California!!!

I just got back from California and I am extremely tired but can't fall asleep because I can't stop thinking about how amazing my weekend was... So I'm going to write it all down and maybe by the time I'm done I'll be too tired to think any more. So it here it goes...

Me and the California Sky

For the first time in my life I flew to the west coast of the country. Until then, all of my long trips were to Portugal where all you see is the Atlantic ocean. This time the view from the plane, 43,000 feet in the air was unbelievable. I flew over Colorado's snow covered mountains and even the grand canyon. When we got to California I was blown away by how different it is from the east coast. We landed in Los Angeles first, then rushed to our connecting flight to San Jose where we shared the plane with the actor/comedian Eddy Griffin!! I was really excited but nobody said anything to him so I didn't bother him either. After 50 minutes of flying over California's mountainous terrain we arrived in the beautiful city of San Jose.

San Jose, California

I finally got to meet Sr. Manuel Escobar, the man responsible for my first performance in California, who picked me up from the airport. He was kind enough to show us around the city and pick out all of the Portuguese organizations. I thought the east coast was heavily populated with Portuguese people but California is swarmed with us!! It's pretty cool.

Later that night after dinner, Sr. Manuel and Sra. Delia, his amazing wife, were kind enough to take me on a trip to San Francisco!! I was really excited because usually when I go on these trips far away from home I usually just stay in my hotel room the whole time until the show. The trip to San Francisco was awesome. It was so beautiful!! Before that night the only thing I really knew about San Francisco was that the Tanner family from "Full House" lived there:). I don't have any good pictures from the trip because it was night time and everything came out too dark. Maybe I'll get a better camera for my birthday next week... (Are you reading this daddy? :) ) We walked around this market by the water and we saw sea lions at Pier 39!! I'm probably way too excited about this but I've never seen them just out and about like that. There was like a hundred of them!! We finished our little troll around the city with a nice cup of hot tea because it was kind of chilly that night. It was so much fun and unexpected. Then we drove around the city and passed by Lombard Street and even drove through the famous Bay Bridge. It was amazing!! I'll never forget my mini trip to San Francisco. I'm definitely going back but taking my time to actually explore the city.


The next day, I woke up early to have breakfast at Sr. Escobar's house and to meet the other guitarists and rehearse for our big show. I forgot to mention that Sr. Escobar is the viola player. I later met Helder Carvalheira who plays the Portuguese guitar and Joao Cardadeiro who plays acoustic bass. They were amazing, perfectionists, and extremely professional. I didn't know what to expect but I definitely underestimated them. I also got to know them a little better and found out that Sr. Carvalheira, who is a 1st generation Luso-American like myself, is from the same exact town in Portugal as me; Bustos! Its crazy how I met a neighbor from Portugal in California. Sr. Cardadeiro is not that far from us in Portugal either. He's from Ilhavo which is about a half hour away. We rehearsed my whole setlist and it went great which made me confident for my performance later that night.





We got to the hall early for sound check and everything was going great but I was starting to get more nervous than usual. It was my first performance on the west coast and I was headlining the event so I was starting to feel the pressure especially because I know that many Fadistas from Lisbon perform in California pretty frequently. I was confident with my setlist but I was performing the whole second part alone which I had prepared 15 Fados and I was nervous that maybe it would drag and I would bore the audience.

The first session of Fados included the performances of 3 local artists that I had the pleasure of hearing for the first time. Manuel Pacheco, Glenda Reis (who is my age), and Isalino dos Santos.








Then the moment of truth arrived!! I was introduced by the Mayor of Gilroy, Mr. Al Pinheiro and as he read a little about my Fado career to the audience, they applauded some of my accomplishments which made me relax a little more because the audience was really welcoming. When the guitars began playing the intro to my first Fado of the night I could feel myself shake but as soon as I started singing I realized that the ambiance was perfect for Fado with a dark, candle lit room with 250-300 people completely silent which put me at ease for the rest of my performance. Throughout the whole show I received their complete participation and attention. And then just like that... The performance I had been awaiting for such a long time was over. It was definitely one of my most memorable.







I met so many wonderful and supportive people after my performance and despite it already being late they didn't mind waiting around to talk to me. The weekend went by so quickly. But since I got back I've heard nothing but great feedback. I owe it all to the great team I had behind me Helder Carvalheira, Manuel Escobar, and Joao Cardadeiro (who received my album and recommened to the rest of the "7 colinas".) And an extra special thank you to Sr. Manuel and Sra. Delia for their hospitality and everything they did for me. Also thank you Ricardo and Mafalda Amarante for taking a chance in me and inviting me to perform at your event.

Here's a quick review from Jornal Tribuna Portuguesa da California by Jose Raposo:

Lá findou a primeira parte e quando chegou a vez Nathalie Pires, só pela sua presença eu pude ver e disse ao meu amigo João Neves: "temos fadista".

A moça é um espectáculo e não tenho a mínima dúvida que se ela continuar a balançar o fado como deve balançar os livros da contabilidade que está cursando, o saldo será sempre positivo, pois que os algarismos na coluna do HAVER, serão sempre mais altos do que na coluna do DEVE.

O seu penúltimo fado, "Povo que lavas no rio", resolveu cantá-lo sem o microfone. Se bem que os corpos presentes na sala absorvessem uma parte do som, conseguiu cantar com timbre e intensidade, para que todos os presentes, mesmo os mais afastados do palco, pudessem ouvir perfeitamente. Terminou a sua actuação com o "fadinho serrano" O baloiçar do seu corpo e o movimento de cadência que dava aos ombros, trasmistiam perfeitamente o que lhe ia na alma de fadista.

Gilroy Noite De Fados - Nathalie Pires

Irmandade da Festa do Divino Espirito Santo posted this video of the performance on their myspace profile. (I think it might be the first video of me on the internet.)