Fado

Fado is a Portuguese music genre from 1820's or much earlier because its origins cannot be  properly traced. Fado possibly comes from the Latin word fatum (destiny or fate) and has its background linked to Medieval times with some Moorish influence.

In this post I am most concerned with three amazing singers Mariza, Ana Moura, and Carminho.

Fado by José Malhoa

I do like Mariza's tune, her passion while singing. Listen to "Oiça lá senhor Vinho" ("Listen there Mr. Wine"). Her (Lisbon) Portuguese accent is beautiful to hear. (The version of this song by the Fado's Queen Amalia Rodrigues has become a classic).

Carminho is another Fado's great singer. Her voice is also remarkable. Not happy with only being an amazing Fadista, she has also recorded some Bossa Nova songs recently. "Bia da Mouraria" ("Bia from Mouraria" - a neighborhood in Lisbon) is a love story so good to listen to...

Last but not the least, Ana Moura and her "Dia de Folga" ("Day off"). Fado's supposed to be more a like a mornful song, but this one is the opposite, cheerful and catchy!

I hope you guys enjoy it as I have...

Euro-American Pop Art

Some time ago I wrote a post about two Latin American Pop Art artists: Romero Britto and Fabian Ciraolo. In this post I'll write about artists who painted decades before Britto and Ciraolo. I'm not a critic of Fine Arts, I wanna let you aware of that right now. I like interesting paintings and drawings, besides that... I will not forget about Wharol's leading role in the movement, I wanna draw attention to Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, and Wesselmann, whose paintings I kind of liked much. It seems to me that Pop Art is related to those aspects of modern life we see every day and perhaps ignore due to its "ordinary" role in everyday life or to those great artists of past that we may ignore because their ubiquity in the web, postcards and so on.

Bedroom at Arles by Roy Lichtenstein

Robert Rauschenberg painted and combined non-tradtional objects in his works, the canvas below is a good example of the "combinations" he used to do.

"Sunset nude with Matisse Odalisque" by Tom Wesselmann

Roy Lichtenstein shed a new life to the old Van Gogh bedroom, very interesting...

Rauschenberg's untitled "combined"

Tom Wesselmann decided to play with Matisse's Odalisque, very good to see as well. I hope you enjoy these paintings and find more works about these and other artists. It would be a pleasure if you shared you findings with us.

If you like it, I think you may also enjoy Latin American Pop Art, check it out!

Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Texto em Português

Have you ever wondered how intelligence works? I mean, have you ever been in doubt if you are intelligent or not? Or if the things you are good at no one notices that? Or that everybody seems more intelligent than you are (something like "the neighbors' grass looks always greener than mine...")? We can also think that intelligence follows this concept, "the ability to learn, understand and make judments based on reason". Would it be only that? I don't think so...

One of the most interesting theories on the subject was made by Howard Gardner: his Theory of Multiple Intelligences. With his theory, the author shows us that the concept of intelligence can be much broader than we thought it could be. Therefore, the theory helps us to give all the complexity that involves our thinking and engagement with the world.

Gardner

Dr. House: everybody lies

One of the most interesting things I have ever watched in television so far is House, M.D. What an amazing TV series! Watching it allows us to understand a bit more about human relationships, about the challenges we have to face, about the scientific method, and sometimes it helps us to figure things by thinking out of the box, even if the box does not exist... And listening to amazing music styles that House himself likes to hear.

Muralismo

When it comes to art we can always find something new about it. That has been exactly what occurred when I came across with Mexican Muralism while looking for something quite different. I must confess it was an amazing surprise. Three painters are regarded as the most outstanding in the movement: Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros.

Liberation of the peon by Diego Rivera

By Diego Rivera I chose "Liberation of the Peon", an impressive mural. Rivera is known not only because of his murals but also because of his others works. He also married twice to painter Frida Kahlo.

Presencia de América Latina by J.G. Camarena

Somebody that I Used to Know

One of the most interesting songs I've heard recently was Gotye's "Somebody that I used to know" featuring Kimbra. The song is a mid-tempo indie pop song and tells about a relationship that gone bad. There are many songs like that but there's an amazing difference here: the other part replies the broken heart argument...  he is sad but she is sad too (what makes the song maybe perfect). What about the video?

Gotye and Kimbra by Ellen Schebor

Pop Art Latina

Tal vez el mundo todavía no sepa de todas cosas increíbles que hay en latinoamérica. El arte, la literatura, la música y tantas otras maravillas que hemos hecho hace mucho. In Brazil is quite common to follow (or hear from) American or European trends, what sometimes doesn't go to our Latin American neighbors. I'm sure it's plenty of talented artists here, but I'm writing about two: the incredible Fabian Ciraolo and his "hipster" art, and the amazing fellow countryman painter Romero Britto and their Pop Art Latina...

Princess Adora by Fabian Ciraolo