January, 2022 ‣ The Gayly Mirror

Road To Eurovision 2022 – Chanel wins Benidorm Fest

30Jan

By RaffaNo Comments

Road To Eurovision 2022 – Chanel wins Benidorm Fest

We've watched live the Final fo Benidorm Fest, and Spain's got a winner, baby: Chanel. It's time to say that Spain was finally fed up of getting 0 points at Eurovision Song Contest, and this year, thanks to the edition of Benidorm Fest, the selection - very hard to be honest - declared that Chanel will represent Spain with her latino.dance-pop song "SloMo" at Eurovision 2022 in Turin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO2yGXVQCfo We really have to be happy for such a victory, where we can finally see Spain coming back to the contest with an artist that screams "babe, I'm competition for all of you"! Votes Chanel won Benidorm Fest being elected first by the judges on site, and was second both for the opinion poll and the audience who televoted, that on the other hand, had Tanxugueira...

Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov will represent Moldova at Eurovision 2022 with “Trenulețul”

29Jan

By JorgeNo Comments

closeUp, Eurovision

Zdob și Zdub & Frații Advahov will represent Moldova at Eurovision 2022 with “Trenulețul”

We have the representatives for Moldova at Eurovision 2022! The veterans Zdob și Zdub are back to the game for the third time, after representing Moldova in 2005 and 2011, both times being place in Top15 - 6th in 2005 and 12th in 2011. They will be joined with Frații Advahov and will sing "Trenulețul" at Turin's stage. They were selected internally following a live auditions round today, which was the best scenario after the national final being cancelled due to rising Covid-19 infections in the country. The artists were chosen entirely by a jury panel, where three other Eurovision Moldovan stars took part: Geta Burlacu (Moldova 2008), Aliona Moon (Moldova 2013) and Cristina Scarlat (Moldova 2014). A total of 28 songs were in competition. You can listen to Moldova's entry right belo...

Road To Eurovision 2022 – Titina’s Talks with Fado Bicha

28Jan

By RaffaNo Comments

closeUp, Entertainment, Eurovision

Road To Eurovision 2022 – Titina’s Talks with Fado Bicha

A new marvelous season of Titina's Talks has begun, and on this Road To Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, we decided to kick it off with a fun and honest interview with Fado Bicha, one of the most interesting duos participating in Festival da Canção 2022. We had the pleasure to have a lovely and open-hearted conversation with Fado Bicha, and the outcome of this interview is absolutely great! https://youtu.be/NRYaEinmyTk OFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF THE SONG: Povo Pequenino - Little Nation Little was the nation, barefoot in the frost Little was the nation, taught by the beating Little was the nation, already carrying the hoe Little was the nation, crying over the times table Biting their teeth, licking their lips Dipping old bread in the stew Oh, little natio...

Son of Saul – a film to watch on Holocaust Memorial Day

27Jan

By rebeccaNo Comments

closeUp, Culture

Son of Saul – a film to watch on Holocaust Memorial Day

Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day by watching Son of Saul, an intense, brutal but enriching film which puts you right in the shoes and soul of a Jewish concentration camp prisoner. This brilliant film from Hungarian director László Nemes won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016. It follows Saul Ausländer (a magnificent performance from Géza Röhrig), who is in the Sonderkommando, the cadre of Jewish prisoners forced to assist in the machinery of the Nazi camps. During the course of his ‘work’, he finds the corpse of a boy he is sure is his son, and is determined to save the body from the flames and to find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and give the boy a proper burial. While around him there is a plot by some prisoners to rise up against the camp guards, Saul i...

Holocaust Memorial Day: the exercise of Remembering to Honour.

27Jan

By Roberta MooreNo Comments

closeUp, Culture, Society

Holocaust Memorial Day: the exercise of Remembering to Honour.

We remember… We are a people marked by the atrocities the hand of history has so unreluctantly laid bear our suffering. On January 27th, we all grieve together the loss of our loved ones and our people. We grieve those who entire generations have been wiped out and remember their names by lighting a candle, for the Jewish people are and will remain united by blood and by history. My family like so many others found themselves diminished to two or three survivors and those were the lucky ones. My mother’s side were a prosperous Portuguese Jewish family residing in Amsterdam, Holland. They were part of a historical community where tradition was valued, family was loved and religion was observed. The Okker’s came to Amsterdam as they were forced to flee Portugal - they were not strangers ...

