É assim que canto o fado: voltando-me para dentro e fazendo um certo esforço. Tecnicamente... acho muito importante encontrar a voz interior dentro da voz exterior —a voz das emoções.
That’s how I sing fado: turning inward and making a bit of an effort. Technically... I think it’s very important to find the inner voice within the outer voice —the voice of the emotions.
Hi, I'm Elsa Morgan. I was born in Sintra, Portugal and I am a clockmaker.
A few months ago, I discovered that the famous Welsh pirate Henry Morgan was
an ancestor of mine and that I had brothers and sisters to meet. Thanks
to The Grandma, an Andorran grandmother, who made every effort to
locate us, today I know them all and to celebrate this meeting we
decided to spend two months together travelling and reviewing our level
of English because we have all decided to retire to Kingston, Jamaica, to enjoy the Morgan fortune, and English is its official language.
-Good morning and thanks to attend us.
-Good morning. It's an honour.
-What's your full name?
-My name is Elsa Morgan Alfonso de Aguiar.
-How do you spell your second surname?
-A-L-F-O-N-S-O D-E A-G-U-I-A-R
-Are you a student? What are you studying?
-No, I'm not a student. I completed my training in clockmaking several years ago and now I work full-time.
-Are you working? What is your job?
-Yes, I am. I'm a clockmaker. I design, assemble, repair, and maintain clocks.
-Do you like your job? Why?
-Yes, I love my job because it requires precision, patience, and creativity. I enjoy working with small mechanical parts and bringing clocks back to life.
-Where are you from?
-I'm from Sintra, Portugal.
-How long have you lived there?
-I lived in Sintra for most of my childhood and early adult life. Although I travel occasionally for work, I still consider Sintra my home.
-Why are you studying English?
-I'm studying English because many clockmaking companies and customers come from different countries. English helps me communicate with clients and learn about new developments in the industry.
-How long have you been studying English?
-I've been studying English for two months. I started with The Morgans and I continue to improve it through work and travel.
-Tell me about your town.
-Sintra is a beautiful town near Lisbon. It is famous for its castles, palaces, and green hills. Many tourists visit it because it looks like something from a fairy tale.
-What music do you like?
-I enjoy listening to classical music and jazz while I work because they help me concentrate. In my free time, I also like Portuguese folk music.
-Can you play any instrument?
-Yes, I can play the guitar a little. I'm not a professional musician, but I enjoy playing for friends and family.
-Tell me about your favourite place.
-My favourite place is the Pena Palace in Sintra. I love its colourful architecture and the incredible views of the surrounding countryside.
-What do you like doing in your free time?
-In my free time, I enjoy hiking, reading historical novels, visiting museums, and learning about traditional crafts. I also like spending time with my family.
-Do you practise any sport? Which?
-Yes, I do. I enjoy hiking and swimming. They help me stay active and relax after long hours of detailed work.
-What skills are important for a clockmaker?
-I think patience, attention to detail, and good hand-eye coordination are essential. A clockmaker must be very careful because even a tiny mistake can affect the movement of a clock.
-What is the most interesting part of your job?
-The most interesting part is repairing old mechanical clock. Each clock has its own history, and it's very satisfying when it starts working perfectly again.
-Would you like to create your own clock brand one day?
-Yes, I would. It has always been my dream to design clocks that combine traditional craftsmanship with modern technology.
-Why do people still buy mechanical clocks today?
-I think people appreciate the craftsmanship and the history behind them. A mechanical clock is not only a tool but also a piece of art.
-How is a normal day with The Morgans?
-We haven't got similar days. Every
day is different and this is something very important because it offers
to you the possibility of living fantastic experiences every day and
you can enjoy them with all your heart because you know that next day
you're going to put the score to zero and we're going to start again. It's a non-stopping life.
-Which is your best memory with The Morgans?
-It's difficult to choose only one. I
remember when we travelled back in time with my TARDIS to
meet Claire Randall, an English former World War II military nurse in Scotland who, in 1945, finds herself transported back in time to 1743. It was an incredible experience.
