Portugal

THE STORY OF ALICIA DE ALXEN

Alicia De Alxen was born in Fraga do Rei Alxen in Salvaterra do Mino.

She grew up in an agricultural family in the 1950’s, so her childhood was more about working in the fields and taking care of her grandmother than going to school. She speaks Galician, as it was the language spoken at home, but not Spanish (Castillian) as she rarely went to school. She has always spoken Galician to her children.

Alicia has always loved singing traditional songs and playing the "pandeireta", a traditional tambourine. She learned all the songs by listening to her elders singing them while performing agricultural tasks like stripping corn leaves or riding the oxen car on the way to the fields.

In this video, in an interview by young schoolgirls, she talks about her life as a child and the very different reality, in all aspects, she had to deal with while growing up, and sings a traditional song along with the girls.

Ponte nas Ondas, Portugal