It is the debut album from a young band of the Azores, a flavor of the Portuguese sea.

They are young and it shows this discographic work. They lack the maturity that comes with time and experience. But, and there is always one for a first album is not bad at all. It is always a challenge to write lyrics in Portuguese, especially when it's pop rock. "Elsewhere" is a song that hits the bulls eye, has the right rhythm and the lyrics are appealing. The same can be said of "Oh my life." They are hymns of youth, the years of rebellion and uncertainties. "Cold Summer" is a song that bet strongly on the instrumental so much as rock bands do, have some flaws, seems exaggerated, it is noticeable that they want to show their skills with the guitar and failed, the lyrics are poor and this is reflected in the whole. In "salvation" I perceive the difference. This song reminds me of other times. The "backing vocals" prolong the verses and that is not heard as often as you might think, much even less in recent bands. "Dream with Music" is a powerful theme and full of power, which aligns with "my place" which is another visit card, of these "picarotos" (youth of the island of Pico). I only have two suggestions, more attention the first lyrics; some are immature in writing terms. In terms of sound, it will be more interesting to include more instruments. I just hope that this group does not die on the beach, as we say in Portugal, because two original members of the new dynasty had already left the project, but the history of music is full of these kinds of stories. I just hope that this one has a happy ending and keeps pursuing the dream of making music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm2jogYjWlg&feature=relmfu

The association Aura was the dream life of a mother and a son. A teacher and a student. A patient and a caregiver. It was a project that aimed to help young people with learning difficulties, cancer patients and those who take care of them. Now it's much, much more. The Aura is Luis, Ana, Manuela, Augustine and Lydia and the many more who want to participate. And the dream was born a selfless work which aims for a better world where everyone can access the same opportunities. All day donate their skills, their time and money to helping others. They create music projects, stage plays and shows take place in order to prove that one can always do better, accomplish more and at the same time encouraging self-esteem in young people. Come donate your time, give a hand, or buy a CD or DVD from the Aura, you'll see ... all is worth when the soul is not small. And theirs is not, I promise! It's the world.

Why the name Aura?

Louis França: The Aura was a teacher of students of alternative curricula and is the name of my mother. I was the first student.

What is the role of the association among young people?

LF: What do we do with the kids of alternative curricula is to chain actions that for the school is impossible to achieve. We organize concerts, encumbrance them on CD and DVD. It is they who create the costumes, sets and music and integrate both sides at the end, the musical and visual. We grabbed everything that the kids are giving us the time and do it differently, maybe the student has difficulty in English and what do we do? We chose the lyrics of a song in that language to submit to a show. He is studying, but he doesn't know. We create in the end products that are sold on the market, are amateurs in the background, but as good as the professionals. The sale reverts to the association to continue the projects.

What has been the feedback from educators of your work?

LF: We have teachers who work with us, with these youngsters of alternative curricula, in the school Gonçalves Zarco, who stayed in the place of my mother, Manuela, Augustine and Lydia, who continue the work begun by her. We input all the rehearsals, the students with their work and ours. What we say is that is the only way to motivate students to do something for hours, doing something they like, because it is different, even the teachers notice the difference. It is distinguished rehearse for something that will be input to a CD, or for a live show, is better than something that at best will be shown in the staff room. The work is double. They put products out here that are worth it.

Strand cancer is another aspect of the association, what do you do in this area?

LF: The Association exists for almost two years; it reaches a point where we got lost in time. Initially, we donate a machine to purify water for the hospital, so that the patients can drink, for food, whatever it takes. Already offer wheelchairs, medications essential for these patients that are not reimbursed. Now, we are stopping for a while why? Because we learn, we want to sell products to make enough money to help family caregivers of these patients and buying the nursing supplies they need.

It is the most feature film seen in our country. It is the documentary work of the brothers Sponsoring a parallel reality in the microcosm that is social and cultural life of the complex German, one of the largest slums of Brazil.

Why choose this theme?
Mario Patrocinio: We often say that we were chosen. We were living in Brazil, one day a friend called us to make a video clip in a place called the German complex to help one person there that was Mc Playboy. We did not know the complex, the Rio de Janeiro we knew it was the tropical one, the postcard to tourists. But, there, we come into contact with that reality and the fact that the music spook of the good things of the slum, which was contrary to the information outside the slum. Opened up many doors, the reality at issue, and we went there and we were falling in love for the place, and building a need to write the script for filming after.

