Under the shadow of racism, dire conditions and identity struggles, Portuguese-speaking African (PALOP) musicians struggle to establish themselves as artists in Lisbon. At the same time, many are trying to obtain resident visas, in some cases waiting up to 21 years for documents to arrive from areas like Cabo Verde, with which they hope to negotiate their status and apply for Portuguese citizenship. Some individuals are having to use a ‘foreign’ passport despite having been born in Portugal, causing one official to comment: “…But you are born here, you’re as Portuguese as I am!”
The resilience of these musicians in the face of these difficulties is remarkable and despite being turned down for jobs for being the wrong ‘colour’, or being told by officials at the visa applications office that they are “…considering whether their presence in Portugal is of any value”, there is no evidence of bitterness or hate among the musicians. Even the lyrics of Vado, a hip- hop style rapper from the Bairro 6 de Maio (Ghetto 6th of May), focus on the need to succeed, rather than dwell on self- pity and anger.
Despite coming from different parts of the African continent, these musicians are united by having Portuguese as a common language and above all, by their shared love of music. The distinctive Lisbon ‘beats’, or ‘batidas’, have emerged from the ghettos around Lisbon. One block would party and gradually others would as well, each one with slightly different takes on the complex syncopated beats that they had brought with them from Africa, from funaná, zouk, semba, to kizomba, coladeira and kuduri, which literally means “hard ass.”
Many languages in Africa do not have a word for ‘rhythm’, or even for ‘music’, as it is so intimately integrated into people’s lives. Some cross-beats can symbolize challenging moments, or stress. So, playing them is seen as a way to build up the strength needed for dealing with life’s challenges. Music is not set apart as an addition, or a luxury, it is considered vital and integral to life. In the ghettos around Lisbon, this huge variety of rhythms has developed into a rich tapestry of beats. They have thus introduced influences from all over the African spectrum including echoes from Cabo Verde, Angola, São Tomé, Mozambique, Príncipe & Guinea- Bissau.
The musical explosion seems to have first sprung up when ex-President Socrates (2003-2011) handed out computers to school children to help them with their studies. Help them they did, but not in the way he had anticipated, and with musical software rapidly installed, the young musicians and DJs of the future began to create sounds that arose from their own cultures artfully fused with their European experiences. These young artists compose directly on the computer with audio software which is very effective, endlessly playing with the beats and syncopations while surrounded by enthusiastic dancing friends who are their best judges.
One artist seen by many as key, is Chalo Correia, a singer- songwriter from Luanda (Angola). One of the original players of funaná, Correia has created a new, yet ‘vintage’, sound. Correia, with his highly individual take on these rhythms has wrought the traditional beats and sounds of semba, (with its cautionary tales), kilapanda, zouk, rumba (from the Congo), merengue (from Angola) & kazacuta, with his accordion & harmonica, into a dance style of music called ‘rebita’, which has its own modern contemporary sound. This has resounded with young European audiences in Lisbon, Paris and Belgium. Interestingly, the accordion was introduced by the Portuguese colonizers, but in Cabo Verde as in other areas, the instrument was later forbidden, as it was considered subversive!
https://soundcloud.com/chalo-correia
Many of the young artists emerging from these tough ghettos on the outskirts of Lisbon are developing into DJs and musicians that are achieving recognition all over the world. It is clear that almost all the young lads consider themselves to be budding DJs! For about ten years, this ‘new’ music was only played at the parties in the ghettos, without really being heard elsewhere. It exploded from beyond the ghetto frontiers when a producer from the label ‘Príncipe’, seeing its potential, took musicians to the renowned night club ‘Musicbox’ in Lisbon from where its popularity has spread all over Europe to acclaim, in particular to Paris & Belgium. The avant- garde character of those “Noites Príncipe” has attracted a fascinating blend of people united by their love of dance: they queue for long hours outside the club from 2am, to dance the night out with extraordinary dance moves and “physics defying hip & foot work”.
This popularity also owes thanks to DJs like 'Batida Lisboa' co-director Rita Maia with her ‘Migrant Sounds’ programme. This radio show travelled to festivals like SETE in France for the Worldwide Festival. Now she has created a fascinating film that brings these individual rhythms and musicians to life. ‘Batida Lisboa’, co-directed with the award-winning cinematographer Vasco Vaina, (‘Arena’ 2009, and ‘Rafa’ 2012) records the vibrant musical life of the ghettos, the musicians and the stories that lie behind them. Like so many musical forms, these varied musical fusions emerged in the tough areas, the ghettos, the docks and even, as in the case of tango or fado, from the brothels. In ‘Batida Lisboa‘ directors Maia and Viana have focussed on a large number of musicians, highlighting their individual styles.
