Homage to the Cante Alentejano (Alentejo Song) | Exhibition at Museu da Música Portuguesa (Museum of Portuguese Music)

Michel Giacometti gave special attention to the Alentejo Song (Cante), having left a significant part of his work in Cascais. Today, it can be enjoyed at Museu da Música Portuguesa (Museum of Portuguese Music). This exhibition evokes the works of Giacometti and links the photographic records that the ethnologist took in Alentejo between the 60s and the 80s with the documentary "Lá longe" by the young director David Mira on the choral group Estrelas do Guadiana, from Tires, Cascais, establishing a bridge between the two times, the land and the diaspora, which not only attests to the vitality of musical expression, but also the strength of its identity.

The passion of the communities of the Alentejo was led out of the Alentejo by the populations who migrated in the second half of the 20th century. Therefore, the Alentejo song left the geographical borders of the Alentejo and is also sung in taverns in Tires, Cascais, where one of the most active Choral Musical Groups of the Alentejo is based - The Estrelas do Guadiana. The Director David Mira followed the Choral Group Estrelas do Guadiana, from Tires, and in his documentary "Lá Longe", tells how Alentejo is felt in Cascais. The documentary will be continuously played on an LCD and is part of the exhibition (room 2).

The inauguration programme for the exhibition, which included the presence of Carlos Carreiras, Mayor of the Câmara Municipal de Cascais (Municipal Council of Cascais), also included presentations from Paulo Lima (responsible for the candidacy of the Song to UNESCO and Director of Casa do Cante) and the director David Mira on the documentary “Lá Longe”. There was also a performance by the Choral Group Estrelas dos Guadiana during the inauguration.