Giving a modern beat to an old, Goan Sao Joao tradition

As Goans get ready with flowers, fruits and leaves to make kopels (floral head wreaths), and sweets to serve the people, new music beats have also been composed to make the day memorable. And this year, a special tune has been released to make the Sao Joao festivities even more special.

The beats to Rosario Miranda’s new song, Viva Sao Joao, have captured the hearts of many Goans, both in Goa and those living in other parts of the world.

Hailing from Navelim, Rosario felt that the festival celebrated in Goa with much pomp and enthusiasm, deserved a song that people could dance to.

A culinary celebration of Sao Joao at The Goan Kitchen

DANCE TO THE BEAT

“Every year, we celebrate this festival and always look for trending music to groove to. I wanted to meet this expectation by composing something which is lively, peppy and at the same time talks of our culture and heritage,” says Rosario.

While there are a quite a number of traditional Sao Joao songs in Goa, Rosario wanted to bring a fresh twist to the music.

“There is a lot of traditional music on the Sao Joao theme, but I was keen on creating electronic and pop fusion. I wanted this song to be different from the others, and also connect with the younger generation,” says Rosario.

Rosario Miranda, singer songwriterIt took me one flight to write the lyrics and compose the tune. When I reached Goa, I got the musicians together to perform this masterpiece.

WHAT AN IDEA

The idea for the song struck him quite suddenly, much like lightning does.

“One evening, I was thinking about visiting Goa for Sao Joao, since I work in London; and I just planned the visit. While doing so, I called up my friend. The song contains lyrics which include some of the conversations we had over the phone. And, as I was flying from London to Goa, I penned down the lyrics and tune on the flight.”

PEPPY BEAT: Actress Joanne Da Cunha along with Sapna Kalra feature in the music video.

“Goans have settled in almost every part of the world — London, Dubai, United States of America, Canada. And, every Goan will know the significance of Sao Joao celebrations, and this is when I decided that I wanted to contribute to the spirit of the festival,” he adds.

With a lot of fun and peppy dance music, Rosario took around two days to record the music. “It took me one flight to write the lyrics and compose the tune. When I reached Goa, I got the musicians together to perform this masterpiece."

Discover Aldona's sweet secrets of Sao Joao feast

It took about two days to complete the audio recording. The rap in the song is done by Waking Gruntand the music by JERE Miah.

Rosario has also recorded two more songs — Mog Zala (edited by Milroy Goes) to which Rosario gave a cinematic touch; and the second is a remix version with Big Dawg. 

You can check out Rosario Miranda’s catchy new song, Viva Sao Joao, at the following link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8me513A1XVE