Things to Do in Miami: Marisa Monte at Broward Center March 4, 2022 – Miami New Times
Despite the deafening noise in her native Brazil over the controversies surrounding President Jair Bolsonaro, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the upcoming election, Marisa Monte has tried to focus on healing on her tenth studio album, Portas.
“Instead of complaining about environmental policy, we talk about the importance of nature,” she says of the album, speaking with New Times over Zoom. “Instead of complaining about the cultural policy, talk about the importance of poetry as a value that helps us live better. I didn’t want to send a message of negativity but instead spread a message of healing, hope, and faith in the future. Life happens in circles. There is night and day; there is darkness and light — they come one after another.”
For Monte’s fans, the release of Portas is long overdue. Her previous album, the minimalist O Que Voce Queria Saber de Verdade, was released in 2011. In this latest release, the ukulele is no longer front and center. Instead, there are horns and lots of percussion and a nod to Brazil’s younger generation of musicians.
“The horns are something that are more present, something I wanted to explore, and so I shared the ideas with the arrangers,” Monte explains. “Some songs required that; others had more strings. I wanted to do something different. Some have a lot of them; some have nothing at all.
“We had three incredible arrangers. One was Artur Verocai, who is a master from a generation before my own. He arranged two songs featuring strings and horns, which sound uniquely elegant, and I was eager to work with him. Closer to my own generation is Marcelo Camelo. He did a symphonic album of his own that is really impressive. From the younger crowd is Antonio Neves, who is from the Rio alternative scene. He is a drummer and trombonist. He is a guy who has this almost political feel to his arrangements. I had these three guys of different generations and influences working with me, in songs in a general way. The result was a sound that was quite diverse throughout the album.”
Monte is still ironing out the details for her upcoming Portas Tour as far as the stage production is concerned. Her previous live performances have featured everything from ice sculptures to graffiti and other visual enhancements. Matching that same level of spectacle is a challenge, considering all the different venues she’s scheduled to stop by during her ten-city U.S. tour.
“We are still figuring out the scenic end of it. As far as the music goes, the set will be the same, but the looks will vary depending on the type and size of venue we have in each town,” Monte says. “Some will be just the music while others will have more of a theatrical thing going on. Here in Brazil, we just go on the road, carrying everything with us on trucks. We can have all the scenic resources available, but it’s not the same with a North American tour.
As for the music, the setlist will span Monte’s entire career, including songs from her 1989 debut album, MM, which was recorded live in Rio de Janeiro.
“It’s really a career show, with a little bit from every album, with the hits, from the first album up to the new one, new songs, some rarities,” she says.
For Monte, the music in Portas is about the choices you make in life and also about seeking respite from life’s hardships.
“When I wake up on Sunday morning and listen to [Brazilian samba artist] Paulinho da Viola, that transforms my day. A great book and interesting conversation with a friend — that’s transformative,” she says. “Those are the doors that I am talking about on the songs — the things we can do to make our lives better, to diminish suffering and help, if just a little, make things a little better with the individual resources that we all have within us.”
Marisa Monte. 8 p.m. Friday, March 4, at the Au-Rene Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-462-0222; browardcenter.org. Tickets are $48 to $98 via ticketmaster.com.
