Braga’s Paraíso festival celebrates African heritage through music, film and debate

The Cesária Évora Orchestra will headline Saturday’s program at the two-day Paraíso festival, a cultural event honoring African heritage across Braga.

Formed from musicians who accompanied the “Barefoot Diva” during live performances and studio recordings at the height of her career, the orchestra includes Teófilo Chantre, composer of many of Cesária Évora’s best-known songs. It will join Cape Verdean singers Elida Almeida, Lucibela and Ceuzany, who are regarded among the country’s finest vocal talents. The concert pays tribute to Évora, who died in 2011 and remains one of Cabo Verde’s greatest cultural icons. It begins at 21:30 at Theatro Circo.

Under the theme “Past and Future in Afro-Descent,” Paraíso brings together music, gastronomy, cinema and discussion at venues throughout northern Portugal’s Braga city. In addition to Theatro Circo, the festival will feature programming at the Centésima Página bookshop and the gnration venue. On Friday, September 11, it will screen Vanessa Fernandes’ film “Si Destino,” followed by a discussion between the director and academic Ana Cristina Pereira—better known as Kitty Furtado, one of the festival’s curators.

On Saturday, gnration will host a conversation with the authors of “Anti-racist Handbook for the Arts and Education,” featuring contributions from Dori Nigro, Melissa Rodrigues and Raquel Lima of União Negra das Artes. The project, which is expected to become a book, coincides with the centenary of the birth of Amílcar Cabral, a leading figure in the independence struggles of Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde.

“Now more than ever, it is essential to examine what came before us so we can shape what comes next,” the organizers said. “The festival explores how we can live between the heritage we inherit and the realities we build together.”

The event forms part of the activities commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP).

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