The Heart & Hustle of Portugal

Renowned Portuguese musician Pedro Abrunhosa sits down with Tony Gonçalves to reflect on a career that spans 30 years, records with Maceo Parker and Prince’s band, multiple number one hits in Portugal and sold out venues. From the funky beginnings with “Viagens” to the ballads and anthems of today, Abrunhosa is not just a household name, he is one of the most important Portuguese musicians of all time

For more than two decades, Paulo Furtado has built The Legendary Tigerman as a fiercely independent project, shaped by instinct, discipline and a refusal to compromise creatively. Listen to this fascinating artist on “The Heart and Hustle of Portugal”

Serena Kaos is a Portuguese singer‑songwriter who first caught public attention with a four‑chair turn on “The Voice Portugal” before choosing a harder, quieter route. She moved to London on impulse and began building her career from the street up as an independent busker. With a second album just released, she speaks candidly with Tony Gonçalves about fear, work, and the cost of artistic freedom.

Jessica Cipriano enters this conversation with Tony Gonçalves with the calm certainty of someone who has stood on stages larger than the doubts she still carries. The singer revisits the long path that brought her here: from shy early beginnings to the artistic rebirth that now propels her forward.

The Manic Boys and Girls Club step into the podcast “The Heart & Hustle of Portugal” with the same raw charm and spontaneity that define their music. Siblings Bella and Fernando open up about a life split between Toronto and Portugal, and a career built less on strategy and more on instinct. It’s a conversation that feels both intimate and unfiltered.

Ruben de Almeida, known as Kura, is today one of the most influential names in Portuguese electronic music, with a solid presence on major international stages. He began as a shy resident DJ in Lisbon’s clubs and became one of the few Portuguese EDM artists to earn a prominent position in the DJ Mag Top 100. Listen to this conversation hosted by Tony Gonçalves.

Miguel Cristovinho (Cristo) and Miguel Coimbra, two of the three members of the band D.A.M.A., sit down for a conversation with Tony Gonçalves on the podcast “The Heart & Hustle of Portugal”

Journalist Mariana Van Zeller returns to The Heart and Hustle of Portugal and expands her love for Portugal’s mascot: Bacalhau. Listen again to this season 3 episode.

Revisit the first episode of season 3 of The Heart and Hustle of Portugal with the singer-songwriter MARO.

Afonso Pimentel sits down with Tony Gonçalves to talk about heritage, mental health and living with a sense of opportunity. Listen to the podcast The Heart and Hustle of Portugal

Paula Lobo Antunes is one of the most recognized Portuguese actresses, leading career-defining roles in telenovelas, series and films. She carries that decades old legacy with an unforgiving pride, as she talks about fear, motherhood, acting and growing up on instinct Paula Lobo Antunes’s recent role in the film “A Teacher’s Gift” is as memorable as her career up to this point. Whether as a villain in “Flor do Mal” or as a leading protagonist role in “Mar de Paixão”, Paula knows she made the right decision to apply for drama school while studying medicine. She opens up about her career, her life, motherhood and family. She remembers how her father, the great neurosurgeon João Lobo Antunes, operated a VIH patient at a time where no one dared to touch an infected person. Throughout this conversation with Tony Gonçalves, Paula Lobo Antunes never ceases to give this sense of never belonging, of hard work, of always trying to compete with herself. And hard work pays off. Paula also suggests a Portuguese trait that no other guest has brought up to the table yet. The always apologising stance, the “forgive me for existing” mentality. How does that affect the cultural identity of a small country with huge talent?

Ticha Penicheiro changed the game. A true pioneer in women’s basketball, she played in the WNBA from 1998 to 2012, became a four-time All-Star, and earned her place as one of the greatest point guards of all time.