A neuroscientist turned into a fado star:‌ meet Mariana Arroja

A neurocientist walked into a bar in Scotland. She sang fado into an open mic. Everybody loved it. Mariana Arroja’s life changed at that moment: she didn’t plan to become a fadista, but then, the best stories rarely go according to plan. In this conversation with Tony Gonçalves, Mariana talks abou…

Nelson Sobral: A black belt with a guitar, Portuguese at heart

Nelson Sobral’s favourite portuguese dish is sopas. The luso-canadian musician never forgets his roots, just take a look at his guitar. Growing up inspired by Kiss, Nelson has become a voice of his own. Growing up as a first-generation Canadian in Toronto's Little Portugal, Nelson shared how that …

D.A.M.A. uses their music to protect Portuguese culture

In this episode of Heart & Hustle of Portugal: On Location, the trio that make the band D.A.M.A. sit down with Tony Gonçalves on rehearsal day to talk about what it means to bring the heartbeat of Portugal to the diaspora, and why this community feels like something you can't quite explain but imme…

Ricardo Farias knows that being Portuguese means pride

Ricardo Farias was born in the United States. He has spent 26 years giving his career to the Portuguese community. Ricardo built the bridge and stayed on his side. Not because he had to. Because he chose to. “When I don't feel nervous, I get nervous” he says to Tony Gonçalves, a day before steppin…

The Manic Boys and Girls Club perform… by not performing

We first met Manic Boys and Girls Club backstage at the International Portuguese Music Awards last year. This time, Fernando and Bela weren’t there as performers. They were there as friends, fans, former performers, and part of the community that keeps coming back year after year. They sat down wi…

Sophia Tavares lost her voice, then ended up on the IPMA stage

Sophia Tavares grew up in Porto, fell in love with music on a 13-hour road trip to Spain, and almost walked away from it all after completely losing her voice. She didn't. And she was nominated for Best New Talent at the 2026 IPMA. In this episode of Heart & Hustle: On Location, recorded at the In…

NCIS Star Daniela Ruah Shares a Story She's Never Told Anyone

Daniela Ruah was born in Boston, grew up in Lisbon, and got her big break in New York. She built a career that took her from gymnastics competitions to NCIS: Los Angeles, and never stopped coming back. In this first episode of Heart & Hustle: On Location, recorded at the International Portuguese M…

Rerelease: Chazz Palminteri's “A Bronx Tale” in Lisbon and a love for sardines

Chazz Palminteri sold out his “A Bronx Tale” in Lisbon, the second time he performed his breakthrough show outside of the United Sates. We revisit his conversation with Tony Gonçalves on the podcast The Heart and Hustle of Portugal. In this episode, Chazz Palminteri reflects on his journey from th…

Nuno Bettencourt: “Collect your first dollar, you’re no longer a pure artist”, even if you win a Grammy

Nuno Bettencourt, one of the most celebrated guitarists in rock, left the Azores for Massachusetts at four years. The Extreme founder sits with Tony Gonçalves to revisit a journey that took him from his brother’s verdict “you’ll never amount to anything in music” to global stages, a Grammy, and the…

At 16, Bankrol Hayden almost died, so he wrote a hit song about it

American rapper Hayden Inacio, professionally known as Bankrol Hayden, discusses his music career and cultural identity from his Modesto, California origins, born in a family of Portuguese descent, to gaining prominence in the music industry at a young age, accumulating over a billion streams early…