Carlos Paredes was not only an exceptional guitarist, was a gifted musician who left to posterity a superior work

Son, grandson and great grandson of a long line of musicians, Carlos Paredes could only have been an excellent performer of the Portuguese guitar.It  was in his blood, which was printed in his DNA  as one of the greatest guitarists of our country. Born February 16th, 1925, in Coimbra, Carlos Paredes could only know the glory of having been born in a house inhabited by musicians. His father, Artur Paredes was the decisive figure in this growth and maturation as a musician, since after a short period to learn to play violin and piano, he sealed the fate of Carlos to host him as his pupil. A wise decision, because without it, the world would not have known the musical genius that was his son.
Carlos Paredes early showed aptitude for music and tried to innovate the way to play the Portuguese guitar. It was so much the love and respect he felt for his chosen instrument that in more than once thru the years in his great humility, he said that he had missed this purpose. Listen and evaluate. The best example perhaps is the soundtrack he wrote for the "green years", a film by Paulo Rocha, who describes musically the most humble Portuguese who came to Lisbon in the 70's. It is the soul  the Lusitanian people that he plays on the strings of his guitar that  thrilled who heard him, to the point of marvel audiences with his virtuosity and confuse him at the same time with the ease with which strummed the guitar strings, hence the nickname of thousand fingers.
If you close your eyes and listen carefully  you will feel a thrill as a disturbing cry for every chord, playded  by the master of the guitar in Coimbra, which in bygone days of dictatorship, arrested by secret police, "played" with his fingers, music just heard on his restless mind. The fellow prisoners on those days  thought was crazy. Only played for himself in the silence of prison because it was an inevitability of his fate, was his fado. Having died with even a very short career, Carlos Paredes left  orphans the people who idolized him, because he alone knew how to express in sounds what was in his heart. Hence I close this tribute with a small request, listen ... and silence becouse is been play the fado.

www.myspace.com/carlosparedes1925

It is a novel that describes the 1930 in the island of Madeira.

When one reads Ferreira de Castro we noticed immediately the writer's prose. He has a language of great beauty of style and that immediately attracts the reader. Writing in a large sense. The second striking feature of this novel, if we can say that, is it history, which brings us back to the island of Madeira, which he describes masterfully in the '30s. The very first chapter begins with a wonderful description of the arrival at the port of the city. Ferreira de Castro is truly an analytical narrator, is not limited to describing the beauties that surround the island, he almost feels in the skin the difficulties that the islanders face every day, the oblivion that they are voted on from the mainlanders and the widespread misunderstanding that face silently by their condition of islanders. The most curious is that this narrative is still very current and more because the writer is not even from Madera, but was sensitive enough to perceive the difficulties and anxieties of a people that is not his, inspired only by respect and compassion. Another of the strengths of this book that I found interesting was the description of daily life in the city, the embroiderers in their daily toil, in comparison to rural areas, the miseries of agricultural life, although the land is fertile, the mountain is not easily tame and all do everyone can take their share it does come at the cost of great sacrifice. Ferreira de Castro is aware of all these details and leaves nothing unsaid, he managed to capture the heart of what is to be from Madera. I really enjoyed this book because it describes a time I was unaware off and in the end he stills have time to describe the fireworks at the end of the year, which I did not even know even existed then and bids farewell to the island the same way he started, by the sea. The title could not have been more appropriate, the essence of a people is always eternal. Happy reading!

It is a collection of short stories written by Pedro Paixao.

The best of Peter's passion writing is the titles. They are always juicy and irresistible. Appeal to the imagination of the reader, even before we flip through the pages of the book. One quality that I think comes from the fact that the author was also a journalist. His writing is lean, direct and without unnecessary metaphors which reflects that stripped language. A realistic style patent in these tales of urban nature. Almost all texts lead us to know his everyday life, deals with the reality that surrounds him, people who came cross his path and he also speaks of the Portuguese, which he defines as "people who see Eusebius games, live or not, and feel vaguely that he is family, cultivate a tradition of spitting on the floor while walking, well, things like that we have in common. And of course, a more important thing, we like to speak the same language. " Pedro Paixao, as a rule, does not write big literary tomes, even the number of pages show he is a concise author, dry, just writes what he think is determinedly essential to the story. It is the case of this living every day is tiring. Why this title? Once again you must identify it by reading. Happy reading!

The band that rocked the national charts in 2009, enters a new cycle with a 3D album already in August

When you released the second album “dumb”, felt pressured in any way, either by the public or by the industry to surpass the success of the 1st disc?

I think not. It was never our intention to compare the successes or other parameters, since it comes to music and culture. Is not quantifible, not comparable. We would, instead, give our best and be able to create a honest work according to a concept, and that sense we are very pleased with the results.

What is the balance that make the second album, after a certain distance?

