Homens da Luta (Men of the Struggle) is a Portuguese improvisational comedy and musical street performance group consisting of brothers Vasco Duarte (Falâncio) and Nuno Duarte "Jel" (Neto). Their songs are a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

of songs sung during the period after the 1974

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

, and the characters played are caricatures of the revolutionary singers of the time, such as

Zeca Afonso Zeca may refer to: * José Afonso (1929–1987), Portuguese folk and political musician also known mononymously as Zeca * Zeca (footballer, born 1946), full name Jose Luiz Ferreira Rodrigues, Brazilian football manager known mononymously as Zeca * ...

and

José Mário Branco José Mário Branco (25 May 1942 – 19 November 2019) was a Portuguese singer-songwriter, actor, and record producer. Biography José Mário Branco was born in Porto, the son of primary school teachers, and became politically involved in the ...

. Homens da Luta often use the term "struggle" to invoke slogans that became famous during the revolutionary era, such as "A Luta Continua" (The Struggle Goes On). In 2010 Homens da Luta released an mp3 album called "A Canção é uma arma" (The song is a weapon) consisting of 14 songs. One of their most popular songs is "E o povo, pá?" (What about the people, man?).

Eurovision Song Contest

In 2010, Homens da Luta took part in the '' RTP Song Festival 2010'', with the song "Luta assim não dá" (The struggle can't go on like this). The song was disqualified as it had been previously performed, which was a breach of the rules of the Festival and the international ESC. In 2011, they entered the contest again with the song " A luta é alegria" (The struggle is joy), lyrics by Nuno Duarte "Jel" and composed by Vasco Duarte. They were in sixth place until the public vote was counted, at which point they ended up on the first place, winning a place in Düsseldorf. They represented Portugal at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, but did not gain enough votes from other countries for a place in the final round. Since the group are comedians and not singers, and because their victory was also based on popular support rather than the selected jury, there were some negative reactions to their win on the site of the contest. (Portuguese)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homens Da Luta Portuguese musical groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Portugal Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2011