22 May 2008

Obrigada! E até breve, Portugal!

posted by Diana @ 03:24 Comments: 0

26 April 2008

Great Portuguese singers

From the Portuguese singers I've listened to, my favourites (and for sure not only mine :-) ) are Carlos Paião, António Variações and José Afonso. The first two of them lived unfortunately such a short time - 31, respectively 39 years, but they managed to express their genius and to delight with so many songs, loved also today.

Carlos Paião proved his talent very early, being a very prolific songwriter. In 1978, at only 21 years old, he had composed more than 200 songs. It's hard to say, which of his songs I like the most...they are many...Here are 3 of them:

In 1983 he had sung with Cândida Branca Flor, interpretating a very patriotic duet, called "Vinho do Porto, Vinho do Portugal".


Vinho do Porto, Vinho do Portugal - Carlos Paião and Cândida Branca Flor



Cinderela - Carlos Paião

Among many love songs, Paião has also songs with amusing tones in which he satirizes most of the times the minuses of the habbits or way of being of the Portuguese. A satire on mother-in-laws is "Prás sogras que encontrei na vida" ("For the mother-in-laws that I've met in life"), song interpretated together with Herman José, a very known Portuguese comedian.


Prás sogras que encontrei na vida - Carlos Paião and Herman José



António Joaquim Rodrigues Ribeiro, despite his short career as a singer and songwriter, due to his premature death at the age of 39, under the stage name of António Variações, become one of the most culturally significant performing artists of recent Portuguese history. His songs blended contemporary music genres (pop, rock, jazz, blues, new wave) with traditional Portuguese rhythms and melodies, creating music which for many is symbolic of the liberalization that occurred in Portuguese society after the Carnation Revolution of 1974. The original and provocative nature of his recorded works has led to him being widely recognized as one of the most innovative artists in the recent history of Portuguese popular music.


Canção do Engate - António Variações

Even if he didn't have a formal musical training, Variações had a deep sense of rhythm and a keen mastery of the written word. His lyrics are often a mix of proverbs, popular wisdom and personal experiences. The popular character of his words made it easy for most of his listeners to identify with the themes of the songs, which often speak about restlessness, feelings of escapism or the deceitful nature of love affairs.


Erva Daninha Alastrar - António Variações

A few of his songs have an autobiographical resonance (such as "Olhei P'ra Trás", where he describes the sorrowful but hopeful departure from his small village or "Deolinda de Jesus", dedicated to his mother).


Olhei Pra Trás - António Variações

António Variações was a fervent admirer of the great Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, and some of his lyrics share similarities with the feelings expressed on some of Pessoa's poems. Another of the artist's major influences was Amália Rodrigues, the Fado singer of international renown, a national symbol of Portugal, to which he dedicated an ode, "Voz-Amália-de-Nós", in which Variações sings "All of us have Amália in our voice and we have in her voice the voice of all of us".


José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos, known as José Afonso or Zeca Afonso (1929-1987), is among the most influential folk and political musicians in Portuguese history. He became an icon among Portuguese left-wing activists due to the role of his music in the resistance against the dictatorial regime of António Salazar, that triumphed with the democratic Carnation Revolution in 1974. After the revolution, Zeca was a very active musician and continued composing political and folk songs, often criticizing the post-revolutionary changes. Years after his death, José Afonso is still widely listened to, not only in Portugal, but also abroad.



Traz Outro Amigo Também - José Afonso



Natal dos Simples - José Afonso



A Morte Saiu à Rua - José Afonso

posted by Diana @ 12:54 Comments: 0

21 April 2008

Why I love Lisbon and Portugal

It´s been already some time since I feel at home in Lisbon, I simply love this city!! :-) It´s a known fact that every place has its advantages and disadvatages, everywhere you go, but not anywhere you can feel at home, in time, it´s true, not immediately.

Why Lisbon?
  • because of the relaxed atmosphere, full of latinity
  • for the friends I made and the great people I´ve met
  • even if it´s a capital, it´s pretty small comparing to others and not depersonalised as a city
  • because the ocean is near
  • because it has the delicious "pasteis de nata" and "pasteis de Belém"
  • because it´s a warm and sunny weather almost all the time
  • the Portuguese are calm, relaxed, kind and nice people
  • because almost everybody speaks English
  • for the cultural diversity - you can find here people from all over Europe and also from other continents
  • because the notion of rushing doesn´t exist, and you can be late even 1 hour, without being something out of the common (that´s an advantage when you´re not the one who´s waiting obviously :P )
  • because the city has many things to see: the traditional quarters, squares, a lot of monuments with impressive architectures, monasteries, museums, palaces, castles, bridges, in Lisbon and also near by (Sintra, Belém)...anyway it´s impossible to get bored :-)
And Portugal in general for its touristic richness and the calm and relaxed way of its people.