-Which is your favourite song?
-I have a lot of songs, but I'm Portuguese. I love fados. All of them talk about life, saudade (longing). I would say any song from Mísia, but I will say 'Memória' by Rosalía and Carminho, because it talks about the passage of time and memories, something related to my job.
Será que tu me conheces Que o tempo passa e não esqueces Quem eu fui e sou em fim Oh meu doce Coração Diz-me se sabes ou não Ainda te lembras de mim?
Do you know me? Time passes and you don't forget Who I was and am in the end Oh my sweet heart Tell me if you know or not Do you still remember me?
Autumn is a time of sadness and longing. The arrival of the first snowfalls in the Pyrenees lowers the temperatures in Barcelona and The Grandma, who is a shy and reflective person, chooses to listen to introspective music.
Since she left us, too soon, a long year ago, it has become very difficult to listen to Mísia, but her voice and her fados are the best cure for saudade and longing.
Today, years after the premiere of Casablanca, one of the masterpieces of cinema, The Grandma has recovered an excellent version of As Time Goes By that the Catalan-Portuguese fado singer interpreted as only she knew how to do: with excellent vocal qualities and infinite tenderness.
We miss you, Mísia, our admired friend. We remember you in every place of your and our beloved Barcelona and Lisboa, and we wish you could have listened to Memória of Rosalía and Carminho, because it is your story and you would love it.
As Time Goes By is a jazz song written by Herman Hupfeld in 1931. It became famous when it was featured in the 1942 film Casablanca, sung by Dooley Wilson as Sam. The song was voted No. 2 on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs special, commemorating the best songs in film, surpassed only by Over the Rainbow sung by Judy Garland.
The song was covered among others by Rudy Vallee, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Durante, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Harry Nilsson, Carly Simon, Vera Lynn, Bob Dylan and Bryan Ferry. It was also the title and theme song of the 1990s British romantic comedy series As Time Goes By. National Public Radio (NPR) included it in its NPR 100, a 1999 list of the most important American musical works of the 20th century as compiled by NPR's music editors.
The song is a popular reflection of nostalgia and often used in films and series reflecting this feeling. Since 1999, an instrumental version of the song's closing bars has accompanied the studio logo of many Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Television productions, in reference to the studio's production of Casablanca.
Herman Hupfeld wrote As Time Goes By for the Broadway musical Everybody's Welcome, which opened on October 31, 1931. In the original show, the song was sung by Frances Williams. It was first recorded by Rudy Vallée on July 25, 1931, for Victor Records, then also by Jacques Renard and his Orchestra on Brunswick Records and Fred Rich. In 1932, Binnie Hale recorded the song. Elisabeth Welch included it in her cabaret act soon after it was released. In terms of popularity at the time, the song was a modest hit.
The song was reintroduced in the 1942 film Casablanca, where it was sung by Sam, portrayed by Dooley Wilson. Sam's piano accompaniment was played by a studio pianist, Jean Vincent Plummer; Wilson was a drummer. The melody is heard throughout the film as a leitmotif. Wilson was unable to make a commercial recording of the song at the time due to the 1942-44 musicians' strike. Unable to record new versions of the song, RCA Victor reissued the 1931 recording by Rudy Vallée, which became a number one hit eleven years after it was originally released. Brunswick also reissued the 1931 Jacques Renard recording.
Hupfeld lived his whole life in Montclair, New Jersey, and was a regular customer at the Robin Hood Inn (now the Valley Regency), a tavern built in 1922 on Valley Road, then part of Upper Montclair. He spent many hours at the piano and wrote several of his songs in this tavern. A plaque on the second floor of the Valley Regency Catering Facility in Clifton, New Jersey, commemorates the song. He wrote more than 100 songs, including Let's Put Out the Lights (and Go to Sleep), and the popular Great Depression song Are You Making Any Money?
The song was originally published in the key of E-flat major. In the film, as sung and played by Sam, it was recorded in D-flat major. It has since been played in several keys, commonly C major, but also B-flat major, as in Frank Sinatra's recording, and other keys including A major and E-flat major.