What were the prejudices and stereotypes created around the shanty town that fell to the ground after that daily living?
Pedro Patrocino: Stereotypes and prejudices are created by the media, if you do not go there and meet them, you end up for not having your own opinion. Only you can comment and talk about them, when you live in that place.
Mario Patrocino: People end up getting used because the information is massified before issued by the news. The people, situations and issue that are completely unaware of. They are basing their opinions solely on the opinion of others, or how that reality is portrayed. To know what is a reality and we can not go there, we have to inform us the best way possible and listen to all sides. The fact of knowing a reality as we lived in Rio de Janeiro, was not only enought to listen rich people , but also the ones who lived there. The rich people there and the poor there. And so you end up finding all sorts of people, stereotypes you see it always, the way you see it changes the reality, the perspective. It is therefore important that people do not snap judgments on information that is bombed, but before commenting on the reality they should inform and interact with people, especially if it is possible with the representatives of this community.

Brava Dance is a documentary about a pop-rock portuguese band , the Heroes of the Sea, is the record of an era, music and a certain cosmopolitan environment they lived in the eighties. It's the contemporary look of filmmakers Jorge Pires and Jose F. Pinheiro on a landmark period in terms of musical history in our country.

Why a project name Brava dance?
Jorge Pires: I was at the end of last century and was a challenge that we create for ourselves to make a movie that had not been done here in Portugal and it took us six years to do it. We wanted to make a movie that was decent, intelligent and had something wise to show people, basically that was it.

Why did it take six years?
Jorge Pires: Ah! This is a longer conversation! But for this I will pass the recorder to Zé Pinheiro and he explains.
Jose Pinheiro: It took time because this was the time it took to cook, has to do with the fact that at the time there would be financial support, but then there wasn't, was canceled for two years. We won, later, an allowance and then finished the movie, which incidentally had already begun.
Jorge Pires: Then we had many difficulties in obtaining images of the band.

But I remember I saw several interviews of the Heroes of the Sea
Rui Pregal da Cunha: Yes, but it was not enough for a movie.
Jorge Pires: Were television things. Questions were always limited. There were a few images, basic and fast in fact, was the television of the 80s.
Jose Pinheiro: They went to programs to fill the holes. Music and conversation is the cheapest way to fill space on TV.
Jorge Pires: No one talks about music. Music made by the Portuguese. We quickly bottled up things that come from outside. And for people who are here we do not care at all. We suffer the same problem, the lack of archival footage, lack of tradition of visual and auditory memory, poor conditions of course. There were not many people shooting.
Rui Pregal da Cunha: The entourage had only two or three people with a video camera.
Jorge Pires: But going back to the first question, we decided to make a movie that was impossible in a more challenging time because it was making a movie about a band that has not existed for ten years, of which there were virtually no images, and on which no one else was interested. It seemed that he had not even existed. And for us it was an interesting challenge.

What was the feedback from the documentary, because there's a whole generation that grew up with this band of Portuguese rock, because even then music was very banal?
Rui Pregal da Cunha: I do not think it was banal, the Portuguese music was heard, people were buying music and were interested in Portuguese music sung in Portuguese. So do not think that heroes have appeared because there was nothing. They didn't appeared to harshly, there was a certain interest in the Portuguese music. No?

Elizabeth Tofte emigrated for love, but never forgot his greatest passion, her country. She has set up a company that sells wine and products made in Portugal, thus contradicting our bad image abroad and promoting the best of what we do. Come and meet this gem of Tras-Os-Montes.

How did you arrive to the concept of Vinport? What led you to create this business?
The concept of VinPort was a "bubble" in my imagination, at my first visit to Denmark. I wanted to make a Portuguese dinner, of course could not miss our famous nectar. What was my surprise when I went to the supermarket, there were only two references Portuguese, and as you can imagine, was not the ones that proud of me the most ... ..
I met my husband on holiday in Geneva, which should be two weeks, came to be two years. In Switzerland, the Portuguese products are represented with strength and quantity in many places. I think thats due to the fact that is a country with a lot of Portuguese emigrants, has helped. Then, Lars (my husband) have created strong links with our wines, gastronomy and culture.
In 2004 we came to live permanently to Denmark. But a problem arose, I did not speak Danish, my English was terrible and nobody could understand me in French. I've have to learned danish under the circumstances. It was therefore with a discussion with some friends on a terrace in Østebro, I arrive at the name Vinport, that is wine tasting, port and it is clear the inevitable link to the Port Wine.
We register the company on 17 June 2004, August had the first commodity. The logo was given to us by the godmother of Lars and also conceptualized Danish artis Margrethe Kaas.

It was easy the acceptance of Portuguese products, including wine? Danes were minimally familiar with this and other Portuguese products?