Amo-te, Portugal! :-)

posted by Diana @ 16:49 Comments: 0

12 April 2008

Beautiful Lisboa

As so far I didn´t describe exclusively this beautiful city in which I´ve stayed more than one year, this post is dedicated to the capital on the shore of the Atlantic, the beautiful Lisboa.

What do you say about a walk, now at least virtual, around Lisbon? :-)..starting from the center of the city, from "Arco Triunfal" in Praça do Comércio:

"Arco Triunfal" - linking Praça do Comércio with Rua Augusta

...continuing with Rua Augusta, the main street of Baixa Chaido, Lisbon´s downtown:

Rua Augusta in Christmas time

To have a wide view over the city and river Tejo, we go up in Elevador de Santa Justa, in Baixa Chiado, which has up stairs also a small terrace, from where you can admire the panorama:

in Elevador de Santa Justa

view over river Tejo

view over Rossio Square, from the "Elevador"

the ruins of Carmo convent, affected by the big Lisbon´s earthquake from 1755

From Baixa Chiado we get to Praça Camões..

street in Baixa Chiado

near Praça Camões, in Largo do Chiado

Praça Camões, usual meeting place for a lot of people, being next to Bairro Alto, the picturesque quarter with narrow streets, full of bars and caffes, where Lisbon´s nightlife is concentrated

the statue of the poet Luiz de Camões

in a Fado house in Bairro Alto

From here, we take the tram and we go up to the traditional quarter Alfama:

going up to Alfama

in the tram

walls with "azulejos"

Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa - Lisbon´s cathedral and the oldest church in the city

in Alfama

the terrace from Miradouro da Graça

the panorama over the city from Miradouro da Graça

view over São Jorge castle, still from Miradouro

in Alfama

We go up a little more and we get to São Jorge castle:

the entrance in the castle

the statue of Afonso Henriques, Portugal´s first king

view over river Tejo, from the castle

in São Jorge

view over Lisbon, also the bridge 25 Abril can be seen

old Portuguese lady singing Fado in the castle

We go down from São Jorge and we get to Praça Rossio, and very near is Praça dos Restauradores:

Praça Rossio

Praça dos Restauradores

the newest railway station of Lisbon

something funny - advertisment for learning the language of "bifes" ("steaks"),the nickname given by the Portuguese to English people :P

From Restauradores, we´re heading to Marquês Pombal, passing on Avenida da Liberdade, an important boulevard of Lisbon.

Avenida da Liberdade

Marquês Pombal

Praça Marquês do Pombal

Every year, in 13th of June, the holiday of Santos Populares is celebrated, being one day before St. Anthony (the patron of Lisbon) and parades are organised in Marquês Pombal and Avenida da Liberdade , celebration that is continued in the traditional quarters where people eat grilled sardines and sing on the streets.

the celebration of Santos Populares - Marquês Pombal, 2007

Santos Populares - the parade in Avenida da Liberdade

Close to Marquês, we go up a bit and we get to Amoreiras, where is also the commercial center with the same name, the oldest in Lisbon:

Amoreiras

Near Amoreiras is Campolide, our neighbourhood.

in Campolide, near to our place

our street, rua Marquês de Fronteira :D

jail in Campolide (looks like a castle, isn´t it? :P)

park Eduardo VII

the huge flag in the park Eduardo VII

statue in the park

lake with ducks and swans in the park

in the same park

view from park Eduardo VII, towards Marquês Pombal

view from Marquês towards park Eduardo VII :-)

Now, without following any specific route, some other places:

Docas at night

the port

inside the Romanian Orthodox church in Lisbon

the Portuguese Parliament

in Alameda

the arena in Campo Pequeno

inside the arena

New Year´s party in Paço de Arcos, midnight 2007/2008

Estádio da Luz, Benifica´s stadium

at Estádio da Luz

Estádio da Luz

in front of Colombo, the biggest commercial center of Lisbon, near the stadium

Estrela

in Estrela, in winter time (Portuguese winter :P)

Estrela

crossing Tejo by boat to Almada, the "other side"

Tejo

Almada, the other side of the river

bridge "25 Abril", so similar to the one in San Francisco

Cristo Rei

Cristo Rei, the statue of Christ similar, but smaller than the one in Rio de Janeiro

Parque das Nações, you can see also the bridge Vasco da Gamma

the place of Expo ´98, in Parque das Nações

in Parque das Nações

the railway station Oriente

at Oceanário de Lisboa, in Parque das Nações

Oceanário de Lisboa

Oceanário

bridge Vasco da Gamma, seen from up
Tejo and Vasco da Gamma

This is the city I fell in love in all this time, it has a lot of things to see and a relaxed atmosphere, full of latinity, that I like very much. See you soon, Lisboa!

More pictures from Lisbon

posted by Diana @ 19:52 Comments: 0