The ‘Paredes Experience’ project comprises 40 activities, including ‘100 Paredes’ concerts, lectures, meetings with schools and universities, and other initiatives with Portuguese communities worldwide, promoting “the sound and spirit of Carlos Paredes,” stated André Varandas.
“It is a rare event for a Portuguese musical project to tour uninterruptedly for almost six months across 15 countries. This makes us very proud and adds to our responsibility,” he emphasized.
André Varandas on piano and bass guitar is joined by Bruno Costa on Portuguese guitar; both are mentors and performers of the “Paredes Experience,” and will be accompanied on the world tour by Nuno Botelho on classical guitar.
The world tour opens on Monday in Guinea-Bissau, where it will remain until the 18th.
The program in this Portuguese-speaking African country includes a creative workshop on Monday and Tuesday with Agrice and the Rizomba Orchestra, a meeting on Wednesday with the Nino Galissa music school, and two concerts: the first on Thursday at 6:00 PM local time in Bolama Square, and the second on Saturday the 18th at 9:00 PM at the Portuguese Cultural Center in Bissau.
The authors explained that the ‘Paredes Experience’ is “an artistic journey that reaffirms the Portuguese guitar as an identifying instrument of Portugal and, at the same time, proves its universal language.”
“On stage, tradition and modernity intersect, evoking Carlos Paredes’ legacy and projecting it into the future through new sounds, cultural dialogues, and international multidisciplinary collaborations,” they added.
After Guinea-Bissau, the ‘Paredes Experience’ moves to Dili, East Timor, from the 21st to the 30th of this month, flying to the east coast of the United States from November 6 to 13, with actions scheduled in New York, New Bedford, and New Jersey.
From November 27 to December 4, Argentina is the destination, with performances scheduled in the capital, Buenos Aires, and Cordoba, the second most populous city in the South American country.
Montevideo, Uruguay, will host the ‘Paredes Experience’ from December 5 to 9, before returning to Europe for performances in Tuscany, Italy, in the towns of Pontedera and Buti from December 11 to 14.
In early 2026, the music of Carlos Paredes will resonate in Poland, in Warsaw and Rzeszów, from January 9 to 17, then moving to China and the Chinese territories of Macau and Hong Kong, at locations yet to be announced, from January 19 to 26.
From February 11 to 16, the turn will be for Istanbul (Turkey), followed by Cuba (in Havana and Matanzas, from February 25 to March 3) and five days in Paris (France), from March 5 to 9.
The world tour of the ‘Paredes Experience’ will conclude in São Paulo, Brazil, with events scheduled from March 12 to 23.
In the year marking the centenary of Carlos Paredes’ birth (1925-2025), André Varandas and Bruno Costa promoted in Portugal the ‘100 Paredes’ project, which proposed “a global celebration of the life and work of one who is unanimously recognized as one of the greatest symbols of Portuguese culture and the universality of the Portuguese guitar.”
In total, there were more than 80 initiatives, including socio-community concerts, lectures, and a traveling exhibition, among other activities.
