Alentejo
Região do Alentejo
Region
The rural community of Castro Verde and the open spaces that characterize the interior Alentejo
Name origin: além-Tejo Portuguese for beyond the Tagus or across the Tagus
Country	Portugal
Region	Alentejo
Lowest point	Sea level
- location	Atlantic Ocean
Area	31,551.2 km2 (12,182 sq mi)
Population	758,739 (2011[1])
Density	24.05 / km2 (62 / sq mi)
Timezone	WET (UTC+0)
- summer (DST)	WEST (UTC+1)
ISO	PT
NUTS	PT15
Location of the Alentejo Region in context of the national borders
Wikimedia Commons: Alentejo
Website: http://www.allentejo.com/
Statistics from INE (2005); geographic detail from Instituto Geográfico Português (2010)

Alentejo (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐlẽˈtɛʒu]) is a south-central region of Portugal. The origin of its name, "Além-Tejo", literally translates to "Beyond the Tagus" or "Across the Tagus". The region is separated from the rest of Portugal by the Tagus river, and extends to the south where it borders the Algarve. Alentejo is a region known for its polyphonic singing groups, comparable to those found on Sardinia and Corsica.

Its main cities are Évora, Elvas, Portalegre, Beja, Serpa and Sines.

Being a traditional region, it is also one of the more recent seven Regions of Portugal (NUTS II subdivisions). Today Lezíria do Tejo subregion, formerly belonging to Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region, is part of Alentejo NUTS II region.

History[link]

The comarca of the Alentejo became the Alentejo Province, divided into upper (Alto Alentejo Province) and lower (Baixo Alentejo Province) designations. The modern region of the Alentejo was expropriated from the medieval provinces and historical territories of Estremadura Province (specifically the 1936 portions of the Ribatejo).

Geography[link]

The expansive landscape of the rural Alentejo Region

The slightly rugged area in the interior

Topographically the countryside varies considerably, from the open rolling plains of the south of the Alentejo to the granite hills that border Spain in the north-east. To feed the water needs of this considerable area a number of public dams have been constructed, most notably the Alqueva Dam. The landscape is primarily one of soft rolling hills and plains, with cork oaks and olive trees, or the occasional vine. In the north agriculture is mostly livestock-based as typified by cows, sheep, and pigs (both white and black). To the south the agriculture is mostly arable.

Alentejo's Typical Landscape

A lake in Mina de S. Domingues, Beja

Biome[link]

To the east of Portalegre is the Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede, a Nature Park Area that includes charming medieval villages that have changed very little from those days. In the south near Mértola is another Nature Park Area named Parque Natural do Vale Guadiana. This is mainly uninhabited and a contrast to the other above. To the west, the coastal strip that runs from the port of Sines down to Cabo de São Vicente is the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park.

Climate[link]

The climate of the region is typically very dry for a large part of the year with summer temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius and mild winters. Alentejo is one of the hottest places in Europe, as the South inland of Spain. In Alentejo, year temperature averages can be as high as 25 degrees, and 50 degrees can even be measured there (Amareleja, 05/07/2010). In most of the territory of Alentejo, the climate is Hot-Summer Mediterranean (Csa) but there is a part, in the South of Beja District that has Semi-Arid climate, where temperatures are really hot. In this part of Alentejo, the summers are even hotter than the summers in Almeria, a city in South Spain that has a Arid climate. Most of the yearly rainfall occurs in the late autumn to early spring. The biggest cities in Alentejo (Beja, Evora and Portalegre) are really hot in summer with a Hot-Summer mediterranean climate (Csa) but they are not the hottest cities, or villages in this hot Region. Some studies even show that Alentejo is not the hottest place in Portugal.

Subregions[link]

• Alentejo Central
• Alentejo Litoral
• Alto Alentejo
• Baixo Alentejo
• Lezíria do Tejo

Demography[link]

The resident population of the Alentejo stands at around 759,000 (fourth quarter, 2008 – 2 700 less than the fourth quarter of 2007), with 49% men and 51% women. It is the most depopulated region in the country, representing over one third of national territory but only 7.1% of its population. It is also the region with the oldest population, 22.9% being 65 years of age or more (while the national average is 17.5%).

The population is low and declining - especially to the east of Alentejo. Portuguese migrate from the villages to the towns and from the towns to cities beyond Alentejo. Virtually the only migration into Alentejo is from Northern Europeans looking to escape their overcrowded countries, either permanently or for sunny holiday retreats.^[2]

Education[link]

The illiteracy rate in the region is quite high among people older than 60 years, though there has been much improvement in recent years as generations have been replaced. The rate of coverage of pre-primary education is amongst the highest in the country. Institutions of higher education include:

• Instituto Politécnico de Beja
• Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre
• Universidade de Évora

Economy[link]

The area is commonly known as the "bread basket" of Portugal, a region of vast open countryside with undulating plains and rich fertile soil. With very few exceptions all the major towns are mainly reliant on agriculture, livestock and wood. There are several types of typical cheeses, wines and smoked hams and sausages made in Alentejo region, among these: Queijo de Serpa, Queijo de Évora and Queijo de Nisa (cheeses); Vinho do Alentejo and Vinho do Redondo (wines); and presunto (ham). Marble, cork, olive oil and mining industries are other important activities in the region. The Alqueva dam is an important irrigation and hydroelectric power generation facility which supports a part of Alentejo's economy.

