by Uxía Senlle

This project aims to pay homage to the sea as a point of encounter, as the source of life and death, of legends and traditions. A tribute to the great oceans.

Joining and interweaving voices which come from the sea, who throw themselves into the waves, fascinated by the adventure of navegation, by the prospect of setting sail, not knowing whether they will return.

"Songs in the tide" to create and disperse the alalá, the fado, the morna, the samba, the forró and the marrabenta, thereby distilling a unique sensation from diverse perfumes. A journey through the airs and rhythms of these places, always in an atmosphere of festivity and exchange, sharing affinities which spring from the transatlantic connection and from the common language. There will be duets between the various artists and an "end of party" with all the artists performing a piece specially composed for "Cantos na Maré".

It will also be an afirmation of self, of the need to unite oneself with the land, with the living legends, with the mystical and magical Atlantic lands which retain their own vision of the world - a global vision - bringing with it an important understanding of the cultural and psychological pacts which exist between these richly contrasting territories.

The ritual bathing of the nine waves could be a auspicious starting point for exorcising the wicked spell, the evil eye, the witch's curse. The sirens of the "Costa de Morte" who guard enormous hidden wealth which every man covets. The sirens of the sea, a sanctuary from tempests and madness, bringing peace to the people of the sea. When they sing the clouds disperse and the stormy sky becomes serene. The mysterious washerwomen would link up with the prominent role played by women in the traditional songs of Galizan and Portuguese history; women protagonists who siezed iniciatives, who were not just a passive part of the landscape. And thus from the 13th century up to today, but not forgetting the day to day events, the realities and who we are now. Always with an eye fixed on the sea that unites us and carries our music from shore to shore.

From there we will rescue the songs of the goddess of the sea: Iemanjá, with all the presence of her rites and costumes. A recreation in contemporary form with her song and percussion….

Always with a gaze fixed on the people of the sea, the women and men who wrote together a golden page in the history of a land which woke up one year ago to find the black stain of oil and a gaping open wound along its coastline.

This embarcation will travel musically from North to South and from East to West throughout this Atlantic territory of bright, hot music.