Right now we are with the reissue of the disc and, despite not having been a success so esplosivo as the previous, we were pleased by single "dumb" , it was a phenomenon of airplay, according to the radio. The fact that we are making a new edition of the disc is the consolidation of our success and a good prospect for further career development, which is our priority.

The lyrics of your songs are autobiographical? In "silent" issues seem to be more personal.

Like the first disc are the inter-personal issues, some based on our experiences, but a reflection of what most people think. This project is, without doubt, mainstream, we are interested in what people identify with our personal experiences, that is why’s so direct.

Already feel some fatigue when you play the theme "Break"?

Never. This song will always be part of our history and success of the name
the band. There is always a feeling of pleasure when we interpret it.
Always leads us to a feeling of nostalgia for the time when it all began ...

What is more challenging and gives more adrenaline, playing large growds such as festivals, or you prefer the smaller gigs, more intimate?

Each experience in its spectrum. On stage for more big growds there’s more noise and light, but in small gigs we have gained better understanding of the reaction of the audience, their faces and expressions, we communicate with them more directly, as if there were no barrier. It seems to me that there are phases in which we are dedicated to one or another way to introduce ourselves.

What was the best concert ever? And why?

I think it was the burning of the ribbons of Porto in 2009. Because we played in a very big stage and for many thousands of people, we share the stage with Rui Veloso, our colleague and companion of the duet Interval, a moment that we recreated in this event, especially because all our family, fans and supporters insisted to be present.

A musician from Madeira that will "break" the hearts with his voice almost unmistakable.

For those unfamiliar with the music of Irish singer Luso-DD Peartree or better Dieter Daniel Pereira to be more precise, a warning, he is a talent on the loose.
I discovered, I mean, I found this singer on youtube when I did a little research on musicians from Madeira and soon became fascinated with his music and writing that have nothing to do with the sound of our country. It is a blend of folk and pop, experts say in the matter, but to me what caught my attention is that despite sound cheerful, a feature that prints with his guitar on some songs, the lyrics are melancholic.
What fascinates me the most however, is not only the unusual sound of this Portuguese singer, but the voice of the boy. I'm sure there is a direct relationship between a hoarse voice and female audience. He reminds me of Bryan Adams, i'm serious! So much so that when i've talk to some of my friends about him, after all i was not the only fan who discovered the gunpowder, and more to emphasize the importance of the imagery that surrounds a sexy voice (the radio for decades potentiated it!) many of them were somewhat disappointed with the appearance of muchacho, after associating the voice to the body. Nevertheless, they still hear his songs.
The only regret is that this young musician has not yet found a music label that does justice to his music and that will make him known to a wider audience that does not yet deal with the Internet. I leave, however, address to listen that I like best: "The Devil That You Know" from the unreleased album Twist & Turns.

www.myspace.com / peartreewhite / music

It is the oral account of a rural life that is losing described by Bento da Cruz.

The author is a physician by profession but has always been a lover of tales of oral tradition of his homeland, Barroso, in Tras-os-Montes. Bento da Cruz has an extensive literary work that addresses this issue of the deep rurality. The language he uses in this collection is literally the way the people had tale this stories, not taking away even a comma. Do not expect a masterpiece of literature, because it is not, or it aspires to be. It is a writing that may shock some readers with it shameless descriptions and the many funny situations of everyday life in the villages, it is a decal of the language that retrieves and safeguards its rich ethnography, which never fells in the error of been mere folklore. It is a journey through the rural village field with priests, wolves and voluptuous women that are the delight of the reader without any linguistic prejudices, let's just call like that. It is above all an honest and very funny account of how they lived somewhere in these villages lost in the depths of Portugal. With these stories, Bento da Cruz tries to immortalize a way of life that it has been disappearing gradually, due to desertification of the countryside population and the increasing disappearance of older people who kept this strong oral tradition of profane storytelling that rejoiced everyone during the harsh winter nights and fed the gossip of the village. You will enjoy it, if only because it is so slight and assuming that will make you smile. Who is the red? Ahh, that you will have to disclose it yourself. Good reading.

Martinho Torres, rather Richard Towers, had the idea to create a book that goes beyond its original function, can be read, but at the same time is a work of art. There are several dimensions associated to a single concept, the literature together with the decoration, or pure fun. An innovative object that intends to disassemble a simple old idea, the printed word on paper.

How did you come up with the idea of ​​these books?
Martinho Torres: I've always been connected to music for years and wrote an argument for a record and it took five years, gave up the idea of ​​recording the CD, because the text had many chapters and hence arose the idea of ​​a book object, why not make a chess book and other things I'm working. Deciding to start the project was a step and them I looked for a publisher.

Why you decided to create a publish company for this purpose?
MT: Because the proposals I've received, were not favorable. They asked for money in order to edit, I did the math and knew that they would win all the rest.... The other proposals did not have any other type of return to me, to my work. So I decided to invest myself.

