At the invitation of BoCA, Gabriel Chaile is creating a new installation for MAAT’s Praça do Carvão - a tribute to Alcindo Monteiro, a young Portuguese man born in Cape Verde who was brutally murdered in 1995 in a crime that exposed, and continues to expose, the structural racism that finds space and legitimacy in the country. Around Alcindo’s oven-portrait, a series of collective activations are planned, on four dates, with food, debates, music and film screenings. Carefully composing this moment of encounter - of places, times and identities - full of warmth and belonging, Chaile places his sculpture “Auto-Retrato” face to face with the “Alcindo Monteiro” oven, in an effort to involve his body in this exchange of glances and stories, with honesty and empathy. “What if the autobiographical is nothing more than the story of others passing through us?” asks Chaile.
On the last date of musical, performative, cinematographic and reflection activations around Gabriel Chaile’s installation, we collaborated with Lisboa Criola for a concert by Sasha Silva, Pilmaiquén and Soraia Morais, as well as the group Aliança Velha, made up of Rui Santos and Valter Monteiro, Alcindo’s relative.
Sasha Silva
Pilmaiquén
Soraia Morais
Amazing things happen in a spontaneous union of creativity. MUDJER MUHATU MUJER FRAU, which means woman in Creole, Kimbundu, Spanish and German, is a reflection of just that: the undiscovered alliance of women from different parts of the globe. Women who meet in a space and time of affection and support. Of sharing and growth. Of healing and celebration. In this BoCA event, in partnership with Lisboa Criola, three artists come together to try to answer Gabriel Chaile’s question: “What if the autobiographical is nothing more than the history of others passing through us?”. Sasha Silva, Pilmaiquén and Soraia Morais dedicate this sharing to the themes of resilience, mourning and strength in cohesion.
Sasha Silva
Sasha Silva has a special taste for pop, afro and folk music, all of which are avenues along which she takes her creativity. Through music, she expresses what she is and would like to be, without forgetting her Mozambican roots.
Pilmaiquén
The Austrian-Argentinian vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and dancer by the name of PILMAIQUÉN graduated from the internationally renowned University of Experimental and Contemporary Dance - SEAD in Salzburg, Austria in 2013, and has since worked on stage as a music and dance performer with Ann Yee (US), Julian Crouch (UK), Claire Léfèvre (FR/AT), Evandro Pedroni (BRA/AT), Mzamo Nondlwana (SA/AT), Nayana Bhat (IN/AT) and more. She recorded her first album with her first musical project “Nigrita & The Mellowbeats” (2012), followed by several self-initiated projects: “CIRCUS VOYAGE” (2015), “FOUR SPELLS” (2017) and another album OUT OF THE BLUE (2019).
As an artist recognized by the government of Austria, she has received various supports to carry out transdisciplinary projects, including the AIRStip scholarship from the city of Salzburg, which has helped her to carry out international collaborations and has also given her the impetus to establish her second base in Lisbon, Portugal, where she is currently working with an underwater camera team on video creations for her upcoming singles releases. PILMAIQUÉN’s strength and inspiration is found in her multicultural identity and how she aspires to an identity “without borders”.
Soraia Morais
Soraia Morais took her first steps into the world of music singing choruses for the album of an MC from Leiria, the city where she was born, and being part of arraial and African music bands. In 2014, he released the first of several original songs (“Se for amor”) and, two years later, he joined the Sons Lusófonos project, with just guitar and voice, followed by On Groove, in the same format. In 2022, she reached the Top 8 in The Voice Portugal contest. “Throughout my musical journey I have met and worked with musicians from various cultures who have introduced me to other rhythms and sounds, so I absorb all of this into my art, through singing and also a little in dance. With various cultural influences, from my ancestors and the people around me, a hybrid style has emerged that I reflect in my musical art.”
Old Alliance
The group Aliança Velha is made up of Rui Santos and Valter Monteiro. They met in 2017, when they were both sailors in the Portuguese Navy. It was on a mission to Africa that they discovered they shared the same passion: music and, above all, singing.
In 2020, during the pandemic, they started writing lyrics for possible original songs, and later recorded their first single “Nha mãe”, together with a great friend and artist, Lau God Dog. They also work with covers, arranging Portuguese and Cape Verdean music.
In 2021, the duo took part in The Voice Portugal, reaching the final rounds of the program.
