A showcase of good practices with intangible heritage. With the sponsorship and collaboration of the Galician Culture Council, Xacobeo 2021-22 and TVG.
On Thursday, December 2, 2021, the Meniños Cantores 2- Cantamos nós project was presented with the Galician Culture Council in a press conference by Rosario Álvarez, president of the institution; Rosa Vilas, deputy to the general director of CRTVG; Cecilia Pereira, curator of the Xacobeo; Santiago Veloso, president of PNO!; Segundo Grandío, producer of the documentary and the musical aspect; and Fernando Abreu, teacher, musician and tutor of one of the participating centers in this initiative.
16 years after Meniños Cantores
This is a new proposal based on the first edition of Meniños Cantores published in 2005. At that time, 17 educational centers located between Vigo and Porto recreated themes from the Galician-Portuguese musical heritage. A common theme composed by Uxía Senlle and Segundo Grandío was recorded in a video clip on the bridge between Tui and Valença by more than 500 young people from both sides. The work was presented as an example of the schools’ commitment to the Galician-Portuguese intangible heritage that had been presented to UNESCO by Ponte…nas ondas! with the endorsement of Portugal and Spain.
This new project has a larger dimension as it covers the entire border between Galicia and Portugal and is presented as one of the good practices of Ponte…nas ondas! And which will serve to support the candidacy of Ponte…nas ondas! for the registry of best practices with the ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) already presented to UNESCO by Portugal and Spain.
Once again, 17 educational centers from Galicia and Portugal have prepared a new musical repertoire that transcends that space, putting the two sides of the border in permanent dialogue. The students from each of them have chosen an artist to sponsor and participate in the project. The collaborators on this occasion are: Pancho Álvarez (Tui), A Roda (As Neves), Lucía Pérez (O Rosal), Zaraida de Maskarpone (Verín), António Zambujo (Montealegre), Augusto Canário (Valença e Viana do Castelo), Sons do Minho (Monção) Daniel Pereira (Melgaço), Vozes da Radio (Chaves), Cuarteto Caramuxo (Salvaterra), Andrea Pousa (Tomiño), Jaime Álvarez (Caminha), Luis Caruncho (A Guarda), Castriño de Rebordechán (Crecente), Uxía (Salceda de Caselas), Cándido Miranda (Vilanova da Cerveira). Casa de Tolos produces this work which, as Segundo Grandío explained, “expanded the repertoire of traditional music and also incorporated popular music themes”. There are 17, one for each center, to which is added the song “Máis perto”, which continues to be the anthem of the project. If in 2005 were the students who sang it, this time are the tutors who give voice to it. The album contains each musical theme along with its corresponding video clip and karaoke.
The result of this project, which saw its deadlines disrupted due to the pandemic, is translated into a record book, a documentary series, a website and a glossary. “It is a project that has everything, it brings together young people, works with intangible heritage, is intended for a family audience, involves learning and, in addition, has quality” pointed out Cecilia Pereira, Commissioner of Xacobeo 21 which financed this initiative within the framework of the Xacobeo program.
“No one can escape the fact that we have an ancestral heritage that does not understand lines painted on the map,” said the president of the CCG, Rosario Álvarez, in the presentation of the Meniños cantores 2 project, which contributes to “helping to build the common identity that other projects have contributed to delineating.” Sixteen years after the book-album Meniños cantores, the Cultural and Pedagogical Association Ponte…nas ondas! is releasing a new edition of the project that builds on the essence of that initiative to highlight the vibrant Galician-Portuguese oral heritage in the region.
Related links
https://meninoscantores.com/ ( audiovisual material for media )
http://consellodacultura.gal/evento.php?id=201221
