Rerelease: Bankrol Hayden on making a hit on his death bed

Hayden Inacio grew up in Modesto, California — Central Valley, agricultural, working class. His grandfather emigrated from Terceira in the Azores, came through the East Coast, and eventually built a dairy. By the time Hayden came along, the Portuguese was mostly gone: no language, not much culture,…

Rerelease: Richie Campbell finally addresses the elephant in the room

Richie Campbell went to Jamaica at 18 with one contact and no plan. He printed out Patois lyrics at school to learn the language. He learned to compete in Kingston studios before Portugal fully understood what he was building. Speaking with Tony Gonçalves, one idea prevails: Portugal gave him roots…

Nuno Seixas music invites you to sit down and share what’s going on with your life

Nuno Seixas, 24, grew up in Sintra and attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. When he came back, he didn’t only bring his music: he brought a bench, a camera and a simple request: sit down and share what’s going on in your life. The project “Everyubody’s Going Throug Something…

Mackenzie Arromba’s songs may be sad, but she’s full of life

Winning two IPMA awards back to back is reserved only for the best. Mackenzie Arromba has done it at only 25. Even more impressive, her first award was for the very first song she wrote: “hate myself for loving you”. Before the stage, before the photos, before the fame, was a young girl sitting on …

David Rodrigues is the portuguese culinary creator making culture go viral

He started with a camera, a kitchen, and a mission. Dave, the creator behind “How to Cook Stuff”, has built one of the most-watched Portuguese food and culture channels on the internet by doing something deceptively simple: teaching people how to cook Portuguese food in English, with humor, warmth,…

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…