According to Florêncio Cacête, the project coordinator, about two thousand of the 30 thousand papers that have previously been digitalised in the Cante Digital Archive are now accessible online, with the others expected to be available soon.


Through research, fieldwork, and collaboration with group leaders, the team has digitalised countless documents, piecing together fragments of history. Since 1926, 367 groups have been identified, some still active and others now extinct.

These groups span from Gavião in Alto Alentejo – surprisingly, as it hosted a group in 1955 – to Ourique in Baixo Alentejo, the tradition’s heartland. Cante Alentejano has also reached the Algarve, Lisbon’s Metropolitan area, and even Paris, Canada, and Angola.

Ten years after UNESCO’s recognition, Florêncio Cacête assured, “Cante is alive and well”, though he notes challenges such as the need for technical and financial support to sustain the tradition. UNESCO’s acknowledgement led to the creation and revival of groups, many of which emerged during the candidacy process.

For the Digital Achieve team, preserving the history of Cante Alentejano is a lifelong commitment. They work tirelessly to retrieve vital documents, often racing against time to save records from individuals coping with health struggles, ensuring this tradition stands the test of time.