On April 21st, students in POR 261 - Sounds and Stories: Voices in Portuguese - went to NYC to witness the live performance of Ney Matogrosso with special guest Mariza at a Town Hall event. Matogrosso is a Brazilian singer who is distinguished for his uncommon sopranino voice. He was ranked by Rolling Stone as the third greatest Latin American singer of all time. Mariza, a Mozambique-born Portuguese singer, popularized fado, a traditional Portuguese musical genre that combines a narrative vocal style with acoustic guitar accompaniment, to a global audience.

Below are the impressions from several students who attended the concert:

From Robert Britt (SPO '24)

After spending the semester learning about the music of the Portuguese-speaking world, it was so

exciting getting to hear icons like Ney Matogrosso and Mariza sing in person. The songs evoked so many different emotions from excitement to sadness, and a bit of saudade... It was an incredible experience, and the audience engagement was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The performers were met with standing ovations, and even performed encores song for the audience. New

York city served as the perfect setting for this transatlantic performance, bringing together a delighted audience of fans from across the Lusophone world, and I'm so grateful to have gotten to be a part of it!

From Matias Vincent (History '25)

The trip to see Mariza perform in NYC was truly a fantastic experience. After learning about the history and cultural background of the fado genre, being able to see one of the greatest fado singers live and appreciate so much about the art brought the course to a beautiful conclusion. A standing ovation for Mariza and the SPO department!