Rita Maia:
“I guess that in some ways it was a progression from my job as a DJ , which involved a lot of research for music and everything, and when I was in the city I was born ( Lisbon) and despite living in London now for about 15 years, I was always in touch with the music there. As a DJ, you want to promote music that you think is original and worth promoting. That means bringing it to the attention of people. It was a closed scene, there were a few records coming out but it was always kind of closed. It was and is a unique scene because of the many influences they have from the countries, that are linked … to the city and to their own history... In the suburbs of Lisbon, there are many small neighbourhoods that are like little villages, so in that sense, they are more closed as communities than they would be in the centre of the city, or any city, where everything is mixed and open. In that sense, it’s still in process… I did not want to turn up and start filming a documentary about it… it was an idea that evolved really … essentially from a compilation of music at first. Then I proposed an idea to a British label that I knew, and everyone really loved the music but they couldn’t quite put their finger on it, they weren’t sure of the references and the music … [what to do with it]. They knew it was basically dance-floor music that was quite original, different from what they had heard before and that had influences from Africa, especially Angola and it was being made in Europe, so it also had other different influences, but it remained a niche thing.
The music has tended to stay in the ghettos and not travelled to the mainstream businesses or cultural areas in the city so I thought: Here we have an original scene that would be interesting to film and document with friends and family being so close. Also, as I live in London now, it is kind of an outsider’s view as well, as I cannot help but compare how things are, specifically in the music scene, with the level of representation and in mainstream media like the BBC for instance, and how different it is over there, so much that could change… too many people do not have a clue how the industry works … but I also wanted to talk about the stories behind it…”
Rita Maia started playing music at 13 years of age. Music was always in her soul. Originally from Lisbon, she has a family background from Goa in India. From starting out as a DJ, it was a natural progression to start making some music videos. That was when she started to think about filming in the ghettos around Lisbon, in particular one tough neighbourhood: -
“I wanted to film in a neighbourhood called Pensão. I asked a few people around but no one was comfortable about filming there. Vasco Vaina had been filming in all sorts of areas around Lisbon and also, I really loved his work. He offered to help, because I was filming with everything, including mobiles! Then the production company challenged us to apply together for funding to be able to have time to film it properly, visit the countries and all that stuff.
Portugal has this difficulty of accepting that this afro-luxo sound is now a ‘local’ culture. We have had 500 years of history of colonization, followed by another 50 years of dictatorship when all of those [African] influences were erased… or at least they attempted to erase them… [colonialism] is engrained in the history, in the books that people read at school… but at the same time there is a trend at the moment, with this kind of music. You have to come from the outside… to see it … as journalists… to encourage festivals in Portugal to start booking the artists. It’s happening…[but only] in a way… because when you have a big festival… you may have an ‘Africa’ stage where they perform … they are still kept apart as a separate entity…"
One character that stands out in the film “Batida Lisboa” is ‘Julinho and his concertina’. Born in 1962, he was one of the first musicians to introduce drums and bass and even a ‘ferro’ player, who scratches a rhythm on a steel bar with a knife, (this instrument seems to have evolved into a Latin American güiro).
As one record producer comments in the film: -
“When you bring funaná into urban music, that is when you attract the big audiences. There is a fine line between traditional and world music, and the fact that their (Julinho & other PALOP musicians) style is not ‘clean’ settles that. We want young people dancing to this, not nostalgic people who want to reminisce… about Cabo Verde.”
Julinho & his 17-year old banana tree, and his concertina.
Julinho is hugely popular and plays his concertina with relish, yet, he admits that his real passion is cultivating sweet potatoes in his Quinta da Lage (small holding). Previously a farmer in Angola, he has found way to continue to grow vegetables and fruit. One pride and joy is his 17 year old banana tree. He has also taken to repairing old accordions and uses the parts to create new ones, carefully tuning them to create a distinct Cabo Verde Creole sound.
Rita Maia’s experiences in the making of this production were not easy and it was a fascinating but traumatic experience for her: -
“To be honest, I am now thoroughly hooked on films, but this film almost killed me, really! I had not realized that I would have to give so much of myself to get it done, and how obsessed people can get with something like a full- length film. I ended up ending relationships, ending even my music career, I had to stop and start, I left my house… all that … and then I also got ill… it was really complicated and I took a little longer to get well, because I didn’t want to stop working and filming.”
Despite this inauspicious start to her film career, one hopes that Rita Maia and Vasco Vaina will collaborate on another production in the future.
'BATIDA LISBOA' opened with screenings at the ICA and will be playing at selected cinemas around the U.K. throughout July / August 2019.
Directors Rita Maia, Vasco Viana
Cinematography Vasco Viana
Sound Director Rita Maia
Editor Cláudia Rita Oliveira
Editing Consultant Rita Maia, Vasco Viana
Sound Editor and Mixer Hugo Leitão, Rita Maia
Color Correction Vasco Viana
Producers João Matos, Leonor Noivo, Luísa Homem, Pedro Pinho, Susana Nobre, Tiago
Distribution contact: pedroperalta@terratreme.pt
TERRATREME FILMES in Co-production with Coyote Vadio
