“A joining of forces in favor of Luso-Brazilian culture.” This is how journalist and writer Ígor Lopes describes his latest book, “Luso-Brasilidade Musical – A influência da Música na Ligação entre Brasil-Portugal” (Luso-Brazilian Music – The Influence of Music on the Connection between Brazil and Portugal).

The work, produced by the Federal Government of Brazil, bears the seal of the National Arts Foundation (FUNARTE) and is the result of a project that sought to celebrate 200 years of independence for this South American country.

The Letras Lavadas bookstore in Ponta Delgada, Azores, will open its doors on October 3 at 6:00 p.m. to welcome the author and his guests. The work will be presented by José Andrade, Regional Director of Communities for the Government of the Azores. The event will feature the special participation of Williams Maninho Nascimento, a Brazilian musician who immigrated to the archipelago.

This new work by Ígor Lopes highlights the cultural relations between the two countries, with music as the central link. The book examines the role of Lusophone music in building a shared cultural identity between Brazil and Portugal. In the 255 pages of this literary project, Ígor Lopes explores how music, from fado and samba to contemporary influences, has been a force for integration, creating cultural dialogues that transcend geographical and historical boundaries. The focus is on interviews with individuals who have shaped the tone of relations in the artistic and musical fields between the two countries.

At the heart of the research that gives shape to this new book, published in 2022/2023, there are references to cultural and musical cooperation, a portrait of the Portuguese associative movement in Brazil, the grandeur of fado, the integration promoted by samba, studies on the life and work of names such as Portuguese fado singer Maria Alcina, composer Alcino Correia, singer Roberto Leal, the exuberance of Carmen Miranda, among other cases that marked the Portuguese-Brazilian artistic agenda.

The preface is signed by Ricardo Cravo Albin, a Brazilian musicologist considered one of the greatest researchers of Brazilian Popular Music, author of the Cravo Albin Dictionary of Brazilian Popular Music, and head of the Cravo Albin Cultural Institute. There is also the participation of entities and authorities from both countries, references to cultural and musical cooperation, and a portrait of the Portuguese associative movement in Brazil.

“The launch of this work is always a good time to be together with Portuguese, Brazilians, Luso-Brazilians, people of Portuguese descent, and lovers of the Portuguese language and culture, in a gathering with these communities in Brazil and around the world, always involving, of course, various authorities from Brazil and Portugal. And in the Azores, it will be no different. I hope to be able to connect the Azorean people to this common history around music,” said Ígor Lopes.

In Portugal, this book was presented to the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, during the Belém Book Festival in Lisbon in 2024 and 2025. It was also presented at the António Salvado Municipal Library in Castelo Branco and at the Lisbon Book Fair in both 2018 and 2019.

In Brazil, the book was presented to the public in Rio de Janeiro, Vitória, Olinda, and São Paulo.

“The goal of these launches is to promote better dialogue between citizens living in Brazil and Portugal, encouraging a spirit of collaboration between the two countries. Writing ”Luso-Brasilidade Musical“ was a journey of rediscovery of the deep connections that unite Brazil and Portugal through music,” concluded Ígor Lopes.

In turn, the Regional Director of Communities, in a text he wrote for this book, states that “music is a decisive instrument of cultural cooperation” because “its universal language motivates complicity between different geographies.” José Andrade considers that “the historic relationship between the Azores and Brazil is a fine example of this,” noting that “music crossed the Atlantic in both directions in successive migratory movements.”

Participation is free and must be confirmed by email: livraria@letraslavadas.pt

For further information and interview requests, please contact us via the same email address above.

In Diário da Lagoa, Clife Botelho-director

We thank the Luso-American Education Foundation for its support.