Symposyum 25th April – Program and abstracts

On 25th April 2024, Portugal will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, the movement that overthrew the dictatorial government of the Estado Novo, initiating the process of democratisation of the country.

That year, 1974, the Revolution was certainly felt as a breath of hope by the Brazilians too, for they had been resisting the military dictatorship that ruled in their own country for just over 10 years. Not only was it good news, but there was also every reason to expect that the musical echoes of the political struggles and consequent rejoicing for the freedom of Portugal would also reach Brazil. The fact is that Brazil could not keep silent, and, in 1975, Chico Buarque de Hollanda, one of the most important popular composers of his generation, wrote the song Tanto mar, celebrating the Carnation Revolution.

On the other hand, the 50th-anniversary commemorations of the Portuguese 25th

April provide an opportunity to bring Italy on board, since, on the same date, it celebrates 80 years of its own Liberazione, the name given to the moment of the country’s liberation from the Fascists in 1944.

Thus, Caravelas – the Study Group for the History of Luso-Brazilian Music, CESEM, FCSH-NOVA, is preparing to make its own contribution to the celebrations of this special anniversary through an international symposium, to take place in Lisbon between 26th and 27th April. The objective of the event is to reflect on the musical reverberations of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, Brazil and Italy, and to provide a space to assess the impact of politically-inspired music in the three countries, recalling the close cultural ties between them, and paying particular attention to the Liberazione and the movements towards re-democratisation in Brazil. It is worth stressing that this reflection is intended to take in all kinds of musical manifestation, from the most popular to ‘concert music’.