Diaspora

What the Sete Lágrimas ensemble promised didn't seem easy to fulfil: a journey through the musical genres and forms of the five continents, evoking the presence and influence left by Portuguese voyages between the 16th and 20th centuries. All of this in sixty minutes. All in all, 12 minutes for each century. From Iberian vilancico to fado, from "black" vilancicos to the Brazilian "chorinho", passing through African mornas and the traditional songs of Timor, Macau, India and Brazil. The result is a journey of 400-odd years in one hour, with stops in various latitudes touched by the explorer influence of our ancestors.

It was also a journey through our collective trans-generational imaginary on a pleasant August first evening (as pleasant as possible in the micro-climate of Alcobaça). In the music of the "other" we saw ours and vice-versa. And we saw the the evolution of our culture through contact with others. And it was also a dreamlike walk through other soundscapes, supported by the extraordinary play of light, assisted by the almost mystical character of the edified heritage, as can be seen in Sara Leonardo's photographs.