Afghan musicians perform live today at the Iminente festival in Lisbon
Nothe genesis of this project is a cultural cooperative Largo Residências, from Lisbon, distinguished last year with the prize of Acesso Cultura in the category of Social Accessibility.
Not Forbidden is part of a project through the largest cooperative: Residências Refúgio, in partnership with Fórum Refúgio and the Aga Khan Foundation, “which proposes to accompany the inclusion of refugees through mediation”, explained to the agency Lusa Micaela Gomes, from Largo Residências.
“From the proximity to the people they notice among the people who love them Gomes”, making that several musicians were better as soon as they realized the friends who helped to accompany them.
Rui Relo, artistic coordinator of Notbidden, recalled that “the only one in the world, the only one in the world, it’s forbidden”, and in Portugal there are “dozens of protected musicians who are here and there”. conditions that the beneficiaries, who are precarious and who travel”.
After identifying some designers, “the Lar Residências team, a Rui formation “small residence” originally with them, “may or may not originate in a concert”.
What was important was our communication, their integration and understanding how these musicians learned. Even with an interpreter, culturally as the logics are different, but there was always a fantastic musical communication”, I outline to Lusa.
In May, Rubelo and the musicians began rehearsing at Largo Residências, meeting “about once a week, to see what came out of there”.
“There were languages that they don’t have and that don’t collaborate, like other communication terms that they have, and that can be understood as a universe of communication with them and two verbs”, he shared.
At the end of June, they gave a concert, part of the “Bairro em Festa”, an annual initiative of Largo Residências, which “resulted very well and Largo decided to produce it in more circumstances and events, appearing after the invitation of Iminente”.
Micaela outlines that, with Not Forbidden, the idea is “to contribute to their professionalization [em Portugal] as musicians, to cross them with other projects, with other musicians”.
“Rui has the role of artistic director here, because he musically accompanies the studio, the instruments. It’s important or crosses with other musicians, who then pull them into other projects, so that they can understand where they can record their music. were doing there, to be able to stay here”, he said.
Rui Rebelo considers it “a wealth” for Portugal to have these musicians here, the vast majority of whom are professional. And he talks about it as “a way for them to not be marginalized, because otherwise it’s really difficult.” “They live on 150 euros a month and a bed,” he lamented.
In the concert at Iminente, scheduled for 16:45, nine musicians (Rui Rebelo and eight Afghan refugees) will perform on stage, involved in the project.
We are waiting for more opportunities to be able to develop this, paying the musicians anything, because they need it. We are trying to arrange other concerts and for them to meet other musicians, who can “ask for other jobs”, said Rui Referer.
On stage “there is one thing that can be considered as instruments and musical styles”, the musicians will present to Iminente, “the musicians will present to the traditional Afghan, “as it has to offer also other things”.
“Then there is a second part of the concert that is more of improvisation among all the musicians”, he added.
Rui Rebelo stressed that, “being non-European instruments, they are incredible musical instruments”, which “have an incredible musicality and a totally different rhythmic form and another complexity”. “We just have to learn, and they have to learn from us. It’s always common learning,” he said.
For the project to develop further, it is necessary that they help to support at least the musicians as expenses for travel to rehearsals.
“The idea was that we could get a rehearsal once a week, but for that we have to have money for them to pay for the trip, they come from Mem Martins, Margem Sul, Bobadela [para o centro de Lisboa], have to bring the instruments. The logistics are not easy, because we are talking about people who are living with the least of what they can be. All these expenses will have to be borne. We are trying to determine a concert regularity that will pay for rehearsals. Being together once a week would be the right thing to do”, shared Rui Rebelo.
Anyone interested in hiring these musicians can “contact the production of Largo Residências”, because this is a project that “the more concerts you have, the better you can sustain this activity of rehearsals and meetings, the logistics”.
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