In general, the typical consumer in Denmark is very conservative. So you can imagine it was not easy to overcome these barriers. Older danish, still have the sad memory of the scandal of the Dão "cellars". In the 70's about 65% of the wines imported to Denmark was Portuguese, now hopefully we can reach 2% market share.
It's been hard work, dissemination, acceptance, take your time to create habits.
When you asked them seven years ago, what they knew of Portugal, they responded, cod, port wine and fado, but not always in a positive way .. I would even say that they speak of us with scorn and sarcasm. That of course revolted me, got to the point of not giving samples or sell wine, for disrespecting my job.
Port wine, unlike wine consumption has an fantastic acceptance! Imagine that grew 98% between 2009 and 2010. 3.7% of exports of port wine come here, which puts Denmark in ninth place, ahead of Brazil which has a direct connection with Portugal and is also in a continent, compared to this country of five million inhabitants.
Currently sales of oil have doubled, the Danes are more aware, they begin to use in preparing their dishes, plus oil and less butter or other fats. They also travel more, are starting to see us as more exotic and attractive cultural. Here I think the fact that Portugal have won several international awards for tourism has helped in this awareness.

By choosing to promote Portuguese products you had any support from the Portuguese authorities?

What? Are you kidding me? what kind of support you're referring to? Monetary support, promotional? If it is support by competent authorities, such Aicep, we did not had any support, only invitations to attend the annual event of wines ... The embassy has been trying to help us in the cultural area, or if there is fado, cinema and exhibitions, they attempt to have our wines. We greatly appreciate those responsible of the Embassy. For the Ambassador, we send the information of events in which we participate. The support we have felt is from the part of Viniportugal, although is a nonprofit institution that has been striving to promote and disseminate our wines. Regularly send gifts, magazines and brochures. Best of all is from our producers and suppliers who support us unconditionally in this struggle.

It was difficult to create a business from scratch in a foreign country?

The creation of the company experienced had no complications. The act itself was simple, searh for the closest financial establishment and register! We just need to take our personal identification documents. I was actually shocked, accustomed to the Portuguese bureaucracy ... ..

The jigsaw are a reminiscent of a music that was thought lost in time.

The title says it all. When you hear the music of this album of the Jigsaw, comes to the memory spontaneous friendships among strangers, the complicity of looks and bohemian nights lost in the foam on the sea. Moreover, there is an audible influence that is purposely grim throughout the album. The gloom of the deep voice of Joao Rui set us to parallel worlds, made ​​of shadows and deep and cold thoughts as the ocean. "Strangest friend" is a journey, that bring to mind the sound of the Nick Cave or Tom Waits and they very own unique style of conducting the words. "I've been away for so long" is another pearl of this album that transports you into a world of departures and arrivals, the comings and turnings, without a final announcement. It is a sound trip, a return to the origins of country music. There are melodies that warm the heart and inspire the soul in this discographic work. The song that gives title to the album is a search for our own horizon, as the vocalist says. The "last waltz" and the theme "even you" is homage to the overwhelming energy of the city of Rome. "No more" and "devil on my trail.", on the other hand, are black music, full of evil spirits that become words. "My name is drake" speaks of Sir Francis Drake, a famous sailor and corsair. "Roftop Joe" is also another of the characters that populate this CD, if stories are credible or not, no matter, what is essential is the way we traveled through these twelve songs of this band of Coimbra, that doesn't even seems Portuguese.

He does not consider himself a serious comedian, but he does stand up comedy. He does not consider himself as a singer, but he says he sings as well as Cesaria Evora. He's not very observant, but transforms what she sees in jokes. He says it's not a journalist, but writes articles. What he really likes is to talk about sex, but ... well, he’s silly Antonio Raminhos who speaks in a funny way about serious things.

What is the genesis of this show? I know you will talk about silly things.
Antonio Raminhos: (laughs) The topics are not silly, I am. That’s to say,  that is how I turn them, because it's the kind of humor I do. I have no mood to observe, but I transform the daily situations into something unreal, illogical. The show is all a bit like that, the idea is to discuss various topics, a little of everything. Pharmacies, the church, Sister Lucia, the internet, facebook, all those things are not the result of observation, but I think of silly things, for example, I have a cleaning lady and what if she was as dwarf , how can she clean the top shelves of the furniture? That sort of thing. It descends into the ridiculous and sometimes are so silly associations that people laugh at the stupidity of the situation.

It's your first show?
It's my first solo. I just do my things, I write everything myself. The stand-up works like that, most of which is  written. There are also cases in which we writes for others and they represent, but all I do is designed by me. Basically the jokes are all mine and it appears on stage.

