The Goan Musical Society, in association with the Wandsworth Arts

Festival 98 Organising Committee, proudly presented:

'A GOAN CULTURAL AFTERNOON'

Sunday, 15th. November 1998, 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Lola Jones Hall, Tooting Leisure Centre,

Greaves Place - Tooting Broadway - London SW17 ONE

'A Goan Cultural Afternoon' consisted mainly of traditional Goan folk music, dance and drama,
but there were performances of other music forms as well. The language spoken was English but
the drama was in the Goan language Konkani (with synopsis in English). Songs were
sung in Konkani, Portuguese, English and Swahili.

Tickets were: £10/- Adults,    £5/- Children aged 3 to 12.   Prices included lunch.
   Limited number of tickets: 250

There was a photographic exhibition from Goa by Francisco Martins.

Dr. Wilfred de Souza, Hon. Chief Minister of Goa and Dr. Carmo Pegado,
Hon. Tourism Minister of Goa were the main guests at this function.

The programme for the day was as follows:

The GMS Commitee:

A GOAN CULTURAL AFTERNOON

Report on the programme held on 15 November 1998 at Lola Jones Hall, Tooting Broadway, South London.

The Goan Musical Society, in association with the Wandsworth Arts Festival Committee, has organised 'A GOAN CULTURAL AFTERNOON', on 15 November 1998 at Lola Jones Hall, Tooting Broadway, South London. This programme was part of the Wandsworth Arts Festival 98, which was held from 1 to 22 November 1998 all over the Wandsworth Borough.

'A GOAN CULTURAL AFTERNOON' was a 5-hour variety programme of Goan folk music, dance, drama, jazz, pop and classical music - performed by a total of 40 Goan artists - both professional as well as amateur - from all over the UK as well as from Goa. A Goan paintings/photographs exhibition was also held. The tickets were fully sold out a few days before the scheduled date and the audience response and feedback was overwhelming. The show was attended by about 270 people.

'A Goan Cultural Afternoon' began at exactly 1.00pm and ended at 6.08pm as planned. A delicious lunch was served from 1 - 2pm before the start of the cultural programme. It was during lunchtime that the GMS greeted all distinguished guests: Dr Wilfred de Souza, Chief Minister of Goa and wife, Dr Carmo Pegado, Tourism Minister of Goa and wife; Cllr Guy Senior, Public Services and Safety Committee Chairman, Wandsworth; Mr Ivor Fry, Wandsworth Arts Festival Co-ordinator and Mr Elliot Bocarro, Air India Sales Executive, London and family.

'RAMS' band and 'New Sensation' both from Leicester, rendered some great music during lunchtime. The RAMS band consist of 3 brothers, Reginald, Alastair and Stuart with their sister Maria-Elena DeSouza, all aged between 12-18 years. The 'New Sensation' members are: Romeo DeSouza, Santos Fernandes and Maria-Elena DeSouza.

After lunch, the GMS Chairman, Rene Barreto, welcomed everyone on behalf of the GMS and this was followed by a speech from the Chief Guest, Dr Wilfred de Souza.

The first item of the programme was the inaugural performance of the GMS Ensemble and Choir, the official cultural group of the GMS that consists of 15 singers and 7 musicians. It performed a mando, a dekhni and a popular Portuguese medley. Two couples danced both the mando and the dekhni to demonstrate to the audience the beauty of these traditional folk arts from Goa that is enjoyed by Goans worldwide and by the tourists who visit Goa.

Then Ian Rebello, jazz saxophonist from Cambridge improvised some beautiful melodies with Joao Paulo Cota accompanying him on the guitar. This was followed by a Konkani comedy (tiatr) performed by the Alphonso family led by Cassy Alphonso - complete with Konkani songs between the acts. The audience loved the play and even those who did not know Konkani well, were able to follow the story due to the occasional usage of English words and phrases. During the half hour intermission, a raffle was held. There were excellent prizes donated to the GMS, courtesy of Air India, like high quality Indian Paintings reproductions, framed artworks, etc. Both Mr. Guy Senior and Mr. Ivor Fry were presented books about Indian culture by Mr. Elliot Bocarro.

After the interval, we had the 'Strolling Duo' from Goa - Aruna and Aldrin Viegas - who are currently based in Leeds. Aruna stole the show with her beautiful Konkani songs and manddes. There followed by a scintillating performance by 'Chico', the one-man band of Francis Po. His music drew some of the crowd from their seats into a lively conga round the hall! The next item was Young Performers time during which Michelle de Souza (piano) and Andrew Dias (piano) displayed their skills on the keyboard. The GMS will always reserve time for young Goan performers in their shows. A great rendering of Konkani songs by Ben Dias and Mathias Sequeira followed and then the vote of thanks by the GMS General Secretary, Paulo Colaco Dias. The show concluded with a farewell song by Walter Sydenham.