Semana da Cultura Indo Portuguesa begins

The tenth edition of the Semana da Cultura Indo Portuguesa was off to a musical start recently as fadista Sonia Shirsat and accompanying musicians regaled the audience with a fado fusion, performing tunes like Cancao do Mar, Choro and Barco Negro.

The inaugural ceremony which was held at Hotel Mandovi, Panaji had in attendance minister of revenue and IT, Rohan Khaunte; minister for environment of Portugal, Joao Pedro De Matos Fernandes; consul general of Portugal in Goa, Antônio Chrystello Tavares and executive committee members.

Speaking at the evening, Francisco Martins welcomed the audience and revealed that the tenth edition of this festival is expected to be ‘more varied and glamorous’, with events like the food and music fest, Lusophonia Film Fest, fado contest, storytelling contest, collaboration with Vem Cantar and a gala evening.

Chief guest Rohan Khaunte highlighted the similarities between Goa and Portugal and how the latter’s influence is still evident in Goa today, especially making note of the Uniform Civil Code and observing how till today Portugal is the first name on every Goan’s mind during the football world cup. As the IT minister however, he is always on the lookout for ways to help Goa progress further and expressed his desire for technical partnerships with Portugal in this regards.

Joao Pedro De Matos Fernandes, who is on his third trip to Goa, also expressed his happiness at observing how Portuguese culture is celebrated in Goa. “I was listening to the fado which was sung so well and it reminded me of a phrase by Fernando Pessoa where he noted that language is an instrument of peace and helps unify people,” he said.

The inaugural was followed by a symposium on Portuguese influence on Goan culture by historians Prajal Sakharande and Maria Lourdes Bravo de Costa which was moderated by journalist and author Alexandre Barbosa.