My street in the world: from Caldas da Rainha to Brighton

Ana with 1 N Author

Nine years after arriving in Brighton without English, I told my story on RTP Mundo: hearing loss, lip-reading, Face Dance, DJing, singing and my book.

My street in the world: from Caldas da Rainha to Brighton

On Sunday 11 October 2026 my voice went out on RTP Mundo, Portugal’s international radio.

The programme is called A Minha Rua no Mundo, my street in the world, and it’s presented by Edgar Canelas. Each episode links a street in Portugal to a street somewhere else. Mine starts in Caldas da Rainha and ends in Brighton, one minute from the sea. In Caldas it was eight kilometres by car to see it.

Before we started recording, I asked Edgar to keep his camera on. I lip-read in Portuguese, English and French, and I’ve never been able to explain how. He found that funny and ended up mentioning it on air.

We covered a lot. Arriving in England nine years ago on a four-month work and study programme, not speaking English, not knowing where I’d live. Staying. The school where I work now, with students from everywhere. Brighton not having a single Portuguese restaurant, and the leek à Brás I make when there’s no bacalhau to be found.

We talked about Face Dance, which started one night with friends: music on, face yoga exercises that suddenly turned into dancing. And about why I built it, the tension in my jaw that began to let go once I started practising.

We talked about the DJ course I did in London, something I’d always wanted and always assumed I couldn’t do. About singing, which came back this year thanks to an Italian teacher who told me I was a soprano, when I’d always thought I was a contralto. And about the book, now in editing, which I hope to have out next year

At the end, Edgar said this street has traffic going both ways. I liked that.

Listen to the full interview (in Portuguese) on RTP Play

Categories: : MemoryinMotion