The "Lusito" Festival

choices... choices....

Lusitoland is an annual festival (run by the Portugues community) held in the

south of Johannesburg at the end of April/ beginnning of May of every year.

It runs for 10 days and the main aim is to raise funds on behalf of the

 Lusito School for the Challenged.

chicken on the barbecue

This is quite simply one of those events that you should not miss .... there is

loads of great Portuguese (style) food,  pubs, coffee bars, live music and

musicians throughout the event, a flea market ... etc.etc... 

We decided to go yesterday afternoon as the festival ends today 2nd May,

It had been raining earlier in the afternoon and when we got there the place

was one huge mud "bath" - you would think that this would stop people.

Not a chance... they kept arriving in their droves - for the food, the entertainment

 and the sheer good vibe of the event.

We walked around (very cautiously!!!), enjoyed a great meal ......

...and it also presented a fantastic opportunity to do some night shots (luckily I

had taken my lightweight tripod with me) ....

And we got to enjoy Danny K on stage (a local artist).

I must admit, that he is a better musician than I had given him credit for, 

and has  a great stage presence to boot!

We left feeling that we had had a fantastic time and look forward to

next years event!

Go Lusitoland organisers - a job well done!!!!

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Image(s) All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2010 Gena D Images for thinking aloud

Where would we be without music?

Music is evocative, lending atmosphere and energy to everything we do. It influences our moods, our emotions and most certainly links us to people and places.

To me, music is an integral part of life. I love just about all types of music ... from classical to rock, and always have. My frame of mind, and funnily enough, the time of year, determines what I like to listen to at a given moment. For example, on sultry summer evenings I love jazzy tunes, whether old or new, or Latin American beats such as a good samba. In fact even Diana Krall or great Blues, hit the mark!

On warm, sunny, breezy mornings over a sumptuous brunch (ideally shared with a number of friends!), I love violin, Vivaldi for example, or guitar music, which evokes feelings of garden weddings or parties, laughter and champagne! When I'm feeling particularly on top of the world and it's summer I love "beaty music" with great rhythms and lyrics that I can sing along with at the top of my voice, mostly in the car and at times with the windows wide open.....

When feeling creative, or in need of creative inspiration, I find classical music such as Mozart or Beethoven or even olde world "nostalgic" music, is just perfect! I particularly enjoy such artists as Billie Holliday, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and then some of the younger crowd who sing in the same mould, such as Duffy, Priscilla Ahn, Amy Winehouse amongst others'. I've just been listening to the smokey, gravelly voice of Madeleine Peyroux, and have decided she's definitely part of the "creative music pack". Inevitably this type of music makes me tap my feet (or pencil), it invites me to get up and dance around the room, it makes me want to open the windows and take in great gulps of fresh air, it creates a sense of "je ne sais quoi..." something unexplainable, intangible, difficult to put into words. But it sure makes me feel .... alive!

Music connects us to feelings, emotions and even people and places. To this day I have a vivid memory of Alex, an old school mate's reaction, to Boston's "More than a Feeling" and this, well over 20 years ago.... such is the power of music!

On that "note' I wish you a "music filled' day.....
G

Picture credit : Irvington Music