So is there room for improvisation?
Yes, if things are going well. Generally, there is. Mainly with booked shows, the person is motivated and always ends up adding more nonsense to those jokes included on the stand up. Moreover, this show has a welcome drink, people will have as they enter a wisky, will more loose, I'll drink myself on stage, so I do not know what will happen.
Cesaria Evora style?
Yes, but I do not sing that well, or maybe I sing. When she is already halfway through the show we both sound the same.

Is there a taboo subject, one that you have a little bit afraid to approach because the public reaction?
No, there are issues that do not talk about, because they simply dont came to mind. There is one that is more susceptible to the public that is the Church. I remember the last time I came here, I do not remember if it was in 2008 or 2009, I did a sketche about Jesus Christ in wich I said that he was gay. The first reaction of people was iiiiifffffff. The room suddenly becomes very, very cold and then I have to call to attention of the audience, wait, you have to follow my reasoning and in the end comes  out something silly and people end up joining. There is, debunking, I do not offended, because I am Catholic and in the past I’ve taught the catechism. So my aim is not to offend religions or social classes, or anything like that. I'm just playing with the situations.

Catarina Mourão belongs to a new wave of filmmakers who makes of documentary an art form. She films the daily life of others, becomes invisible, leaving, however, a very personal stamp on her cinematography. His last work with Lurdes Castro reflects on that intimacy, mutual trust that transpires on screen.

Tell me a little of about your first documentary, the Lady of Shandor.
"The lady of Shandor" was not my first documentary, the first thing I did was in 1997 "out of water" and is a film that accompanies various artists through the Alentejo to make public art, they went there to develop several projects on drought and isolation and the film tells us a little of this dialogue with the population. Next came "the lady of Shandor", actually when I was shooting this film, I had to go to Goa in research for that documentary. At the time, I had just finished my Masters degree in film and had gone to India as a tourist and met this woman, the Lady Shandor, Aida Menezes Braganza, and thought it was an interesting personality, especially because her everyday life reflected what Goa was for me at that moment, it was a place with many contradictions were the past and present coexist.

At the skyn deep, why the choice of this theme?
The films take place under the influence of the experiences we have and to do with the way I make cinema. On "the sky deep" arises from a film I did in Porto, which is "the unrest". It is a triptych of the town. The documentary was born of an invitation they made me to develop a movie on a social housing estate in Porto. And so is born the "skin deep", though at the time there was no money to do it, I had to swing towards to accomplish it and I think I'm always looking for the same, although the films are all different.

In this category falls mother and daughter?
No this is a completely different movie. "Mother and Daughter" is a short film that fits into another movie, this one, a work I did for television, which was the mediation of conflicts. The film is about a mother and a daughter who had a family conflict and the resolve through mediation. And what's funny is that the movie is a simulation exercise is because both are training to be mediators. And for me I was a very amusing doing it because it plays with the concept of what is a documentary and what is fiction.

And Lourdes Castro?
Lourdes Castro's film is a contemporary of my first movie "Out of water." After studying film was the first project that I started thinking. Although I had already gone to India to do my first tread. So you see parallels between Lourdes and the lady of Shandor. There are obvious similarities, both are women with a particular life path and live in your home, it's obviously different in each story, but there is a strong relationship with space. Although the film took longer with Lourdes and added many other things in the production of my work.

If there are saying that fits perfectly into Raquel Ochoa's appearances are deceptive. She may be petite, fragile even, but think again, the woman is made of steel. She travels, often alone, conquering the peaks of the world, fearless.

Why this need to travel thru the world, even more for a woman?
I do not know if it is so unusual,  I started traveling at age 16 and did my first intercontinental trip. The first time out of Europe, I was  21, went to India. And I discovered very early ... Better this way, when I went to India in the first year, I came back early in the second, and went in 2001 and returned in 2002. Then something happened to me went a bit lost in the studies I was to graduate in law that year and  I failed for the first time in my life. And I told  my father, a little embarrassed, of course, is a failure not a success, and he told me a curious thing, he treats me by Raquel  Maria, when you went away to India , you took  another course. That is, very soon I realized that travel was an accumulation of experiences and expertise in doses huge amount and my thirst for knowledge that many people associate with the study or read, to me along with a great adrenaline rush,  was the perfect life . It quickly became an addiction and all the money I had and I often spent it on travel. I went some, I lack toknow half the world or more, but it was always this sense, and in fact the travel makes me grow as a person.
I've noticed that you walked the roofs of the world ...
I really like the mountains. I have a fascination for them.
And you do not have any physical difficulty, or limitations due to the altitude?
No, the  highest altitude  I’ve ever been it was in the base camp of  Everest, on Kala Phatter 5545 metres which is high, was the highest I've been. This was an ordeal. It was a challenge and prove overcome. But it was not easy. Were 21 days of trekking, climbing to 17 days, five days to descend, but I do sport. One of the pleasures of my life is that practice of sports and the mountains for me are my ideal trip, because as I live relatively close to the sea, I love the sea, I have this soul relationship with it, my ideal travel is the opposite, the mountain. It's up, up great mountain ranges. I've been in the Himalayas, two sites in the Annapurna and Everest Massif. I was in the Andes, went up to the Machu Picchu also in walking and also in the Atlas. So now I want to go a lot to the Alps and  Kilimanjaro. There is so interesting to see the mountain, fortunately I have this thirst quenched by mountains. I'm peaceful  and I want to return to these sites also because what you see there is a force of nature. The Himalayas then ...

