Amália Rodrigues had a holiday home near here, overlooking the beach that is precisely called “da Amália”, and often went to dinner at the only restaurant in Brejão at the time, that of Senhor Pacheco. Therefore, it is not surprising that the artist Ivo Santos, who signs as Smile, is creating, during the month of August, four public art murals in Brejão, parish of São Teotónio, dedicated to the fado singer's artistic career and life .
This initiative, promoted by the Municipality of Odemira, with the support of the Amália Foundation and the Cultural and Social Economic Development Association of Brejão, is part of the “Odemira recalls Amália” initiative, an evocative and homage event to the fado singer, which will take place during the month of October.
Throughout the month of August, the artist Smile will be working on four murals on the gables of buildings in Brejão, which will describe the evolution of Amália Rodrigues' life and work, from her youth until the end of her career, also portraying the fado singer's passion for this location.
«With this public art intervention, the face of Amália Rodrigues will become a lasting part of the landscape of the Brejão locality, in order to transmit to those who pass by that Amália Rodrigues cherished the municipality of Odemira, in the same way that the fado singer was cherished the local population, especially those from the Brejão locality», stresses the Odemirense Chamber.
Ivo Santos was born in Lisbon in 1985. From a very young age, he became interested in drawing, driven by his mother, but it was through two cousins that his interest turned into passion.
In the 90's, discovers the love for Hip Hop Culture, embracing the graffiti as a strand to follow. In 2000, he ventured spray painting for the first time, in the following year, he returned to the streets, immediately demonstrating his talent, winning the Odivelas Graffiti Contest in 2002. From then on, several interventions emerged.
The decision to professionalize his art brought him works for entities as different as Nissan, Mc Donald's, Billabong, Red Bull, among many others, as well as the sponsorship of LRG Clothing and DVS Shoes.
The high point of his activity as an urban artist was achieved in 2013, when his intervention on the gable of a building in Loures, portraying a young man with a complicated medical history, generated a wave of media solidarity, which resulted in the resolution of the problem. The mural of “Bartolo” will forever be referenced as a case study how urban art can help resolve social dramas.
With this initiative, the Municipality of Odemira intends to keep alive the memory of this great figure of national culture and the connection that Amália Rodrigues maintained with the municipality of Odemira throughout her life, an example of which is the creation of the Brejão Medical Post, for the which the fado singer destined, in a will, a part of the proceeds of the Amália Rodrigues Foundation for its realization.
Comments