HOW DID THE IDEA OF CREATING AZORMYTH COME ABOUT?
The idea of a music festival to promote Azorean talent came about in 2022, due to the need we felt to show communities in North America the quality of other emerging artists from the Azores. Since it’s not easy to bring lesser-known artists across borders, after a lot of brainstorming, we came to the conclusion that creating a brand and having a concept would open doors for Azorean artists to have a stage in North America. The idea took Marco and me about two years to study and develop. We came up with the motto “Voices of the Azores, Rhythms of the World”, and from there we put together the ideal team: Tatiana Ourique, João Santos, Filipe Mendonça, and, more recently, João Barcelos. We rolled up our sleeves and passed on all the emotions we felt when developing the project to all of them. Since then, it’s been a journey of hard work, but a huge reward to be able to deal directly with so many talents from our land.

WHAT IS THE CONCEPT BEHIND THIS FESTIVAL THAT WILL TAKE TERCEIRA’S TALENTS TO CANADA? IS THIS THE FIRST EDITION?
The concept behind the festival, as the motto “Voices of the Azores, Rhythms of the World” indicates, is not only to promote the Azorean artist but essentially to give a stage to artists from the Azores in North America, promoting different musical styles and the diversity of our Azorean artistic reality. The festival is also intended to be a fusion of different arts such as dance, painting, and literature, among others, as well as a multimedia accompaniment. If with this concept we can bring the younger generations to the clubs and make them enjoy a unique moment of entertainment, giving continuity to our culture, it will be two objectives achieved in one. Yes, on September 28, the first edition will be held in Canada, at the Portuguese Cultural Center of Mississauga, which we hope will be just the start of something very good.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE IMPORTANCE OF HOLDING THIS FESTIVAL IN THE DIASPORA WITH OUR EMIGRANTS?
There is a lot of artistic potential in the Azores that doesn’t reach the diaspora. In fact, there are excellent events that promote our culture, but they are more focused on the traditional side, such as folklore, singing, bullfighting, and traditional Portuguese music. These events reach an older age group and are not aimed at the new immigrants, the second and third generations who love to come to our islands and take part in the summer festivals. This audience doesn’t identify with much of what happens in the clubs. We don’t want to overturn what is already very good. We want something different, something unique and to be an asset to our Portuguese community in North America.

WHAT ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROGRAM?
Among many surprises, we have an excellent line-up, with our dear Tatiana Ourique, who is also part of the Azormyth organization, presenting the event. In terms of artists, we’ll be joined by Maria Areia and Pai Zé, Got Talent finalists, João Santos, vocalist and guitarist and talented music producer and technician, Sónia Pereira, an accomplished singer, and André Gomes, a pianist prodigy. In addition to the artists already mentioned, who are preparing an event from scratch to provide a unique evening’s entertainment, we are also bringing two ballroom dancers, Jamila and Ivan, who will dance to the rhythms of different sounds provided by our artists. We’ll have raffles, which we’ll reveal in the coming weeks, and a special moment to pay tribute to the club and its 50 years of existence.

IN THE FUTURE, DO YOU INTEND TO EXPAND AZORMYTH? IF SO, IN WHAT WAY?
Of course. We’re a young team with a lot to give. The event is not a closed concept in terms of location and structure, but one that adapts each year to the current reality and needs of our community. We go wherever they let us go, there are no limits for us. Maybe Boston, California, Bermuda, or anywhere else on the American continent where there is a large Portuguese community. In terms of repertoire, at the moment we have music and dance, but it’s not out of the question for us to expand the range of artists to include comedians, poets, and visual artists. Although this year the artists are all from Terceira, because we’re looking for our safe haven to start this dream, in future editions we hope to have artists from the nine islands of the Azores.

FIRST EDITION. The first edition of the festival will be held in Canada on September 28. The organization hopes that “it’s just the beginning of something very good”
MUSIC AND DANCE. The aim is “not only to promote Azorean artists but essentially to give a stage to artists from the Azores in North America”
TEAM. “Although this year the artists are all from Terceira because we are looking for our safe haven to start this dream, in future editions we hope to have artists from the nine islands of the Azores”

in Diário Insular–José Lourenço, director

Note from Filamentos: We congratulate these young talents for their vision and their project. We hope to see it, one day, in California.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso-Americna Education Foundation for sponsoring Filamentos.