Do you define yourself as a loner? A traveler ends up being a privileged observer of what is not yours, a culture that is not yours, a language that often does not dominate. In itself is not a solitary act?
I'm not a loner, but I am very well with my loneliness. And it's not a lonely person who easily make friends and meet interesting people, just by sharing with them several hours, days and stages of travel. If  I was a lonely person I did not have this facility of open myself to others and can create friendships that traveling is something I do with ease and I have been fortunate to find people who are friends for life. But I’m confortable  with my loneliness, and if  by chance I do not know anyone, if  by chance there is no empathy for another human being,  I like much the human being who I am. And so I’am good with myself. And I like to read, and when a person reads is not alone.

Paulo David formulates that architecture as a whole physical and personnel and must be the subject of contemplation and maturation. An exercise sometimes difficult in a world increasingly chaotic, dehumanized and forgetting the core of everything, the man in his emotional and spatial dimension.

There's obviously the connotation on your works with the geological characteristics of the island, the large masses, the buildings 'fortress' cast in stone. In the creative process of making architecture can become a limit or is it always a challenge?
Paulo David: It can be a joint thing, that is, a limitation may be both a challenge and that is what makes the job interesting and exciting indeed. It is a condition with which we have to work like any other. Because we have to work with the economic support, as with the program. The geology is more a struggle to do that in some cases becomes a form of experience and motivation to perform the work itself. Almost in the genesis of the building itself sometimes.

you said recently that o the House of Seedlings was hypocritical because it was not made of stone, but imitated ...
This came in the wake of a conversation in which Souto Moura spoke of this father, I believe that he taught and he was the one who approach the issue of hypocrisy. And the interesting finding was that the well known easyness of Eduardo and way the did it. These words of his, are quite revealing and cutts any prejudices that we may have about the architect himself. I found it very exciting. And nowadays the architecture supports this very issue of hypocrisy because it builds on the lack of authenticity with the traditional relationship that we had on the matter and on the materials. And takes just a few tackles which is the case if the House of Seedlings, which is not a stone is coated with an openly intent on textural and almost simultaneously a kind of relationship with the mountain itself and the striatum of the mountains that are somewhat humanized through the structures that men have been doing over time, which is the case for terraces. And those streaks that the design itself of the House of Seedlings needed is that a lot, these lines in our territory, has sequences in these choreographies of lines that are the terraces that support the agricultural structures and that is the case with this building. The stone is more of a support in context.

But architecture must take place entirely in nature is that the ultimate goal?
In this case it was. Paulo Mendes da Rocha said one thing that is the first of the structures is geography. And that's were it starts the architecture. It begins where this relationship always between nature and artifice. And this has been the attitude of the exploratory of my studio. This landscape is intense and we have a relationship with nature too strong. I do the practice of contemplation from infancy. I have memory of my five, six years of visiting sights on the island with my parents who taught me very early to contemplate. Led me to this relationship and this impact with nature.

When you talks about your architecture taking into account the impact and having to take into account what the customer wants, how do you combine these two factors? What they want and what feels right for that terrain, for that zone and its size.
It's very, very rare. I have little control over it. It's very rare that customers have a thorough study of the program. On the surface there is no investment in the program. There's the general idea of ​​what they want, how much they want to spend, but there is not a deepening. And it shows very large number of cases, no investment in the program can be manage. It is strange sometimes feel that the works are estimated at a given value and then has a value completely opposite in the conclusion. One cause is the lack of investment. People often increasingly realize, only after maturing in the program, after the work is completed. What sometimes makes it difficult to respond effectively when it comes to a building. And the program is a component of the architecture and it should be the concern of the architects as a large investment, in addition to other effects. And it carries the architecture.