The region is the home of the world's most important area for the growing of cork. Cork-oak, known in Portugal as "sobreiro", has been grown commercially in the region for the past 300 years, with the areas between the trees typically given over to grazing, or on the more productive soils, to the growing of citrus fruit, vines or olives. As a consequence, a uniquely rich and varied eco-system has developed. The bark of the cork-oak is still harvested by teams of men using locally made hand-axes. No mechanical method has yet been invented that will allow the harvest to be achieved as effectively. The stripping of the bark is performed only in mid summer, when the bark can be removed more easily. The cork-oak is the only tree known that will allow this regular stripping of bark without damage. The harvest of one mature tree provides sufficient bark to produce about 4,000 wine bottle corks. The industry provides employment for about 60,000 workers.^[3] In 2006, the region had an estimated GDP per inhabitant rating of 17,200 EUR.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alentejo

• Alentejo VR

References[link]

Notes

v t e NUTS 2 regions, NUTS 3 subregions and Districts of Portugal Norte Region Subregions Alto Trás-os-Montes Ave Cávado Douro Entre Douro e Vouga Grande Porto Minho-Lima Tâmega Districts Braga Bragança Porto Viana do Castelo Vila Real Aveiro* Guarda* Viseu* Centro Region Subregions Baixo Mondego Baixo Vouga Beira Interior Norte Beira Interior Sul Cova da Beira Dão-Lafões Médio Tejo Oeste Pinhal Interior Norte Pinhal Interior Sul Pinhal Litoral Serra da Estrela Districts Castelo Branco Coimbra Leiria Aveiro* Guarda* Santarém* Viseu* Lisboa Region Subregions Grande Lisboa Península de Setúbal Districts Lisbon* Setúbal* Alentejo Region Subregions Alto Alentejo Baixo Alentejo Alentejo Litoral Alentejo Central Lezíria do Tejo Districts Beja Évora Portalegre Lisbon* Setúbal* Santarém* Algarve Region Subregions Algarve Districts Faro Azores Azores Madeira Madeira * Situated in more than one Region. Note: The Azores and Madeira are Autonomous Regions: districts have been discontinued in these areas and local government replaced by LAU1 and LAU2 authority.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alentejo

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Alemtejo.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2009)

Dulce Pontes
Dulce Pontes at the 2009 Vienna Festival
Background information
Born	(1969-03-08) March 8, 1969 (age 43)
Genres	Fado, world music, classical, pop
Occupations	vocalist, musician, songwriter, actor
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Universal
Website	www.dulcepontes.net/.

Dulce José Silva Pontes (born April 8, 1969) is a Portuguese songwriter and singer who performs in many musical styles, including pop, folk and classical music. She is usually defined as a world music artist. Her songs contributed to the 1990s revival of Portuguese urban folk music called fado.

Biography[link]

Pontes was born in 1969 in Montijo, a town in the District of Setúbal, near Lisbon. She trained as a pianist, and started a career in singing after entering a competition in her hometown at the age of 18. She soon became an actress on Portuguese television and theater. In 1991, she won the national music festival with her song "Lusitana Paixão" (known in English as "Tell Me"), which led her to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest. She finished 8th in the competition, which is to date the fourth-best finish for a Portuguese performer.

"Canção do Mar" (Song of the Sea), one of her many international hits, was later recorded by Sarah Brightman, under the name "Harem", and became a #1 Dance & Crossover hit in the US for Brightman.

Pontes started her career as a mainstream pop artist, but over the years she has evolved to become a world music singer. She blends traditional fado with contemporary styles and searches out new forms of musical expression. She introduced musical traditions of the Iberian Peninsula in her work, rediscovered many long forgotten popular tunes and found use for obsolete musical instruments. Her work is inspired and influenced not only by Iberian musical tradition, but also Arabic, African, Brazilian and Bulgarian sounds. She sings mostly in her native Portuguese, as well as Spanish, Galician, Mirandese, Italian, English, Arabic and Greek.

Dulce Pontes has collaborated with Cesária Évora, Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte, Carlos Núñez, the Chieftains, Kepa Junkera, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, George Dalaras, Andrea Bocelli (O Mar e Tu, duet sung by Pontes in Portuguese and Bocelli in Neapolitan, for his 1999 album Sogno), and others. Her song "Canção do Mar" appeared on the soundtrack of Hollywood film Primal Fear. A 30-second piece of that same song serves as the theme to the NBC police drama Southland. Her album Focus is the fruit of a collaboration with Italian composer Ennio Morricone with whom she has also performed live.

In June 2006, Pontes prepared her double LP O Coração Tem Três Portas (The Heart Has Three Doors). It was recorded live without an audience in Convent of the Order of Christ in Tomar and St Mary Church in Óbidos. According to the artist, it is "her most personal and intimate album." It includes Portuguese folk music, mostly fado. "^[1] It was released in December 2006.

In 2009, Pontes released Momentos, a double disc collection that includes songs from her 20 year career as well as several previously unreleased tracks.^[2] Currently, she is working on an album of all new songs which is titled Nudez.

Discography[link]

• Lusitana (1992)
• Lágrimas (1993) (Tears)
• Brisa do Coração (1995) (Breeze of the heart) - album live recorded during a concert held May 6, 1995, in Porto.
• Caminhos (1996) (Paths)
• O Primeiro Canto (1999) (The first chant/song)
• Best Of (2002)
• Focus (2003) - with Ennio Morricone collaboration.
• O Coração Tem Três Portas (2006) (The heart has three doors) - including a DVD, recorded live in a convent and church
• Momentos (2009) (Moments)

References[link]

1. ^ http://www.hoy.es/prensa/20061116/sociedad/cantante-dulce-pontes-presentara_20061116.html La cantante Dulce Pontes presentará su último disco en Elvas
2. ^ http://www.tvi24.iol.pt/musica/dulce-pontes-entrevista-video-momentos-novo-disco-nudez/1067643-4060.html Dulce Pontes recorda 20 anos de carreira em disco

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dulce Pontes

• (English) (Portuguese) Pontes's Official Website
• (English) Aviv Productions site
• (Spanish) Universal Music site