Camané is a Portuguese Fado singer. Over the past few years, Portugal has become one of the most coveting benchmarks when it comes to tourism, mainly due to its emotive character. Portuguese music finds itself at the centre stage and Secrets from Portugal had the pleasure to interview Camané, one of the illustrious names known to be revolutionising a new generation of Fado in the country. The skilled vocalist shared his thoughts on the appeal of Portuguese music abroad and we were also able to pick his brain about some of his most favoured places in Portugal that best represent the nation.
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“Music is all about soul, emotions, I believe that it surpasses any language barrier, music exceeds all types of obstacles and it can truly move people all around the world.”
Camané starts by complementing the melodic character of Portuguese music, saying that a lot of emotion goes into producing it. His sensitivity towards this world was manifested right in his childhood where he came upon a records collection from his parents and he discovered some of the biggest names in the international scene at the time, such as Frank Sinatra and The Beatles as well as some of the most iconic Fado singers like Amália Rodrigues and Fernando Maurício. Although Camané was still too young to fully grasp the concept of the lyrics, it was the emotive melody of these songs that immediately fascinated him, and this is just an example of how powerful music can really be.
Fado is undoubtedly the most unique music genre that deserves complete and total recognition based on its true form and history alone, according to Camané “it is music with an incredible melodic personality, this time of music is only presented once in a while, and I’m talking about traditional Fado, this truly only happens in classical music, blues and jazz … these are styles of music with a tremendous character, that have a really emotive and personal sound to them, extremely defined, and it is simply impossible for people to be indifferent.”
In Portugal, there are numerous places where it is possible to learn about the awe-inspiring world of Fado and Camané references two of them due to their traditional and creative character, Mesa de Frades and Maria da Mouraria, both in Lisbon. The beloved vocalist also highlights the dazzling streets of Portugal, in particular, those in Bairro Alto that have a singular beauty and represent various historical periods of the country.
To conclude Secrets from Portugal asks Camané about a region of the country that fascinates him but has yet to have the touristic visibility that it deserves, to which he responded, “Paredes de Coura … I was truly admired by its rural tourism and I think that it is a region that has an incredible cultural livingness.”
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