Like many later singers, Wilson in Casablanca starts with You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss..., singing only the verses and refrain (As time goes by). He entirely omits the intro that put those fundamental things into context: This day and age we’re living in gives cause for apprehension, With speed and new invention and things like third dimension. Yet, we get a trifle weary with Mister Einstein’s theory, So we must get down to earth, at times relax, relieve the tension. No matter what the progress or what may yet be proved, The simple facts of life are such they cannot be removed. At least one version moves the intro into the middle of the song.
Quem eu fui e sou em fim Oh meu doce coração Diz-me se sabes ou não Ainda te lembras de mim? Who I was and who I am in the end Oh my sweet heart Tell me if you know or not Do you still remember me?
Vou pedir-te um coração: O meu, caiu-me no chão E quebrou-se em mil pedaços. Diz bem alto o que lá viu: Que, quando ele se partiu, Tinha a forma dos teus braços. Vou pedir-te um sentimento, Os meus lanceios ao vento Por me sentir tão cansada. Mas, ao vê-lo de voar Tive ganas de chorar, Porque não sentia nada! Vou pedir-te mais um dia, Para gastar a alegria Que me deste no passado. E se depois tenho a certeza, Há de chegar a tristeza
Só não te peço a verdade: Aprendi que a liberdade Também é uma traição. Quero amar seja quem for E por isso, meu amor, Vou pedir-te um coração. Quero amar seja quem for E por isso, meu amor, Vou pedir-te um coração...
Vou pedir-te mais um dia, Para gastar a alegria Que me deste no passado. E se depois tenho a certeza, Há de chegar a tristeza
És um raio de luz na minha vida Um pequeno e bom raio de luz na minha vida E essa luz clara e branca que tens é que ilumina Todos os passos que me levam até ti
És mais quente que o sol quando amanhece Brilhas mais do que as estrelas do céu quando anoitece E esse raio de luz que tu és, nunca se esquece De iluminar cada momento para mim
Deixa-me ser como tu Um raio de luz ardente Eu queria ser como tu és Luz e amor somente
Eu queria ser como tu E abraçar-te contente Numa só esfera de luz Eternamente presente
Abraçar-te por fim por muitos anos Devolvendo à realidade o que sonhámos Desejava dedicar-me assim por muitos anos E nunca mais renunciar a este amor
Deixa-me ser como tu Um raio de luz ardente Eu queria ser como tu és Luz e amor somente
Eu queria ser como tu E abraçar-te contente Numa só esfera de luz Eternamente presente
Deixa-me ser como tu Um raio de luz ardente Eu queria ser como tu és Luz e amor somente
Eu queria ser como tu E abraçar-te contente Numa só esfera de luz Eternamente presente
Deixa-me ser como tu Um raio de luz ardente Eu queria ser como tu és Luz e amor somente
Quem disse que o amar que custa Decerto que nunca amou Eu amei e fui amada Nunca o amar me custou
Fiando junto à lareira Dizia a avó à netinha No tempo esta mãe tinha O crepitar da fogueira
Meu amor, não há maneira De fugir à fé robusta Da paixão que não assusta Quem ficou por ter amado Porque saqueia em pecado Quem diz que o amar te custa
Sua neta ao ver-se liada No seu íntimo segredo Apenas sorri, a medo E que, fosse envergonhada
Fingindo não dar por nada A avó continuou Quis um dia ao teu avô Como ele me quis a mim E quem nunca amou assim Decerto que nunca amou!
