News
Defense of Doctoral Thesis | Maria Espírito Santo
29.01.2025 | 11 am | NOVA FCSH, Colégio Almada Negreiros | Room 223 - 2nd floor
The doctoral exams in Music Sciences - specialising in Ethnomusicology, by Master Maria José Nogueira do Espírito Santo, will be held at Colégio Almada Negreiros on 29 January 2025 at 11 am, with the theme "Performação simbólica da nação portuguesa: Ada de Castro e o Culto Fadista de Lisboa".
Jury of Maria Espírito Santo's doctoral exams:
-
President: Manuel Pedro Ferreira, Full Professor at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of NOVA University Lisbon.
-
José Manuel Rodrigues Ferreira Sobral, Retired Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
- Matilde María Olarte Martínez, Full Professor at the University of Salamanca.
-
Maria de Fátima Calça Amante, Associate Professor with Aggregation at the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
-
Pedro Russo Moreira, Associate Professor at the Arts School of University of Évora.
- João Ricardo da Silva Pinto, Adjunct Professor at the High School of Education of Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon.
- Pedro Miguel Meio-Tostão Roxo, Assistant Professor at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of NOVA University Lisbon.
- Maria de São José Côrte-Real Gonçalves Ferraz de Oliveira Soeiro de Carvalho, Assistant Professor at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of NOVA University Lisbon.
Abstract:
This thesis delves into the intricate use of the musical category of fado as a tool of power. It highlights the ongoing perpetuation of romanticized models that still shape notions of Portuguese identity today. The ethnomusicological study focuses on Ada de Castro, a renowned Lisbon-based fadista who served the Estado Novo regime during the 1960s and 1970s, especially through her reincarnation of Maria Severa. In 2010, Ada de Castro celebrated fifty years of her professional career, marking a significant moment in the history of fado. This research uncovers previously undocumented situations that remain on the fringes of mainstream fado historiography. Among the categories of analysis, the concept of cativações (captivations) through media representations of fado products highlights key moments in the construction of Portuguese nationalist identity. The theoretical framework employs Anthony D. Smith ethnosymbolic approach to nationalism studies, intersecting five of his key concepts – symbolic resources, la longue durée, elitism, ethnicity, and conflict and reinterpretation – with heritage and memory tropes associated with Portuguese national symbolism. This work is the result of six years of intense collaborative ethnography, extensive fieldwork, and over a decade of performance experience in Lisbon's old neighborhoods. It also draws on a thorough consultation of a series of historical periodicals, along with specialized bibliography, contributing to a well-documented understanding of fados role as a symbolically and emotionally powerful resource. Furthermore, the thesis seeks to deconstruct the anachronisms that continue to shape remnants of old national consciousness, which still resonate in significant aspects of Portuguese life today.
Keywords: Fado, nation, culto fadista de Lisboa, ethnosymbolsim, Ada de Castro, Maria Severa.
