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Based on the semiotic theory of culture and media as well as the interfaces with consumption theories, this study presents part of the final results of the research, 'Radio and memory in Portuguese programs', conducted at the Center of Studies in Music and Media (Musimid-ECAUSP) as part of the collective search 'Bring the fado in the senses' (CNPq - Edital Universal). This paper evaluates the dialogue between continuity and changes of these programs broadcast in São Paulo on the history of the Portuguese immigration to the city of São Paulo, life experiences of the audience represented by the biography of one of the participants, and the discussion about the symbolic and emotional consumption of fado, approaching to the sound-related memory of immigrants to reconstruct, in imaginary and symbolic way, their country of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mirroring what was happening in other parts of the world, the 1930s in Brazil was filled with nationalist feelings of all sorts. The musical scene was by no means alienated from a very generalized mood (shared by both Left and Right) that viewed foreign products as the incarnation of evil. While samba emerged as a national icon, popular music did incorporate some foreign rhythms, such as fado, tango and fox-trot. As a matter of fact, until the mid-1930s, fado met considerable resonance among Brazilian audiences, leading composers such as Orestes Barbosa to condemn it as "a Portuguese thing" that symbolized backwardness. Samba, contrary to rhythms conceived as aliens to Brazil, became a sort of musical shield against the "corruption" of national habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]