OqueStrada

"We've set out to show Europe and the rest of the world that there's more than just fado in Portugal," declared singer Marta Miranda.

Miranda's group calls their musical potpourri "tasca beat." They mix musette, ska, hip-hop, waltz, chanson, Balkan, pop and even a touch of fado, a mournful genre popularly associated with Portugal. And they do it all with gritty glamor.

"Our country is just not the same as it was 40 or 50 years ago. A lot of people have immigrated to Lisbon," she said. "Most of them live at the edges of the capital, and they all brought their own music with them."

In upheaval

Almada is one part of the city where the cultures mix. It's on the southern side of the Tejo River in the shadows of the famous Cristo-Rei statue. Capturing the musicality of this area far from Lisbon's touristy center is OqueStrada's goal.

"The people live in very close quarters, but they often know nothing about each other," said Marta Miranda. "We want to change that by bundling their styles of performance together and showing the new musical face of the country."

OqueStrada's unique sound tells the story of a changing nation. Their music is at once a nod to fado and the multicultural neighborhoods that surround Lisbon's center. And OqueStrada is as international as the district from which they hail. They don't just sing in Portuguese, but also in Spanish, Creole, French and English.

Juggling, tasca and Fellini

At the head of the group are Jean Marc Pablo from France and Marta Miranda. While Miranda studied theater and sang in local taverns, Pablo was studying industrial design in Paris. But the world of theater fascinated him, and the double bassist made ends meet by working as a street musician and juggler. In 2000, Pablo headed to Portugal full of experience in cabaret. There, he happened to meet Marta Miranda.

Together, the two created the OqueStrada troop. The collective's name means "pocket" or "neighborhood" orchestra - an orchestra that can easily be transported. The word Strada (Street) is also contained in the band's name and recalls Federico Fellini's cult film "La Strada" about carnival performers.

"Where else but on the street can you get so close to people?" Marta and Jean Marc Pablo asked themselves.

The name they chose for their style of music, tasca beat, reflects that goal. In Portuguese, a tasca is a little neighborhood tavern where people get together, eat a bite and have a glass of wine. Today, tascas are on the verge of being crowded out - a sad thought for the two musicians.



Home, sweet home

Questions about their own identity also drive Marta and her fellow musicians, who feel that Europe has become a bit of a juggernaut, erasing national differences. Everywhere one looks, whether in London or Lisbon, the same shops and restaurants crop up, they said. Everything becomes interchangeable.

"Don't misunderstand me," Marta Miranda emphasized. "It's great that we have been able to overcome the borders between different peoples, but we shouldn't lose our own roots in the process."

That's why OqueStrada makes tasca music.

"With our sound, we want to bring a Portuguese dream to life," the singer said.

The musicians initially took up residence in an old movie theater in Almada. From there, they conquered the streets of Lisbon and then the entire country. Their album "O Sonho portugues" (The Portuguese Dream) stayed in the charts for weeks, and the title song "Oxala Te Veja" (I Hope to See You) became the title music for a Portuguese docu-drama.

Giving 300 percent

On stage - or on the street - the tasca performers show all of their musical might. Marta has such stage presence that even listeners in the last row feel like she's singing right in front of them. OqueStrada offers circus and cabaret effects alongside a music mix that gets people dancing. It's the work of a self-assured group who says, "We are 100 percent independent, have 200 percent of a good mood and are 300 percent clever."

Most of the texts come from Marta Miranda's pen.

"The language in Portuguese music was always very formal, but my music is different," she said. "I sing without mincing any words."

The rhythm of the streets and the problems of the day find their way into her songs. Anything that oppresses people or causes trouble for them is fair game - from unemployment and economic issues to the fate of migrants in Portugal.

But the melancholy doesn't linger very long.

"It's not like with fado where you're always reaching for a Kleenex," Miranda said with a laugh. "Our take on fado makes you want to dance!"

Superheroes

It's not just OqueStrada's musical approach that takes Portuguese audiences by surprise. Their outfits are also designed to draw stares.

If it's the clothes that make the man, and OqueStrada likes to take that maxim to its extreme.

"Portugal was a poor country for a long time, and even today, people are very afraid of falling back into poverty. Whoever wears the same clothes all of the time is going to be considered destitute," Miranda said.

But she and her fellow performers have played in the same outfits for eight years. Miranda's flowery dress swings around her hips in 1950s style. Accordion player Marina Henriques wears a pink evening gown that's not exactly fashionable, and the young men are in old suits with wrinkled up knitted vests. It all looks a bit as though the group just came from a clothing drive.

"Of course people always ask us about it," Miranda said with a laugh.

"'Couldn't you guys afford anything else?', they ask, and we say: 'Sure, but those are our superhero clothes, and we can't take them off without losing their power.'"

This fall, the heroes of OqueStrada wanted to hit the studio and work on a new album. But there has not been enough time between their numerous shows, including dates overseas.

"We're really happy that our work resonates with people because that brings us closer to our own Portuguese dream. Starting from here, we want to explore the world - like musical discoverers - with our little country tucked in our luggage."

And one thing is certain, there will be plenty of tasca beat from Almada along the way.

Author: Suzanne Cords / gsw
Editor: Rick Fulker