Quem disse que o amar que custa Decerto que nunca amou Eu amei e fui amada Nunca o amar me custou
Vejo do cais mil janelas Da minha velha Lisboa Vejo Alfama das vielas O Castelo, a Madragoa
E os meus olhos rasos d'água Deixam por toda a cidade A minha prece de mágoa Nesta canção de saudade
Quando eu partir Reza por mim Lisboa Que eu vou sentir Lisboa Penas sem fim Lisboa Saudade atroz Que o coração magoa E a minha voz entoa Feita canção Lisboa
Mas se ao voltar Me vires chorar Perdoa Que eu abra a porta à tristeza Para depois rir à toa
Tenho a certeza Que ao ver as ruas Tal qual hoje as vejo Esse teu ar de rainha do Tejo Hei-de beijar-te Lisboa
Hei-de beijar com ternura As tuas sete colinas E vou andar à procura De mim nas tuas esquinas
E tu Lisboa hás-de vir Aqui ao cais, como agora Para eu te dizer a rir O que hoje a minha alma chora
Quando eu partir Reza por mim Lisboa Que eu vou sentir Lisboa Penas sem fim Lisboa Saudade atroz Que o coração magoa E a minha voz entoa Feita canção Lisboa
Mas se ao voltar Me vires chorar Perdoa Que eu abra a porta à tristeza Para depois rir à toa
Tenho a certeza Que ao ver as ruas Tal qual hoje as vejo Esse teu ar de rainha do Tejo Hei-de beijar-te Lisboa
Quando eu partir Reza por mim Lisboa Que eu vou sentir Lisboa Penas sem fim Lisboa Saudade atroz Que o coração magoa E a minha voz entoa Feita canção Lisboa
Uma guitarra baixinho Numa viela sombria Entoa um fado velhinho É noite na Mouraria
Apita um barco no Tejo Na rua passa um rufia Em cada boca há um beijo É noite na Mouraria
Tudo é fado, tudo é vida Tudo é amor sem guarida Dor, sentimento, alegria
Tudo é fado, tudo é sorte Retalhos de vida e morte É noite na Mouraria Tudo é fado, tudo é sorte Retalhos de vida e morte É noite na Mouraria
Cai o luar na viela Perdida saudade ao vento No céu queima-se uma estrela Na ruela há um lamento Lamento de amor que é fado Dando ao pensar nostalgia O tempo passa apressado É noite na Mouraria
Tudo é fado, tudo é vida Tudo é amor sem guarida Dor, sentimento, alegria
Venho a ti de mãos abertas Como se fossem de espanto Trago a chama dos poetas Sob uma vela de pranto
Venho a ti de mãos fechadas Como se fossem de bruma Trago a flor das madrugadas Nos meus cabelos de espuma
Venho de longe, Lisboa Desaguar no teu regaço O meu corpo de canoa O meu corpo de canoa Amortalhado de espaço
Venho de longe, Lisboa Agasalhar no teu cais O meu corpo de falua O meu corpo de falua Despido nos temporais
Venho a ti de mãos vazias Perdi sonhos no caminho Quero pousar os meus dias No teu vestido de linho
Venho a ti de pés descalços Como se fossem de vento Sou a sombra de dois braços Na loja do esquecimento Só tu sabes o meu nome Por isso a ti me confio Com fados mata-me a fome Com penas tira-me o frio Quero voar no teu sono Como a gaivota no rio Que viveu por não ter dono Que morreu por desafio
Venho a ti de mãos abertas Como se fossem de espanto Trago a chama dos poetas Sob uma vela de pranto Venho a ti de mãos fechadas Como se fossem de bruma Trago a flor das madrugadas Nos meus cabelos de espuma
Today, The Grandma has received the saddest news. Susana Maria Alfonso deAguiar, Mísia, has passed away leaving us an unforgettable artistic legacy and a human absence impossible to full it.
Susana Maria Alfonso de Aguiar (18 June 1955-27 July 2024), known mononymously as Mísia, was a Portuguese fado singer. She was a polyglot, singing some of her songs in Catalan, Spanish, French, English, and Japanese. Mísia's mother was Catalan and used to be a cabaret dancer, which accounts for many of the influences that shaped her music: tango, bolero, the use of Portuguese guitar with accordion, violin and the piano.
Throughout her career, Mísia developed a new style: she modernized Amália Rodrigues's fado, shocking orthodox audiences by adding to the traditional instruments (bass guitar, classical guitar and Portuguese guitar) the sensuality of the accordion and the violin, and borrowing their finest verses from the greatest Portuguese poets.
She recorded a little-known record in Catalan.
