World Music Festival kicks off today in Porto Covo

Keeping the motto 'Music with a spirit of adventure', the 25th edition of the FMM, organized by the Sines City Council, offers 49 concerts by artists from 34 countries, with premieres from Bolivia, Gabon, Guatemala, Jordan, Indonesia (Java) and Somaliland (a state seeking recognition).

Today, the Spanish from Murcia Maestro Espada (9:30 pm) and the French Tago Mago (10:45 pm) and Ko Shin Moon (midnight) will perform, the latter replacing the Iranian Kamakan, who is unable to travel due to the "geopolitical situation in Iran".

Portuguese Ana Lua Caiano will take to the Porto Covo stage on Saturday (9:30 pm), followed by Palestinian Tamer Nafar (10:45 pm) and Gabonese Pamela Badjogo (12:00 am).

The FMM says goodbye to Porto Covo on Sunday, with four more concerts -- the Galician band A Pedreira (9:30 pm), the Turkish band Selin Sümbültepe (10:45 pm), the Italian band Kalàscima from Apulia (12:00 am) and the Colombian band Ácido Pantera (1:15 am).

The music -- and several parallel activities that also make up the festival's program, from exhibitions, debates and workshops to storytelling sessions and workshops for children -- will then travel to the city of Sines, also on the Alentejo coast.

Youssou N'Dour (Senegal), Julieta Venegas (Mexico), Rokia Traoré (Mali), Orchestra Baobab (Senegal) and The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices (Bulgaria) are some of the highlights of this edition, which will also feature a tribute concert to Jamaican Max Romeo, who was scheduled to perform at the festival but died in April.

As usual, there is a significant presence of Portuguese-speaking artists, such as Nação Zumbi, Bia Ferreira, Luca Argel and Gabriele Leite, for Brazil; Roberto Chitsonzo, for Mozambique; Fábio Ramos, Fidjus Codé Di Dona and Fidju Kitxora, for Cape Verde; Umafricana, for Guinea-Bissau; and Bonga, for Angola.

Portugal will be represented, in addition to Ana Lua Caiano, by Lena d'Água (day 23, at 6:00 pm), Capicua (day 25, at 10:15 pm), Miss Universe (day 26, at 6:00 pm) and Bateu Matou (in the early hours of the 27th, at 3:30 am).

Speaking to Lusa, FMM's artistic and production director, Carlos Seixas, stressed that the festival is open to welcoming "those who know how to listen to others", highlighting itself "as a space for encounters, diversity, discovery and the celebration of cultures".

The Músicas do Mundo Festival won the EFFE Award 2017, awarded by the European Festivals Association and, between 2016 and 2024, 14 Iberian Festival Awards, eight Iberian and six national.

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