Feature: Fado concert invigorates Portuguese amid pandemic

Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-02 05:29:42|Editor: huaxia
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Portuguese fado singer Cuca Roseta performs at a live concert on the top of a vehicle running through streets in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 1, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Pedro Fiuza/Xinhua)

LISBON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- After 45 days of confinement, Portuguese in the city of Lisbon were able to seek an outlet on Friday afternoon for their pain and lamentation caused by the loss of loved ones, in the most traditional and memorable music in Portugal, the fado.

And it was with the sweet and deep voice of Cuca Roseta, one of the greatest fado singers in the country, that the residents of Lisbon were able to dry their tears on this special Labor Day national holiday and bring back their yearnings for better days.

On top of a truck and surrounded by her musicians, the singer, dressed in intense red, one of the national colors, paraded through the streets of several of Lisbon's most classic neighborhoods, singing to give people hope.

Benfica, Telheiras, Lumiar, Alvalade, Avenida de Roma, Areeiro, Almirante Reis, Baixa, Marques de Pombal and Campo de Ourique were some of the places she passed.

People went to the window or balcony and stayed there, listening and singing along, immersed in the "soul" of Portuguese music.

There were also, of course, moments of smiles and laughters, greetings and joy, when Cuca Roseta greeted the residents and said: "Congratulations! Move on!"

The "City at the Window" initiative was started to help combat social isolation and overcome the limitations that the state of emergency imposed on culture and art.

"It's just for people to make the most of their homes, with all the comfort and security, they can have a different and necessary cultural offer from the city," said the organizers.

"The emotion is great, knowing that we are going to bring love and light to the Portuguese. It was exciting to deliver music and emotion into people's homes," said the singer.

As the concert was streamed live online, all Portuguese in different parts of the country can follow this unique show from their home.

According to Cuca Roseta, the initiative which started in Lisbon will be taken to other Portuguese cities.

"We, musicians and artists, have been without work for a long time and have no way of receiving anything. So this is also a symbol. There is always a bright side to everything," said the fado singer.

Fado is a form of music characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fate and melancholy. For many Portuguese, there may be no more appropriate melody for the moment.

The pandemic took away more than 1,000 lives in Portugal, which for many are just numbers, but they have names, faces, stories, families, mothers, fathers, children, spouses and friends.

People are helpless facing a silent and cruel enemy and not knowing how to strike back. Well, this Friday they found one -- music as a catharsis of a historic moment of resistance and struggle by the Portuguese, a people as intense and sensitive as fado.

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