Cairo, the 19th January, 2010

MARIZA at the OPERA HOUSE, CAIRO

Predictable.
I cried in the first moment of the portuguese singer MARIZA at the Cairo Opera.
As soon as the curtains opened and I saw a portuguese guitar lying on a chair under the spotlights,all the tempests broke loose and I couldn't stop crying.

I am so damned predictable and emotional, ohhhhh...God!
MARIZA was simply DIVINE and I don't apply this word easily or to just anyone.
She was not one of my favourite singers and her voice is not one of my elected special ones but she surely earned a new fan tonight.

The most beautiful thing of the show was her human simplicity and humbleness which are so tipically portuguese and some of the characteristics I most cherish in my people.
She was original, honest, earthy and genuine and I guess that is why her success is so huge all over the world.
She also explored the many influences we, portuguese, carry in our genes. Portuguese cultura and music has a bit of spanish, african and other flavours. We're simple people with our feet on the ground but our soul is composed of many colours and places.

Oh...I felt so proud and cried, cried, cried on virtually every song she performed.
The musical arrangements were also excellent and the references she made to PORTUGAL and our traditions (special focus on Lisbon, my city and the birthplace of FADO music)made me sob like a crazy baby. I guess the gentleman by my side was about to get drowned by my flood of tears.

OUR SEA...This presence that is so strong in all portuguese was there.
Every time I arrive to Portugal,I run to the sea and have a longing for our OCEAN as bees have a longing for the Spring open flowers. I long for the unlimited sea of ours and this longing was present during the whole concert (that didn't help, at all, to stop the flood ).

SAUDADE. That melancholy that is ONLY portuguese, a word that has no translation because it can only be fully understood by portuguese who carry the salt in their veins and the memories of endless, ancient departures in their bodies and souls.

What can I say???
DIVINE.
Not because it's a portuguese singer I am talking about but because it is REALLY DIVINE.
And being portuguese never made more sense to me than now. That will surely be reflected in my life and work.

Cairo concert was the first of Mariza's 2010's tour. This is a great signal for me.


Did I mention there's such a deep connection between portuguese/spanish and arabic music and feeling?!
Did I mention I love my country?


FOLLOW THE LINK AND CHECK A SCENE FROM THE MOVIE FADOS, DIRECTED BY CARLOS SAURA.FADO AT A LISBON TAVERNA. A BIT OF MY CITY OVER HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a4J55hKomU