This year’s Lusofonia Festival will be headlined by Portuguese singer-songwriter Fernando Daniel and Angolan artist Yuri da Cunha, organisers announced at a media briefing.
Daniel, 28, rose to fame after winning the fourth season of The Voice Portugal in 2016 and is known for his soulful pop style. Meanwhile, 44-year-old Da Cunha’s lively kizomba performances have earned him the nickname, “The Show Man” (kizomba is a type of Angolan dance music that emerged in the early 1980s). Lusofonia’s line-up will also include Mozambican singer Selma Uamusse, the Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) musician Filipe Toca and the Cape Verdean funaná group Ferro Gaita.
In addition, the six-day festival will highlight the cultural legacy of the Indian territories of Goa, Daman, and Diu through offering tastes of their traditional gastronomy and performances from local artists.
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For the first time in its 27-iteration history, Lusofonia’s programme will be spread across two long weekends: 25 to 27 October and 1 to 3 November. At the briefing, president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (known by its Portuguese initials IC) Leong Wai Man said the new format would give participating communities “more opportunities for cultural exchange.”
Lusofonia is the kickoff event for the 6th Encounter in Macao, a citywide Sino-Portuguese arts, culture and film extravaganza that runs through December. A highlight of its jam-packed programme of more than 70 activities will be a concert by renowned Cape Verdean musician Tito Paris, performing alongside the Macao Chinese Orchestra on 15 November.
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Despite a budget cut from 9.6 million patacas in 2023 to approximately 8 million patacas this year, Lusofonia’s organisers have said they remain committed to delivering festival-goers a rich and diverse experience, Portuguese media outlet Ponto Final reported.
The Lusofonia Festival was first held in 1998, and has since become the city’s hallmark event for celebrating the different cultures within the Portuguese-speaking world. It’s currently co-organised between IC and the gaming operator Galaxy Entertainment Group.
