Braga, Portugal
Braga sings
Braga sings. As my wife and I walked through the historic city center of Braga, an incredibly old town in northwest Portugal, we heard a musical performance and stopped by a fountain to listen. Behind the musicians we saw large scale photographs on the exterior walls of an old building. In between the photos were beams of pink light.
Listen to a small snippet of this performance:
Based on the signage we saw, the photographs and perhaps the performance, may have been part of the Discovery Awards 2023 Projection event by Encontros da Imagem.
Encontros da Imagem, or Image Encounters as it is translated in English, has an annual Festival of Photography and Visual Arts in Braga. This year, the theme for the festival was “Essay for the Future: thinking about the present so that we can, together, imagine and build the future.”
Encontros da Imagem added this to its description of the event: “In the 33rd edition of Encontros da Imagem, we want to explore the challenges that continue to be experienced and the conversations that are still necessary: representation and inclusion, environmental sustainability, everyday politics and social movements as powerful forces for change. There is an urgent need to listen and stop. If democracies show signs of fragility and extremism gains space in the frenzy of the virtual world and real life, we must stop to think about new forms of organization, ways of life and creation.”
Certainly the music caused us to stop and listen. I likely would not have noticed the images without the concert. I’m thankful to learn Encontros da Imagem is in Braga and uses photography to work towards new ways of life that will create a more environmentally sustainable and democratic world.
When my wife and I walked through Braga’s historic city center we also heard these two remarkable musicians and stopped to listen.
I love Braga’s artists and the energy they bring to the city.
My favorite art is usually what I stumble upon in my daily life, whether that is a concert, a mural, or photography found in an unexpected place.
The American South <-> Portugal: Loving, Leaving and Recreating Home is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts, consider becoming a free subscriber.
The two violinists were performing their version of Thunderstruck by AC/DC. It cracks me up when I hear rock songs (especially hard rock songs like that one) interpreted with other instruments. It must be fun for them to give it their own flavor :)