’s the destiny of heroes…

addicted – To café (if we don’t drink one in the morning we get furious and start seeing aliens everywhere and start to listening to voices in the elevator; to mobile phones (we have at least four); to food, hmmmmmm!

Free translation