30/10/2005

Great Fadista and other stuff from Lisbon


My trip to Portugal was very nice. I liked Lisbon with its hills, not so polished houses and very friendly people. We visited the monasteries, the Sao Jorge castle and did some shopping. We also went to see the biggest oceanario in Europe. Sharks and all..
At evenings we went to Bairro Alto to have dinner and heard some good fado music.

The highlight of the trip was Mísia's consert in 28th Oct in the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. It was truly amazing. Dressed in little black dress with black scarf and red gloves, extremely high heeled shoes. And she sang with the voice, not of an angel, but with a dark deep voice of a woman who has seen the world and knows the sorrow. I had this feeling in my neck as I usually do when somebody sings with very pure voice and tears came to my eyes even though I don't even know the Portuguese lyrics. In her concert she also sang in Spanish, French, German and English. To listen some of her music press here.Mísia

She is one of the next generation of fadistas after Amália Rodrigues. The other ones are Mariza, Christina Branco and Dulce Pontes.

And fado - it's the same for Portugal as flamenco is for the Spain, or tango to Argentina. The essential element of fado music is “saudade,” a Portuguese word that translates roughly as longing, or nostalgia for unrealized dreams.

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