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27 Nov 2014

The "Cante Alentejano" (Alentejo Song) is World Heritage

Portugal has, in its cultural heritage, a very genuine musical expression, unique in the world, the "Cante Alentejano" (Alentejo Song), now recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Among the 46 candidates for the representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, we have the "Cante Alentejano", the only Portuguese presence in the group of possible classifications for 2014, promoted by the municipality of Serpa in conjunction with the Alentejo Regional Tourism Entity.

A feature of the region of the Alentejo, the "Cante Alentejano" is sung as a group, without any use of musical instruments. Although it is more traditional in the district of Beja in the various counties of Baixo Alentejo, it was the Municipality of Serpa which took the initiative to register it as World Heritage.

To represent the "Cante Alentejano" at the announcement of the classification by UNESCO, in Paris, the "Grupo Coral e Etnográfico da Casa do Povo de Serpa" (Choral and Ethnographic Group of the People's House of Serpa), founded in 1928, one of the oldest in the county and the only one still to continue since its formation (many were interrupted due to the Colonial War and the strong migration that occurred in the mid-20th century to the cities along the Portuguese coast, such as Lisbon, and abroad) performed. There are currently over 150 "cante alentejano" groups. 

The documentary by Sérgio Tréfaut “Alentejo, Alentejo” was also part of the application. It was considered the Best Portuguese Film at the Lisboa 2014 Indie Festival and the Best Film DOCSBarcelona+Medelín 2014. Don't miss the presentation on the website www.alentejoalentejo.com.