Are you up to 35 years old? Do you live in the municipality or district of Beja? Do you want to take part in an innovative project with traditional roots that preserves and promotes Cante Alentejano in a contemporary way? The new Grupo de Cante Alentejano Futurama will be open to all genres and wishes to travel the Alentejo and the world, captivating new audiences and generations to cante.
Cante Alentejano is a popular cultural expression with a strong presence in the district of Beja. Futurama - Cultural and Artistic Ecosystem of Baixo Alentejo has been valuing, promoting and transmitting this practice of traditional polyphonic singing, under an experimental and contemporary approach, by inviting renowned Portuguese-language authors to write new modas for the groups of Baixo Alentejo, modas that have been set to music by Ana Santos, Celina da Piedade or Paulo Ribeiro (Cantexto project).
Now Futurama is calling for applications to create its own Futurama Cante Alentejano Group. This group will have the particularity of singing exclusively the contemporary modas it has commissioned over the last few years from authors such as Afonso Cruz, Alice Neto de Sousa or Gonçalo M. Tavares.
This is Futurama's way of celebrating the 10th anniversary of Cante Alentejano's classification as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. It's a celebration that isn't limited to 2024, but one that looks to the future, as this new group is born in 2025.
Rehearsers: Ana Santos, Celina da Piedade, Paulo Ribeiro.
Some of the authors of the songs that make up the repertoire: Afonso Cruz, Afonso Reis Cabral, Alice Neto de Sousa, Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Gonçalo M. Tavares, Hélia Correia, Isabela Figueiredo, Joana Bértholo, José Luís Peixoto, Margarida Vale de Gato, Marta Pais de Oliveira, Matilde Campilho, Ondjaki, Patrícia Portela, Regina Guimarães, Richard Zimler, Rui Cardoso Martins, Tiago Rodrigues, Valério Romão
Composers: Ana Santos, António Doutor, Armando Torrão, Celina da Piedade, Paulo Ribeiro
Artistic coordination: John Romão
REHEARSALS
Time: Wednesdays, between 7pm and 9pm
Venue: Futurama - Arts and Knowledge Space (Largo da Conceição Nº5, Beja), opposite the Rainha D. Leonor Museum.
Starting date: April 2025
Travel support: Futurama contributes to the travel costs of participants who want to join the singing group and have to travel by car to the rehearsal space.
TO ENROL
Do you want to enrol in this new cante group? With or without previous experience in Cante, this group will be able to introduce or reinforce your practice, with three rehearsers who make a mark on the Alentejo music scene, Ana Santos, Celina da Piedade and Paulo Ribeiro.
Send an e-mail to info@futurama-alentejo.com with your full name, date of birth, telephone number, where you live and whether this is your debut or if you have sung Cante Alentejano before.
Do you have any questions? Write to us at the same e-mail address or on Instagram @futurama.alentejo.
Futurama is a project supported by the Ministry of Culture / Directorate-General for the Arts, Beja Town Council, Serpa Town Council and the Millennium BCP Foundation. It has the High Patronage of the Presidency of the Republic.