Her first solo album was released in 1990, at a time when fado was a poor career choice for a Portuguese singer.
With the exception of Amália Rodrigues and Carlos do Carmo, there was no audience for fadistas. Nevertheless, Mísia went on to record an album respecting all the traditional features of the genre, including poems from popular fado songwriters, such as Joaquim Frederico de Brito or José Niza, alongside poems by famous Portuguese poets, such as José Carlos Ary dos Santos, and even a piece from Vinicius de Moraes's song, Samba em Prelúdio.
The album bore her name, Mísia, and was very well received by both audience and critics outside Portugal, mainly in France. The album was followed by Fado in 1993, in which she maintained her decision to use lyrics by popular writers and poets. This time she sang songs by Sérgio Godinho (Liberdades Poeticas), Amália Rodrigues (Lágrima), along with poems from António Lobo Antunes (Nasci Para Morrer Contigo), Rosa Lobato de Faria (Fado Quimera and Velhos Amantes based on a song by Jacques Brel) and even a text by future Nobel prize winner José Saramago (Fado Adivinha).
In 1995, she recorded Tanto Menos Tanto Mais (Means Less Is More), which combines the texture of classical fado instruments, the Portuguese guitar, the acoustic guitar and the bass, with that of the violin, the accordion, the piano and even the harp. Once more, she sang António Lobo Antunes, but also Fernando Pessoa and João Monge, one of the most appreciated Portuguese lyrics-writers.
The first album to be released in the USA was Garras dos Sentidos in 1998. The concept of this album was to use lyrics by famous Portuguese poets with melodies belonging to Traditional Fado (where the melody is not bound to specific lyrics). This way, Mísia not only sang text by past poets like Fernando Pessoa, Mário de Sá Carneiro, Natália Correia or António Botto but also contemporary poets like José Saramago and Mário Cláudio, and she also invited two writers to write poems for the album, Agustina Bessa-Luís, who wrote the lyrics for the titletrack, and Lídia Jorge, whose main poem, Fado Do Retorno is sung in two versions: track 4 with piano, accordion, violin and double bass, and track 11 with Portuguese guitar, acoustic guitar, bassa, double bass, violin and accordion.
Her 1999 album, Paixões Diagonais again used songs from a variety of writers, from João Monge, Amélia Muge, Antonio dos Santos or Vitorino Salomé, to Rosa Lobato de Faria or Sérgio Godinho.
In 2001, she decided to pay a tribute to Amália Rodrigues, after the latter's death, and recorded Ritual, where all the songs (except the last one) were recorded as traditional three-instrument fados.
Her 2003 album, Canto, may be considered as her masterpiece. Mixing pieces of the best works of the Portuguese guitarist Carlos Paredes with poems by Vasco Graça Moura (and lyrics by Sérgio Godinho and Pedro Tamen), Mísia created a musical work she would describe as belonging to her gallery of impossible things.
In her 2005 album Drama Box, Mísia depicts herself as a cabaret dancer living in the Drama Box Hotel with her musicians.
In her 2009 album, Ruas, Mísia goes beyond the boundaries of the fado. The first part of the double album, Lisboarium is an imaginary journey through Lisbon, expressed in fado. The second part, Tourists, however, contains performances by Mísia of very different kinds of music. It includes music in Turkish, Spanish, English and French. The concept is non-fado music that according to Mísia has the fado soul. An example of this is her version of Hurt, originally by Nine Inch Nails but inspired by the version by Johnny Cash.
Senhora da noite was released in 2011. The lyrics are all written by women -13 Fados, 13 women. Writers, poets, authors, Fado singers, singers. Agustina Bessa Luís, Florbela Espanca, Manuela de Freitas, Hélia Correia, Amélia Muge, Lídia Jorge and many more. John Turturro directs the video-clip of O Manto da Rainha (2011), a text by Mísia herself.
2013 was the year of Delikatessen Café Concerto with musical direction by the conductor Fabrízio Romano from Naples, and the participation of Ramón Vargas, Adriana Calcanhotto, Paulo Furtado (The Legendary Tigerman), Melech Mechaya, Iggy Pop and Dead Combo.
