Memorable Mariza gig in Bucharest: Fado got Romanians out of their comfort zone

Mariza, the shinning star of fado in Portugal, has taken Romanian audience out of its comfort zone on Saturday in an electric concert at Sala Palatului, which had all ingredients for a perfect gig: very good music, energy, sensibility, a jester artist permanently talking to the audience, who made spectators laugh, sing and ask for more. All in a dim light, against several wallpapers depicting scenes from Portugal, Lisbon, meant to bring a little bit of the Portuguese spirit in Romania.

“I am so thrilled to be back here to see this hall packed with people who don’t speak Portuguese but who love Portuguese music,” said the fado artist in the opening of the concert.

However, despite the perfect empathy of the audience right from the beginning, the fado singer insisted on the spectators to stop taking flash photos of her, as they were disturbing her performance.

“I don’t mind you take photos, actually I love it, but without flash. I am staying here in the dark on stage and each time you take a photo and I am eyes closed and open them and see the flash my concentration goes away. Thank you,” said Mariza.

She also referred to the overuse of cell phones during the concert, calling on everybody to just feel the music and not focusing on taking photos or recording.

“I feel that I am singing for cell phones, as everybody has one and it’s completely annoying, I am sorry to say this to you. My concentration goes completely away.”

The artist challenged the audience to leave the shell of shyness and be more empathic with the show.

“You are shy, aren’t you? Are you shy? Please give a strong applause for us to see your energy. I don’t make the concert, 80% of the concert is made by you, you are the conductors. If you are very shy, then you are going to have a shy concert. If you are a warm audience, you going to have a warmer concert. You have to decide what concert you want to have,” Mariza stated.

She was completely open to the spectators, entrusting them personal information about her life, her age, her career, her musical experience.

“The past five years completely changed my life, I had a baby, I got married, in that specific order, first the baby and then got married,” she said making the audience laugh and cheer her.If I sing I can breathe, Mariza confessed while introducing the “Sem Ti/ Without You” song, talking about the idea of leaving something or someone. “When I sing this song in my bad days I don’t dedicate it to anyone. In my good days, I dedicate it to my husband, “simply without you”.

Mariza also recounted of her Portuguese-African ancestry, saying she was born in Mozambique and moved to Portugal at the age of 3 and how she discovered her passion for fado, mostly due to her father, also revealing that her first album released more than 16 years ago was dedicated to her father.

She patiently made the spectators sing next to her on “Padoce” and “Rosa Branca”, while hailing the performance both of women and men singing “Once forever, once for all” and praising their being romantic.

In the end, Mariza explained the meaning of “fado”, that it means destiny, fate. “When I say it’s mine or yours this fado, I am not only talking about the music. It’s this destiny that we cross, we crash. Thank you for your support, thank you for being the people of my soul,” said that artist during the encore performance.

Mariza stunned the audience in Bucharest, leaving the stage in the end to tour the concert hall and shake hands with the spectators, being ‘assaulted’ by bunches of flowers, and, above all, taking the fado to its purest form when performing without microphone accompanied by her band, just like in a Portuguese old, traditional fado venue.

According to the organizers from German Quality Entertainment, the event was attended by the Portugal’s ambassador to Romania, H.E. Dr. João – Bernardo WEINSTEIN, by Germany’s ambassador in Bucharest, H.E. Werner Hans LAUK, by Spain’s ambassador to Romania, H.E. Ramiro Fernández Bachiller and by other officilas from the Algeria, Uruguay and Chile embassies.

Tracklist:

FADO MENOR DO PORTO

ANDA O SOL NA MINHA RUA

MALDICAO

DONA ROSA

PRIMAVERA

MISSANGAS

ADEUS

SEM TI

CAPRICHOSA

MELHOR DE MIM

SOMBRA

PADOCE

ALMA

RIO DE MAGOA

CHUVA

BARCO NEGRO

ROSA BRANCA

PAIXAO

O GENTE DA MINHA TERRA

SAUDADE SOLTA