May 31, 2022

11:05

Priscilla Peixoto – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – “I am very concerned about the environmental agendas, the Amazon is one of the main examples and it is not an idea of defense of a guy who wants the Amazon as a showcase, is a more complex and serious issue that the forest has much more wealth standing than turning pasture and degraded by mining with rivers full of mercury, “the statement, in tones of care, is the singer and composer Nando Reis. In an interview to CENARIUM MAGAZINE, the artist talked about his passion for nature, his career, and his return to Manaus after a four-year break without performing in the city.

With the tour entitled ‘Nando Hits‘, the singer will present the Manaus fans with a special show bringing together the main hits released over more than 40 years of career. The event takes place on June 17, at the Studio 5 Convention Center, Japiim neighborhood, South Zone of Manaus. Besides the capital of Amazonas, the artist also has presentations in other Amazonian states such as Belém (PA), on the 18th, and Macapá (AP), on July 19th.

“If I’m not mistaken, my last trip to Manaus was in October 2018, in that wonderful theater. It was election eve, and how not to remember those days when we hardly knew the horror that was to come. But still, I experienced wonderful days, I was able to walk around, and actually, my experience in Manaus is always good, it’s a place where whenever I can, I enjoy. I love seeing the river, leaving the hotel, and being able to go for a walk. It’s very good,” recalls Nando.

Nando Hits

With this tour, since December 2021, the singer brings a repertoire with songs that cross generations, such as the song ‘Pra Dizer Adeus’ (To say goodbye), from the time of Titãs, (partnership of Nando and Tony Belloto), ‘O Segundo Sol’ (The second sun), ‘Relicário’ (Reliquary), ‘Luz dos Olhos’ (Lights of Eyes), These songs were also hits in the voice of Cássia Eller, one of Nando’s best known friends and work relations, who could not miss singing the hit “All Star”, written for the eternal partner and interpreter of Nando’s songs.

The setlist also includes ‘Pra você guardei o amor’ (For you I saved love), ‘N’, ‘Por onde andei’ (Where I have been), ‘Dois Rios’ (Two rivers), written with Samuel Rosa and Lô Borges, and ‘Onde Você Mora’ (Where you live), written with Marisa Monte. Besides bringing to the stage the remarkable songs of his career, Nando highlights other details that make the show, in Manaus, a special moment.

“The show has the opening of the band Colomy, from Sebastião Reis, who is my son. It is a magnificent band and I recommend it to everyone. Soon after, Sebastião comes on stage to play with me as a special guest, and going on stage is always an emotion, a challenge, because we never know what is going to happen. It is a delight and the most rewarding part of our profession, and it has been a while since I have been to Manaus, the pandemic disrupted everyone’s lives, I think this moment will be great.”

Read also: Amazon defender, Nando Reis celebrates 40 years of career with concert in Manaus

Strength of art

A singer who lives, basically, from his own compositions, Nando says that the inspirations that result in successful work are the fruit of a different way of looking at life. “I compose in order to be able to sing, and my inspirations are the fruit of the look, of sensitivity, of being alive, and each one expresses this in his or her own way. Mine is singing,” explains Reis.

In times that are not very favorable for the cultural artistic scenario, the artist emphasizes that the presentations go beyond the show. According to the musician, each meeting carries a message of “making the force” of art, music, and culture count. “It is to shout, in an unmistakable and powerful way, that nobody will shut us up,” says Nando.

“Song for the Amazon”

In 2021, the singer, together with other artists, launched the so-called “Song for the Amazon”. The work, with lyrics by Carlos Rennó and melody by Nando Reis himself, has no commercial purposes and its main objective is to call attention to the constant destruction of the Amazon and alert to the conservation of one of the world’s main natural heritages.

The project is part of a campaign by Greenpeace, in partnership with Relicário Produções. The song, which calls society’s attention to the Amazon and the degradation it suffers, has received support from organizations such as the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab), the Federation of Organizations for Social and Educational Assistance (Fase Amazônia), the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil (Apib) and the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi).

“I put Carlos Rennó’s extraordinary lyrics to music and there is a very precise description in verse about what is happening. It is a cry of despair because you only have to be a little informed to see the disgrace that has happened and the desperate escalation of destruction from burning and felling trees and the invasion of indigenous lands by illegal mining,” says Nando who adds:

“When I have free time I like to stay at home with my family and I also go to my home in the interior of São Paulo, there I have my relationship with nature in a more incisive and non-theoretical way, planting and caring. I think that, nowadays, if I didn’t live off music, I would turn to nature, to the environment, or to something related to the conservation of endangered species,” he concludes.