Why chose a pseudonym, Richard Towers for the books?
MT: When I decided to proceed with the project, thought it was important the pseudonym to break the barrier of the international market. When I went to the Frankfurt book fair, the editors thought I was Anglophone, but then realized through the book it was in an another language and in the end felt odd that someone used a pseudonym in English and approached them with a new product, enforcing what we are at the deep bottom. We have ideas, just needed a push to make things happen. I gave myself a push and I am struggling, everything is happening slower than what I wanted.

How you initiate the creative process? You have the idea and then write the book, or vice versa?
MT: There's a novel, a narrative that occasionally aboard various aesthetic genres, some have an essay at the end, but basically they are novels. The idea comes first and then I write it down. In the case of the watch was so.

His writing was unabashed, as much as the life he led and even merited a bibliography.

Must be one of the few Portuguese writers of which we can say without the slightest exaggeration that his life was greater than his work. Luiz Pacheco was best known for his irreverence and way of life utterly debauched and promiscuous, rather than the texts, although the literary quality of his writing is compelling. It was above all a baffling personality, best known for his personal life, his sexual adventures, and his marriages to teenage mothers (who has only parallel with the Marquis de Sade) instead of the published work by itself. He never intended to be a respectable person, quite the contrary has always fueled by the myth of the libertine with a largely unregulated, dissolute and almost immoral life. He was hypersensitive to alcohol, a beggar, ate in soup social kitchens, forged seals of the state and had a habit of borrowing money to friends who of course, he never repaid. Despite all these "weaknesses" of character, as the scholar Carlos Loures says, he earns a great respect of the literary community. What was not at all strange, considering that in his writing has always denounced the Salazar regime, but also longtime friends, as was the case of the celebrated clash with Fernando Namora who he accused of having plagiarized in his book, "Sunday afternoon" the "Appearance "of Virgilo Ferreira. And he helped found a publishing house, the counterpoint, which published great authors of the Portuguese language, as Herberto Helder, Natalia Correia, Mario Cesariny, Raul Leal, among others. His personal journey is as we use to say, my life is a movie ... banned until 30 years of age. Without exaggeration! However, what nobody can deny is that his reputation is mainly due to others. People have always been fascinated by his whole twisted world and have perpetuated of the myth the man that never give a dam about the rest of humanity. And the work stays to immortalize him.
http://www.vidaslusofonas.pt/lpacheco.htm

Joel Neto is Azorean and it shows in its writing. He carries the island and pours it in the pages of his books. It is the case of the compilation of these short stories, he wrote at age 25, and that also reflect the opposition between the country and city that is very present in his literary work.

There is much of the island in this book. You have several chronic speaking of the Azores; you always carry it with you?
Joel Neto: Yes, clearly. I was wondering is if everyone does that. But, I guess that everyone brings it in different ways. For some people this is more evident, some less and others is still an obsession as it is in my case.

The sea?
JN: Yes, although for us Azorean Islanders and other people, not necessarily for all people of the islands, the sea is both what unites and what separates them. In the Azores in particular was for many centuries an enemy and I think today, and I am thinking about this now, one of the things that maybe I tried to do, or even deliberately shed without being consciously to do so was I acquitted the sea of it's historical enmity. The ocean is what gave support, but at the same time was the murderer of the Azores people.

The difficulty they felt about leaving?
JN: Yes, but also because the fishermen it killed.

You on one of your chronic killed a character.
JN: Yes, I usually kill many (laughs). This happened later in Italy and this can be one of the best stories of the Citroen. This book was written in post-adolescence, this book was naive that I am not ashamed and is even one I like best.

Speaking of the title, you owned a Citroen?
JN: Yes, the title was also the sound bite and was also funny. I think what interests me is to find an occult literature in the little things, day-to-day stuff. I think there is nothing most insignificant and a literary as a vehicle.

A must read for all who want to know about Portugal.

It is a multidisciplinary approach for what it means to be Portuguese. This is a work that is not exactly literary, focuses various sciences that help to understand in a comprehensive manner after all who are these Portuguese and its influence in the world. The book is written in two hands, one hand, belongs to Filipa M. Ribeiro is a journalist who helps "translate" to a more colloquial language all the terminology and scientific research, which is the sole responsibility of the biologist, Luisa Pereira. It's a reading adventure this book and discover the origins of the genetic heritage of our people, but, not just that. They also address the various stages of human evolution, from prehistory to the present day. Let's just say, is the portrait of mankind under various scientific perspectives, thru archeology, anthropology, climatology and even historical approach, particularizing in a clear and attractive language the specific case of the Portuguese origins in sub-Saharan Africa, where it maximum strain is located in the localities of Belmonte and Mértola and still focusing on the remaining genetic heritage that we acquired over the navigation travel we did thru the globe. What we can concluded is that in the background we are a mixed people and we were literally everywhere, which reinforces the old adage, where there is a Portuguese, there are always two or three more. Good reading.