Music of Macau

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The music of Macau blends Cantonese and Portuguese sounds because of its proximity to China and its Portuguese history. Important local music groups and schools include the Macao Orchestra, the Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Macao Conservatory (founded in 1991), which supports music education. The Macao International Music Festival is a major yearly event. Xian Xinghai, a very influential Chinese composer, was born in Macau.

Pop music in Macau is still in an early stage, and the boy band Soler went to Hong Kong to pursue their career. A hybrid musical style, once popular in Portugal and known as “tunas,” took a unique turn in Macau. Tuna Macaense was formed in 1935 and still performs today, though with changes in its lineup. It blends Carnival-style marches, ballads, waltzes, Cantonese ballads, fados, and polkas, often using patuá (Macanese Portuguese) lyrics.

Some well-known Macanese songs from this period include patuá versions of Mamãe eu Quero titled “Mama Sa Filo,” the Portuguese song “Oh Careca tira a bóina” in Macanese as “Sium Careca,” and the patuá version of “Uma Casa Portuguesa” called “Unga Casa Macaísta.” Other noted pieces are “Bastiana” and “Assi Sa Macau,” the latter written by José dos Santos Ferreira, also known as “Adé,” a key patuá poet, composer, and theater director.

Tuna Macaense began in 1935 and still exists today as an eight-member group, featuring mandolins, guitars, bass, drums, percussion, keyboards, and vocalists.