Dulce Pontes Grabs my Heart with Year End Wishes for 2007

I received a surprise parcel this week. It was wrapped in a white paper-covered bubblewrap and had enough girth to suggest it was not a letter. On the back, four very colorful stamps declared it had been mailed from “La Républica Argentina”.

Hmmm. Perhaps an Argentine acquaintance sent it.

When I brought the package into the house and opened it, I found a CD entitled “Dulce Pontes: O premeiro Canto” from Polydor Netherlands. The CD cover lists two links: one for Dulce Pontes and the other for Universal Music.

 


Portuguese. Hmm. They speak Spanish in Argentina. And just how do the Dutch fit into this picture?

On hearing the music, I knew it was decidedly Portuguese and….heavenly. At times a bit operatic, sometimes with a touch of Kate Bush, the mixture of music on this CD is well worth examining for your Iberian music collection. A review of the CD appears in the album notes. Miguel Sousa Tavares writes that “many insist on classifying [Dulce Pontes] as the new Amália Rodrigues, Portuguese Fado’s great reference point.” He goes on to state that although Dulce Pontes excels at Fado, this selection allows her to show her diversity as a singer.

There is a soft spot in my heart for a Fado. It feels like a heartstring connecting me to an event from a distant and previous life.

So I find myself here, sorting through a million emotions at the holiday season and this music is calming my soul tonight. I still do not know who sent this beautiful gift. Whoever you were, you have my deepest gratitude.

For the rest of us, may we all have the wish we hold deepest in our hearts and the peace that comes from within. Let us make 2008 the best year of our lives by "being the change" we want to see.

Categories: music Fado Portuguese The+Netherlands Argentina Dulce+Pontes Universal+Music Christmas+wishes