Hope sings eternal

The COVID-19 pandemic has left street performers around the world without an audience. One of them is blind Portuguese fado singer Dona Rosa, who makes a living by performing on a pedestrian street in downtown Lisbon.

Her cooperative record company, Jaro Medien, which is based in Bremen, Germany, has released an announcement to support the singer, saying that "as a blind singer, she is particularly affected by the isolation", which was caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are all facing challenging, uncertain and difficult moments in this pandemic crisis. Dona Rosa is a blind 63-year-old singer that still needs to sing in the streets of Lisbon for her survival," the announcement says. "As the pandemic continues, Dona Rosa finds herself in an increasingly desperate situation. We have decided to support her with a campaign to show that we have not forgotten her and to help her financially."

According to Uli Balss, Rosa's agent, the donations started on May 21 and the announcement has been released on social media platforms, reaching people from 11 countries.

"We are lucky how things have worked out so far, and the support is better than we expected," says Balss in an email interview with China Daily.

Beijing-based company, Stallion Era Cultural Communication, which organized Rosa's debut China tour in 2017, also contributed to the donation. According to Liu Zhao, founder of Stellion Era Cultural Communication, the donation was made through selling a mini digital album featuring five of Rosa's songs, including Oxala, Canta Canta Amigo Canta and The Tide. Priced at 20 yuan ($2.8) per copy, the goal was to raise 10,000 yuan.

After announcing the donation campaign on the company's social media platform, over 200 albums were sold overnight, and by June 1, the target of 10,000 yuan was reached.