"A luta é alegria" was the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th annual Eurovision Song Contest and was won by Eldar & Nigar performing "Running Scared" for Azerbaijan. The event took place in the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany, following Germany's win in the previous year...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, performed by Homens da Luta

Homens da Luta

Homens da Luta is a Portuguese improvisational comedy and musical street performance group consisting of brothers Vasco Duarte and Nuno Duarte "Jel"...

. It was chosen for Eurovision by winning the Festival da Canção 2011

Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, having selected their entry through a televised national final, organised by Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal .-Festival da Canção 2011:...

 on 5 March 2011. However, it did not progress beyond the semi-final.

Production history

"A luta é alegria" was composed by Vasco Duarte, while the lyrics were written by Jel. The song incoporates folk music

Music of Portugal

Portugal is internationally known in the music scene for its traditions of fado, but the country has seen a recent expansion in musical styles, with modern acts from rock to hip hop becoming popular...

 style.

Song meaning

The song refers to the struggle that the people must endure to have their voices heard, by shouting and celebrating on the street. It calls for the union of the people, and to sing against reaction

Reactionary

The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...

.

The performers

Homens da Luta (Men of the Struggle) is a collective of traditional Portuguese music of an interventionist style. Inspired by the musical universe of the period after April 25, 1974

Carnation Revolution

The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...

, the band is led by the unavoidable Neto and Falâncio (brothers Nuno “Jel” and Vasco Duarte), and first appeared on TV five years ago in a comedy show. However, soon they were travelling through the cities, towns, and villages of Portugal, spreading their music and their sense of humour. They bring "A Luta É Alegria (The Struggle is Joy)" to the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, inspired by the tradition of collective singing, which was so fashionable in the late 1970s.

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Portugal (Nielsen Nielsen SoundScan Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada... )	4

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Albania (Tekste Shqip)	13