AF Hosts Recital in SA

AF Hosts Recital in SA

By Damilare Victor Erinfolami

Mr Carlos Gomes Da Silva

Alliance Francaise recently hosted a Recital that features two International Portuguese Musical stars, José de Eça and Luis Costa, the duo performed to the thrill of their audience on the Occasion of Portuguese Language Day.

The event organized by The Portuguese Embassy in collaborations with Alliance Francaise and the Portuguese Section at University of Pretoria was to promote the Portuguese Language in South Africa and bring the Portuguese speaking people together.

Addressing the gathering at the event, Portuguese Embassy’s Head of Education Department, Mr. Carlos Gomes Da Silva said the Recital is organized as part of the yearly Programme of the Embassy to promote the Portuguese language in South Africa and among non-Portuguese speaking people in the country. He said the Portuguese Language is the second most widely spoken language in Southern Africa, Africa as a whole, also the official Language of Angola, Mozambique and the United Nations. He furthered that other activities in the year are also slated for The University of Cape Town, Harare in Zimbabwe, activities which includes Portuguese Cultural Performances, Dance, and Musical presentations.

The Portuguese Pianist, Luis Costa, said the hospitality of the African people is a great thing and he has amazing experience while teaching in Namibia and Zimbabwe, that his experience with Zimbabwean students was memorable because they have amazing talents and can quickly learn and perform under his tutorship.

The international Tenor singer and foremost Portuguese Soloist, José de Eça, said he sees music as a universal language without borders and that African Composers has a huge influence on their Portuguese counterpart and thus creating a fusion in their music. He said although he cannot perform alone as a singer but he has enjoyed his work together with Luis because of their friendship and great results from the synergy between them in their performances and that definitely they will be elated to perform again in Africa. He furthered that they will also perform in Durban, South Africa and conclude their African Trip by their Performance in Harare, Zimbabwe in a six days annual cultural and musical festival organized by HIFA. Founded in 1999 by Manuel Bagorro, HIFA is now the largest cultural event in Zimbabwe and among the eight major festivals in Africa.

The Recital begins with songs by famous Portuguese composers and ends with the acclaimed Neapolitan songs, the audience also enjoyed German, French, Brazilian and Spanish melodies.