The Arts
October 2020
descantes
by José F. Colaço Guerreiro
Considered by Unesco as World Heritage, the art of Cante is one of the most ancient and pure singing art form in Portugal. Along with this marvellous tradition, there are a few people that still keep the art of playing the Viola Campaniça, an acoustic guitar invented centuries ago in the region of Alentejo.The author, José Francisco Colaço, rescued this lost tradition from oblivion researching for more than twenty years, tracking the guardians of this old knowledge and bringing them back to the spotlight through audio records, radio programmes and, of course, writing.