Para Amália is dedicated to Amalia. The greatest hits album Do Primeiro Fado Ao Último Tango was released in 2016 by Warner.
Pura Vida (Banda Sonora), released in April 2019, is the soundtrack of two difficult years where there was hell, hardness and passion.
Today, The Grandma has been relaxing and listening to some music at home. She has chosen CarlosParedes, the virtuosoPortugueseguitar player and composer, who died on a day like today in 2004.
The Grandma loves fado, and she is a great fan of Mísia. She discovered Carlos Paredes thanks to the Catalan-Portuguese artist, and she has wanted to remember and enjoy both of them.
Carlos Paredes (16 February 1925-23 July 2004) was a virtuoso Portuguese guitar player and composer.
He is regarded as one of the greatest players of Portuguese guitar of all-time.
Born in Coimbra, Portugal, in a family with a long tradition of guitar playing, he was taught to play the Portuguese guitar by his father, Artur Paredes. He composed numerous soundtracks for cinema and theatre, such as the soundtrack for the Portuguese film Os Verdes Anos (1963), which contains his famous piece Canção Verde Anos. He released several recordings as a solo artist and performed in numerous countries worldwide.
Besides his music career, Paredes also worked in the public service for most of his life. In 1958, during Portugal's dictatorial Estado Novo regime, he was imprisoned for 18 months for joining the Portuguese Communist Party, at the time an illegal organization.
Carlos Paredes was born in Coimbra on 16 February 1925. His father was Artur Paredes, an acclaimed player of Portuguese guitar from Coimbra. His grandfather Gonçalo Paredes, his great-uncle Manuel Paredes and his great-grandfather António Paredes were also guitar players.
Around 1934, aged 9, Paredes and his family moved to Lisbon. He did his primary education at the João de Deus School, and after attended the Passos Manuel Lyceum. While attending the lyceum, he had violin and piano lessons. In 1943, he entered the Industrial Course in Instituto Superior Técnico, but was enrolled for only one year.
He started playing guitar when he was 4 years-old, taught by his father. At age 9, he began accompanying his father on the guitar, in his father's concerts. At age 14, Carlos and Artur Paredes started participating on a weekly show in the Emissora Nacional de Radiodifusão, Portugal's public national radio broadcaster, a show that was created by Artur Paredes himself.
In 1949, he became a public service worker, a job he would retire from only later in life, in November 1986. He worked in the radiography archive of the Hospital de São José, in Lisbon, while maintaining his musical career.
Paredes grew up in an environment of discreet resistance and political opposition
to António Salazar's Estado Novo regime.
In 1958, he became a member of
the Portuguese Communist Party, which at the time was an illegal
organization in Portugal.
In the morning of 26 September 1958, he was arrested by PIDE agents in his workplace in Hospital de São José, onthe accusation of belonging to an illegal political party opposing the government.
He was kept imprisoned for 18 months. During his time in prison, he composed music in his head. According to some sources, people in the prison thought that Paredes was going insane, walking around his cell pretending to play the guitar, when in fact he was composing. After his release from prison, he was suspended from his job in the hospital and worked for some years as a delegate of medical propaganda.
After the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, like others who had been political prisoners during the Estado Novo regime, Paredes was seen as a hero. He disliked this status and preferred not to talk about his time in prison, saying that there were people who suffered more than him. He was reinstated to his previous job in the Hospital de São José shortly after the revolution.
Paredes remained a member of the Portuguese Communist Party until his death.
Paredes' first release was a self-titled EP in 1957. He was accompanied by Fernando Alvim on the classical guitar. After this first record, the musical partnership between Paredes and Alvim would last for more than 20 years.
During the 1960s, Paredes composed the soundtracks for numerous Portuguese films. He composed the soundtrack for the 1963 film Os Verdes Anos, directed by Paulo Rocha. The piece Canção Verdes Anos, which is part of this soundtrack and was also included in his first studio album, became one of his most recognizable works.