Shoah: when remembering gives us hope for a better future.

27Jan

By RaffaNo Comments

closeUp, Culture, Opinion, Politics, Religion, Society

Shoah: when remembering gives us hope for a better future.

For many of us, YomHaShoa - or day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Shoha - is a sad, almost mournful time every year. But then… why is it important to remember if it can hurt so much? As a gay and Jewish person, Remembering (and honouring) the victims of the Shoah is something I do almost every day, it is a good exercise for the memory, but also for my own sense of thankfulness: how lucky are we to be living in so much comfort and peace, in our houses, now? Certainly one could say that we do still have that feeling of “something’s still missing in my life”… but hey! We are here, we are safe, we are alive, and - again - in the full comfort of our own houses. My Grandmother - when still alive - used to remind me of how during deportation she had to flee her city, her parents escaped a...

Eurovision 2022 – Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan and Mika to (almost) officially host the event in Turin.

24Jan

By RaffaNo Comments

closeUp, Eurovision

Eurovision 2022 – Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan and Mika to (almost) officially host the event in Turin.

AdKronos revealed that "well informed sources" announced that the three names of the official hosts of Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will be officially announced during the show of the second nigh to Festival di Sanremo. We couldn't be more thrilled and happy to see Laura Pausini - that brought the beauty of the Italian music around the world, Alessandro Cattelan - one of the most talnted, appreciated and handsome hosts of the Italian TV and Mika, who's been adopted by the Italy and that is so much loved by all Italians, will possibly be hosting Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. Whilst Mika would still be thinking about signing for the event, Alessandro Cattelan and Laura Pausini are (almost) official names for Eurovision, as published on AdKronos website. We all know who La...

Festival da Canção 2022: All songs and commentary [SEMIFINAL 1]

24Jan

By JorgeNo Comments

closeUp, Eurovision

Festival da Canção 2022: All songs and commentary [SEMIFINAL 1]

Last Friday, the Portuguese broadcaster RTP announced all the artists and songs competing to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. In total, 20 acts were allocated to one of 2 semifinals. The Semifinals of the Festival da Canção 2022 will take place on March 5 and 7 and the final is set for March 12. We'll be commenting each song individually. For now, get to know the 10 songs of the First Semifinal! First Semifinal 1 - Aurea - "Why?" Aurea is, without a doubt, one of the biggest names to step on the Festival stage. "Why" fits perfectly the kind of music she's been marking, offering us a soulful lullaby, with a crescendo that enhances the artist's voice. It will very likely, and not surprisingly, be among the bets with the greatest support from the jury and also...

24Jan

By rebeccaNo Comments

closeUp, Culture

Film recommendation – Steelers

Start your week with a sporting endeavour – which also explores mental health and the importance of community. STEELERS (currently on Amazon Prime) tells the story of the ‘world’s first gay rugby club’, which was set up in 1995 in London’s Kings Cross. There are now 60 such clubs around the world and every two years they gather for the world tournament of gay rugby, the Bingham Cup. The film is made by one of the club’s former players, Australian reporter Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, who decided to document his team’s endeavours after a concussion meant he couldn’t play. He himself found the club when he moved to London from Australia, struggling with depression, and found a team which welcomed him, helped him get fit again and, ultimately, introduced him to his future husband. As well a...

American Song Contest to be premiered next 21st March

20Jan

By JorgeNo Comments

closeUp, Culture, Eurovision

American Song Contest to be premiered next 21st March

NBC - the American broadcaster which will organize the US's version of the Eurovision Song Contest - had delayed the launch of the contest and it shall now premiere on 21st March, after a surge of Covid-19 cases in the country. The Grand Final is scheduled to air on Monday 9th May, one day before the First Semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The contest will feature original songs and performances representing all 50 states, plus the capital and five US territories, where the winner will get the prize for Best Original Song. 'American Song Contest’ is produced by an incredible team, composed by Audrey Morrissey, Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Peter Settman, Ola Melzig, and Gregory Lipstone alongside Propagate’s Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens.