Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

The City of Winds continues to host a series of concerts in the framework of "Sound Waves" festival.

The Portuguese Trio Daniel Pereira will perform in Baku on December 16 together with Azerbaijani musicians. The etno-concert will take place at the International Mugham Centre.

Last spring, concerts were organized with Mediterranean countries, such as Italy, Greece, Spain and two weeks ago, also with Israel. Now, it is the turn for musicians from Portugal, a Southern European Atlantic country, to perform with Azerbaijani artists.

Daniel Pereira Cristo is a musician, who explores the potential of ancestral instruments from Northwest Portugal. For his music, Cristo uses ancient string-instruments such as the "Cavaquinho", the "Viola Braguesa", and the Mandolin. In his singing, he reclaims the Portuguese oral tradition, while his instrumental pieces perfectly illustrate the cultural significance of these particular sounds. . In this concert in Baku, he will be joined by André NO (percussions) and Hélder Costa ("Viola Braguesa" and guitar).

The music residents and guests of Baku will enjoy to during this concert is characteristic of the city of Braga, in Northwest Portugal. It is interesting to note that several Azerbaijani students have recently studied in the Minho Region, attending universities both in the cities of Braga and Viana do Castelo.

Furthermore, Braga, exactly as Ganja this year, was in 2012 the European Capital of Youth and the two cities have recently been closely in contact. So, although it may come as a surprise, ties have already been developed between Azerbaijan and the region of Portugal where these musicians come from.

This year, the Mission of Portugal, together with local partners, has more than once brought Portuguese culture to Baku. In April, the works of three Portuguese artists were shown in the “I Wanna be Adored” exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and, in September, the ensemble “Fad Nu” played three concerts of the Portuguese traditional music Fado at Landmark.

Art is a bridge between cultures and a universal language, which enhances understanding, but above all proves that we are the same people everywhere in the world, with the same longings and the same emotions and the same need to be understood.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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