Tozé Santos, an internationally known Portuguese musician and vocalist of the musical group ªPer7ume, presented a concert titled ‘O Homem dos Sete Instrumentos’ (‘Jack of all trades’) on the University of Macau (UM) campus, at the invitation of the university’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Department of Portuguese.
The concert is part of a series of cultural events organised by the Department of Portuguese designed to help students improve their Portuguese proficiency and understand more about the cultures of Portuguese-speaking countries. ‘Music is a form of art and it is a means of transmitting culture. Learning a language is also about learning the culture of the people who speak that language,’ says lecturer Paula Campos from the Department of Portuguese. ‘The musician not only interacted with the students with his own music but also shared his journey of persuing his dream.’
Lídia Ge Sining, a fourth-year student majoring in Portuguese, echoes Paula Campos’s emphasis on the importance of learning the culture. ‘It is important for a language learner to absorb the culture of the people who speak the language,’ she says. ‘We thoroughly enjoyed the show and we discussed the musician and his music after the event. We will also share what we learn from him in class.’ Lídia hopes there will be more similar events on campus to foster an environment in which students feel motivated to learn Portuguese.
Tozé Santos has collaborated with many world-renowned music producers over the past decade. He is the producer of the renowned bLUNDER project and has released five albums around the world. He enjoys performing abroad to help disseminate the Portuguese culture throughout Portuguese communities worldwide. Earlier, he completed a world tour to New York, London, Paris, Zurich, and Luxembourg to promote his album.