Until April 25, 2024, BLITZ publishes a list of 50 songs that paved the way for the freedom achieved 50 years ago. These are songs that, during the Estado Novo, foreshadowed the change that occurred on April 25, 1974, and gave shape to a cultural revolution that long preceded the political revolution that put an end to the dictatorship. The texts are written by Luís Freitas Branco, author of “The Revolution Before the Revolution” (Zigurate, 2024), to be published this month, a book that documents the way in which Portuguese popular music opened the doors to the cultural, social and politician that triggered April 25, 1974. Every day, this list will ‘receive’ a new song.
19. ‘Desfolhada Portuguesa’, by Simone de Oliveira (1969)
‘Desfolhada Portuguesa’ was Simone de Oliveira’s release, in front of millions of spectators, at the Festival da Canção, which she won for the second time. The controversial verse “Who makes a child/ Does it for pleasure”, by José Carlos Ary dos Santos, was the proud acclamation of a single mother, which is worth remembering, in 1969 she still needed authorization from a male figure to complete any bureaucracy ; and the musical liberation from the constraints of Carlos Nóbrega e Sousa, the greatest figure of the so-called national-cançonetismo, with a portentous composition by Nuno Nazareth Fernandes. After three failed attempts, he was the fourth choice to play ‘Desfolhada’; Only Simone managed, with her head held high, to immortalize an anthem of emancipation from a deeply patriarchal regime.
Tags: Songs Announced #25th April Desfolhada Portuguesa Simone Oliveira
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