In 1970, he released a collaboration album with Cecília de Melo, titled Meu País.
In 1971, he released his second solo album, Movimento Perpétuo.
In 1982, his piece Danças Para Uma Guitarra was choreographed by Vasco Wellenkamp for the Gulbenkian Ballet.
In 1983, Paredes released the live album Concerto em Frankfurt, recorded in a concert at the Frankfurt Opera.
In 1986, he released a collaboration album with Portuguese composer António Victorino de Almeida, titled Invenções Livres.
In 1987, he released a new solo album, Espelho de Sons, which reached 3rd place in the Portuguese weekly album charts. It was followed by Asas Sobre o Mundo, in 1989.
In 1990, Paredes release an album with American jazz bassist Charlie Haden, titled Dialogues.
His last show was in October 1993 at the Aula Magna, in Lisbon, accompanied by Luísa Amaro.
After retiring from music and public life, he releases two more albums from previously unreleased material: Na Corrente (1996), containing pieces recorded between 1969 and 1973 at the Valentim de Carvalho studios, and Canção para Titi (2000), with recordings from 1993.
In December 1993, Paredes was diagnosed with myelopathy. The disease forced Paredes to stop playing guitar, thus ending his career as a musician. He was interned at the Fundação-Lar Nossa Senhora da Saúde, in Campo de Ourique, Lisbon, until his death.
Paredes died on 23 July 2004, in Lisbon. Following his death, the Portuguese government declared one day of national mourning in his honour. He lays buried at the Prazeres Cemetery, in Lisbon.
Today, The Grandma is travelling to Bucarest, the capital of Romania on The Orient Express. The Grandma likes reading press every morning to know what is happening around the world. Her favourite tool is Twitter and she has been reading about a missing girl in Barcelona.
It's difficult to understand a teenager's brain. It's an age full of influences and they perceive a simple mistake like a great fail. Every case is a different story but, although The Grandma is sure that this pretty girl isn’t going to read this post, she would like to demand her only one thing: return home, return with your beloved family and friends. You need them and they need you.
In Portuguese, there is a beautiful word to explain how you feel when you’re far away your beloved people or your beloved country: saudade.There's also a beautiful kind of music: fado.
Fado was inscribed in 2011 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
There are lots of incredible, popular and wonderful singers but The Grandma wants to talk about one of them, her favourite, the best in her opinion: Mísia.
Mísia was born in 1955 in Porto, one of the most important cities of Portugal. Mísia is a polyglot. Despite singing mostly fado, she has sung some of her themes in Spanish, French, Catalan, English, and even Japanese.
Mísia's mother was Catalan, from Barcelona. She used to be a cabaret dancer, which accounts for many of the influences that shaped her music: tango, bolero, the use of Portuguese guitar with accordion, violin and the piano. Mísia’s father was Portuguese. Mísia lived some years between Oporto and Barcelona and grew up under the influence of these two different cultures.
Throughout her career, Mísia developed a new style: she modernized Amália Rodrigues's fado, shocking orthodox audiences by adding to the traditional instruments, bass guitar, classical guitar and Portuguese guitar, the sensuality of the accordion and the violin, and borrowing their finest verses from the greatest Portuguese poets.
The only thing that matters is to feel the fado.
The fado is not meant to be sung; it simply happens.
You feel it, you don’t understand it and you don’t explain it.
Laura is our filmmaker.
Because of her job, she traveled around the world constantly and knew lots of
people. She still remembers her first audition playing the role of Ilsa Lund, the main Casablanca’s
character in Porto’s Rivoli Theatre
in her hometown. It was a great success and catapulted her to Hollywood.
Laura
loves fados and carries her land deeply
in her heart. She travels accompanied by Mísia’s
full discography for hedging in her own thinking.
One night, while she was listening to a fado, she thought about her life and loneliness
and had an emotional crisis. Then, she decided to leave her career aside for an
undetermined time and return next to her lovely family. Nowadays, she is living in
Sant Boi.
%20&%20Elsa%20Morgan%20(I).jpeg)
.jpg)
.jpg "Mísia")