With the premise that the perception of the world, and of life itself, has been shaped by the conflicting forces of globalization and identity, Rafael G. Antunes headed to the south of Portugal for the materialization of this series. He went to meet a form of polyphonic singing that was usual to accompany Women and Men in manual agricultural work. Fallen out of use with the increscent industrialization in the country at the end of the 19th century, it was – and still is (2019) – a strong expression of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The revolution in information and communication technologies transformed the notion of time and space, by creating a space of flows and timeless time. This new form of social organization, which penetrates all levels of society, has been spreading worldwide, shaking institutions and transforming cultures.

Within this panorama, how can expressions of collective identity, based on their historical and cultural singularity, be able to survive and preserve their fundamental characteristics? Are these expressions of identity capable of generating symbolic actions that allow them to continue to give meaning to collective cultural behavior, in order to keep their collective memory alive? For how long will we continue to listen the polyphonic Cante Alentejano in the Alentejo?