'Deolinda' delights Modestans

Portugese band draws broad community support

By Sara Coelho
Staff Reporter

"We are here to share with you some stories of the 21st century from Lisboa, Portugal, in the form of songs," said Ana Bacalhau, vocalist of the Portuguese band Deolinda, to her audience in Foster Theater at the Gallo Center for the Arts Sunday night, while on their first tour of the United States. Vivacious, charismatic, authentic, whimsical and charming, using only two guitars, a double bass and Bacalhau's powerful, and versatile voice, Deolinda's performance was separated into two sets.

     Dressed in European fashion, standing on a simply designed stage set, with its only decoration being a blue colored banner covered with comical folkloric Portugese art, Bacalhau took the audience delightfully by surprise with her quirky mannerisms, and dances, as she covered the stage end to end.

     Unlike so many other musicians who become visibly tired as their show progresses, Deolinda remained upbeat, and in high-energy for the entirety of their performance.

     "We get our inspiration from traditional fado, but unlike fado, which are very melancholic songs, we sing about the beautiful, the funny, and the ironies of life," said Bacalhau, explaining some of the traditions concerning fado to the audience. "In traditional fado, the singer always stands behind the guitarist, or directly in front of him. In honor of the days of old, and the fado houses of Portugal, I will sing a few songs in the traditional fashion, standing behind the guitarist."

     Bacalhau is a rare gem in the entertainment industry. She completely captivated all her listeners and created a sense of security, and community at the event that had members of the audience laughing, dancing, and singing along in their native tongue. Those who weren't of Portuguese descent found the festive spirit contagious; clapping, stomping their feet, and joining in the singing when they could.

     Bacalhau would briefly explain the story within the song she was about to sing by acting the story out, and painting the scene where the story takes place with her words in the imagination of her listeners. She would then proceed to deliver the song with effortless beauty. Among the songs that they performed were a few of their best-loved hits, "Fon-Fon-Fom," "Um Contra O Outro." For their encore they sang, "Clandestino," by the request of Dr. Sabre.

     Toward the end of their performance, Bacalhau addressed the Portuguese community in the Portuguese language saying that she was counting on those in the community who spoke the native language, to teach the American-born Portuguese to speak it as well. She urged them to keep the beautiful Portuguese tongue alive, because as long as they can keep the language alive, their heritage would never die.

     In his opening comments Dr. Alejandro Sabre, director of the piano program at Modesto Junior College, and board member of the Gallo Center for the Arts, said, "I thought bringing Deolinda here would be a wonderful gift to the Portuguese community of the Central Valley."

     After Deolinda's performance as the band signed autographs in the lobby of the Gallo Center, Bacalhau responded to Dr. Sabre's comment saying, "No, we are not a gift to the [Portuguese] community here. We are only people who have come to say to our own, ‘Unite!' Each Portuguese person is a gift to the other. People have grown cold to one another. They've tuned into technology, and tuned out to living and loving. We simply want to say, ‘live and love. Start at home, and in your communities.'"