What is a legacy? What does it look like? How is it materialised? How is it passed on? To what extent are we influenced by those who came before us? What baggage do we bring with us? And what kind of baggage is it? Is it heavy? Is it checked luggage that we carry with us all our lives, or carry-on luggage that gets lost on airport carpets?
One thing is for sure: after this issue, the 26th one, we have a much broader vision of that invisible thread that binds us all together and connects us in an almost magical way. We call it legacy, belonging, and culture.
And if there’s one thing that unites us Portuguese, it’s this umbilical cord to Fado. In this new Portuguese Soul, we explore “an almost inexplicable bond that makes us feel like it’s our second skin. And while Amália Rodrigues was one of the indispensable names of this musical genre that is so uniquely ours, the generation that followed leaves no doubt that her legacy is fully assured”. Carminho is one of the voices of this generation, looking at Fado with a new perspective and new hope. She is the voice that resonates in our senses, envelops us and makes us in love all over again with fado every day. Through the lens of Frederico Martins and styling by Cláudia Barros, we hear Carminho like never before.
But it’s not only in music that the legacy can materialise. Photographed by Ricardo Santos and styled by Joel Alves, Desassossego delves into the magic and dense universe of Fernando Pessoa and his heteronyms. One of the most important authors in the Portuguese language, who left a profound mark on Portuguese literature.
And because it was important to understand what a legacy is from a scientific point of view, we spoke to Nuno Maulide, the Portuguese professor and chemist who makes science a friend.
The other thing we’ve come to realise in this issue of Portuguese Soul is that legacy can manifest itself in different ways. Its most recurrent expression is through physical materialisation; buildings and monuments are some of the greatest testimonies to the past. In the editorial Sign Your Name Across My Heart, signed by Pedro Afonso and Fernando Bastos Pereira, patrimony is given a new dimension and takes us back to the very beginning of Portugal as a country, in the iconic and unavoidable Guimarães Castle.
Then we return to music to meet five young musicians, singers and performers who look to the past with respect and project the future with dreams and promises. FF, Teresinha Landeiro, Milhanas, Soraia Tavares and Cecília Rodrigues are the voices of tomorrow, through the lens of Tomás Monteiro and styled by Lafayette.
Speaking of music, we met Catarina Maia to the soundtrack of A Girl Like You. From television to radio, from the digital world to fashion, this young communicator is making waves in a variety of formats. There’s only one thing we can be sure of: the future belongs to her.
In art, we find a lot of what we have been and, eventually, we realise a lot of what we will be. I see you with my eyes closed explores the universe of painting, in a fusion between art and love that leaves room for poetry.
And in a magazine that breathes national fashion, we couldn’t help but look at and pay due tribute to designer fashion. Never before has it been so vital to defend the creations of Portuguese authors and designers, who carry Portuguese fashion everywhere they go.
All the articles in the new Portuguese Soul share this common denominator: where can we find the legacy, and what can we do with it? From restaurants to fashion, from ceramics to hotels, plenty of businesses are catalysts for this collective good.
The only certain thing is that we had a lot of concerns when we started this new issue of Portuguese Soul. Many remained, others arose, and few were resolved. The discussion has only deepened the subject. What legacy do we want to leave? There’s only one answer we can give: that Portugal will always be a country full of talent.
When the subject is immaterial, there are countless assumptions. And when it comes to legacy, the past, and the transmission of knowledge, there are many examples.
