” If I told youFado“, You are likely to imagine yourself on the streets of Lisbon, perhaps more accurately in the labyrinthine Alfama district, where restaurants sometimes sound a few notes of plaintive vocals and plaintive guitar. This is for the postcard. Today’s fado is not only mourning a lost sailor, it can be done “gay Activist “As evidenced by the Théâtre de la Ville / Espace Cardin program accompanying the duo’s concert Fado Bisha last Saturday.
Vado Pesha literally means “Queer Fado”, The term “bicha” refers in Portuguese to the alleged androgynous attitude of homosexuals – or all those who have the misfortune of not conforming to a uniform masculinity. on stage and in their music videos, Lila Thiago (singing) f Joao Cacador (Guitar) Wear neon fishnets as a cover-up for one, and black lingerie, stockings, heels and a stetson dome for the other. As for singing technique, we’re really in a mess, with this typical expansion that sometimes stretches syllables, sometimes makes them stumble into succession to the point of making it hard to understand. But the topics covered are not quite traditional.
The duo’s debut album Okobakuopens b Mass for Valentine’s Day, a young man who was persecuted for his homosexuality in the 1930s and was confined to a psychiatric hospital for most of his life. Another song, in the more light-hearted fado tradition, renders Kronica do Maxo discreet (“The Chronicle of Sober Manhood”) by recounting the setbacks of a boy who does not take responsibility for himself. “New Desires”Go all the same in the parking lot at the foot of the statue of Christ the King, Place cruising (dredge) notorious on the edge Tagus, while claiming that the only person he truly loves is his mistress – who, of course, must know nothing. yet another, Fogo na casaCelebrate the pleasure of penetration by concluding each course with: “E tao bom / Ser passivo” (“It’s too good to be negative”). Which does not prevent them from resuming a classic workAmalia RodriguesAnd Fado du ciume.
at the Espace Cardin Theater on Saturday, Leila Tiago wonders what imitation is. Why do you still sing Fado? Enter the subject of a particular folkloric pride, why not. But fado, born in the bars and brothels of Lisbon, also has a history of controversy and marginalization. logic that society gay He takes it back to sing and celebrate its own history, otherwise doomed to oblivion in a country where the Catholic religion still has a certain influence – the Pope will be in Lisbon this summer to celebrate World Youth Day.
in Saudade Labyrinth. Mythological Psychoanalysis of Portuguese Destiny (1978)And Portuguese philosopher Eduardo Lourenco (1923-2020) is harsh on a certain kind of national complacency, while calling for a post-Clove Revolution.
“No person, let alone a people with so many centuries of common life and such a formidable destiny, can live without an image ideal from himself. But we mostly lived through an image unrealistic, which is not the same thing. Portuguese, in the case of insurmountable difficulty, we have always had the solution of despair: escape towards more favorable ambiences. Now is the time to take shelter inside the house, to barricade ourselves there, to build with perseverance The country inhabited by all, without waiting for eternity there or Outside The solution that, as in the famous anecdote, is buried in our little garden.
Eduardo Lourenco, Saudade Labyrinth1978
Vado Bisha brings his stone no doubt – Gloss covered – for this new edifice “suitable for all”. »
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