Around 20 thousand people visited, between April 17th and 19th, the first edition of “The Market of Cultures… à Luz das Velas”, which took place in the Convento de S. José and surrounding streets, in Lagoa.
It was a success asking for an encore and it served to present the next cultural events promoted by the Câmara de Lagoa: the “Sons do Atlântico – World Music Festival” and the “X Edition of the Lagoa Jazz Festival”.
The “Mercado de Culturas… à Luz das Velas” was organized by the municipality of Lagoa and the Iberian events company – with the support of many other singular and collective desires, including Turismo de Portugal and the Hotel Tivoli de Carvoeiro.
At the event, artisans and merchants from various cultures and religions set up their tents and wore their characteristic clothing, allowing them to live in harmony and show their art in exotic dances, spices, flavors and artifacts, in the midst of their cultural traditions millenarians.
In addition to other reasons, the Câmara de Lagoa intended to divulge and strengthen traditional popular intercultural manifestations, such as handicrafts, dance, music, gastronomy and, in particular, arts and/or crafts, some of which are in danger of extinction.
The “Mercado de Culturas… à Luz das Velas” took place in the Convento de S. José and in the adjacent streets of the historic part of the city of Lagoa, illuminated by around 5.000 lit candles, drawing, on the ground, the symbols of the main monotheistic cultures from the Mediterranean: cross (Christianity), Star of David (Judaism), crescent moon (Islam) and triskle (Celtic culture).
Arab music and dances, with the intervention of musicians from Arab, Afro-Arab or Muslim countries (Morocco, Algeria, Sudan and Syria) filled the spaces with sounds and melodies, masterfully manipulating the traditional instruments of the Arab world, in remarkable moments that dominated everything and everyone, with the recreation of some of the most significant characters typical of Muslim countries.
The Sons do Atlântico and Lagoa Jazz festivals return
Although the event was open to the public at 17 pm on the 17th, with around 60 exhibitors in characteristic tents, the truth is that the “Cultures Market… à Luz das Velas” was inaugurated around 20:30 pm, by the mayor Francisco Martins, accompanied by the President of the Municipal Assembly and councilors, in an informal ceremony, in the Cloisters of the Convento de S. José, which was full of people from various parts of the country, or had the Algarve and Lagoa not been the chosen destinations of excellence for the Easter holidays, with a long weekend and the Council granting a point allowance on the afternoon of Thursday, the 17th.
In a short intervention, Francisco Martins said that “the objective of this event is to bring the spirit of animation and culture to the historic part of the city, giving it the projection and the life it deserves”, until here it is a landmark in history. de Lagoa, since 1738: the Convent of S. José, with a cloister, founded by the Carmelites.
In the same area, there is also the Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Luz, immortalized in history by the terrible effects of the 1755 earthquake, and the Igreja da Misericórdia, another Catholic church, located in the middle of the historic urban fabric of Lagoa.
Francisco Martins thanked the commitment of all those involved, internal and external to the Chamber, saying that “the Culture Market… in Luz das Velas is to continue and will certainly count on the indispensable support, dedication and commitment of all who attended involved in this popular festival of traditions. I think that the Culture of Lagoa, with this event, gets richer”.
Francisco Martins took advantage of the ceremony, short, interactive and without the usual strict protocol, to announce the return of cultural events that were once traditional and highly successful: “Sounds of the Atlantic – World Music Festival”, this year taking place in Ferragudo, in on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of May, and the “X Edition of the Lagoa Jazz Festival”, at Sítio das Fontes (Estômbar), on the 5th, 6th and 7th of June.
The mayor recalled the times when, as alderman for the Culture of the Chamber which he currently presides over, he idealized, created and made them the greatest cultural successes in the Algarve. These events were presented, in detail and with multimedia support, by their directors/producers.
On January 16, 1773, by royal charter of King José I, the Municipality of Lagoa was created, with Vila de Lagoa as its headquarters. Two hundred and twenty-eight years later, the Assembly of the Republic, in the plenary of April 19, 2001, elevated it to the status of a city.
On the same date, the main settlements of the parishes of Carvoeiro, Parchal and Porches were elevated to the status of Vilas, a status that already included the seat of the parishes of Estômbar (20.6.1991) and Ferragudo (13.5.1999).
However, under the terms of Decree-Law no. 11-A/2013, of 28 January, the Government extinguished the parishes of Carvoeiro and Parchal, integrating them into Lagoa and Estômbar, respectively.
Comments