The scientific meeting “If my memory serves me… Oral History: methodologies and good practices”, on the 10th and 11th of May, at the Museu de Portimão and Espaço Raiz, but also cinema, music and “António Aleixo” reciting poetry , are some of the activities of FORA – Algarve Oral Festival, to be held from the 10th to the 14th, in Portimão, Alvor and Odeceixe.
The aim of the event is to promote the intangible cultural heritage of the Algarve region, putting it «on everyone's lips».
The meeting “If memory serves me right…”, which includes the participation of researchers and those responsible for museums and archives across the country, aims to be a space for debate on the main challenges of Oral History and the most innovative projects which are currently being developed in this field.
«The individual and collective memories and experiences are an inexhaustible source of knowledge and an essential object of historiographical work. Oral History, as a method of transdisciplinary research, which requires rigorous fieldwork with the communities, faces constant challenges inherent in something as ephemeral and susceptible to controversy as memory», says the organization.
Soon to open, at 11:00 am on May 10th, on the table will be “Stories in the Museum and History Museums”, with interventions by José Gameiro, director of the Portimão Museum, Emanuel Sancho, director of the Museu do Trajo de São Brás de Alportel, and José Luís Catalão, director of the Michael Giacometii Work Museum, in Setúbal.
At 17:30 pm, the debate will focus on “Archaeology and memory: Oral history as a tool at the service of archeology”, with Cristóvão Fonseca, researcher at the History Center d'Aquém and d'Além Mar, of the Faculty of Sciences Social and Humanities from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and Universidade dos Açores, and Luís Martins, from ISCTE's Center for Social Anthropology Studies.
Also for the 10th, but at 21 pm, the opening concert of FORA is scheduled in the auditorium of the Museum of Portimão. On stage will be the group OrBlua, a musical project by three Algarve multi-instrumentalist musicians, Carlos Norton, Inês Graça and Nuno Murta, who combine the traditional with the contemporary and experimentalism. Your latest album, Kinetic portraits, continues to follow the path of «a Portuguese sound that smells of the Algarve, the sea, the mountains, the Mediterranean, Europe, the world that collects scents, colours, stories, memories, landscapes and dreams».
On Thursday 11th, the meeting “If memory serves me…” has its second part at Espaço Raiz (former primary school in Pedra Mourinha). Then, from 10:30 am, the training action “Oral History: an occasional or indispensable tool? Practical issues”, with Rui Aballe Vieira, researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
Also on Thursday afternoon, at 17 pm, the Story Tellers Workshop will take place at Espaço Raiz, with Ana Machado.
All events are free to enter. You can register for the meeting “If my memory serves me…” here. To consult the complete program click here
At 21 pm on the 30th, the Municipal Theater of Portimão hosts the screening of documentaries «Documenting the Algarve Interior», which are part of the homonymous project by the Algarve Film Commission, which has been touring throughout the region and now finally arrives in Portimão.
This is an invitation to remember some of the popular traditions and expressive practices that are still alive and are part of the memory and collective identity of the Algarve countryside.
The nine short films screened during this session were made in collaboration with local creative talents, between 2010 and 2015. With the financial support of PRODER, the project focused on the municipalities of Albufeira, Alcoutim, Castro Marim, Faro, Loulé, São Brás de Alportel, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António. This session will also feature the presence of the two responsible for this project, Laura Carlos and Eduardo Pinto.
Friday morning (May 12th) will be dedicated to the youngest. Schools in the municipality of Portimão host the “A Escola d'Outros Tempos” initiative, promoted by TIPO – Children's Theater of Portimão, which proposes “a dialogue between generations around the memories of the school and the games of when grandparents were boys”.
In the afternoon, the FORA heads west. At Grupo Desportivo Odeceixense, in Odeceixe, municipality of Aljezur, at 18 pm, festival participants will follow “Pelo Fio da Memória”. This is the debut of Oralidade do Sudoeste on FORA, with a session that features spiels, tongue twisters, broken feet, work songs and much more of the sayings and songs of the parishes of Odeceixe and Rogil. This is an initiative of the Entrelaçar project, a partnership between the Municipality of Aljezur and Associação Tertúlia.
FORA does not stop and, at 21 pm, it will be back in Portimão, at the Casa Manuel Teixeira Gomes, to evoke the memory and oral history of the club that has been bringing joy to Portimão for over a century. «What about Portimonense? Memories of a local club» is a gathering that will bring together some of the key figures in the history of Portimonense, in an evening where memories and emotions will come to the fore. And who knows if Portimonense's recent rise to the I Liga won't also be the target of (beautiful) memories?
Saturday, May 13th, will be a strong day for FORA. In the morning, the great poet of the people António Aleixo will color the Municipal Market of Portimão with his daring blocks. In the afternoon, it goes to downtown Portimão, sowing a little popular poetry here and there. «Aleixo goes to the Market» and «Aleixo goes to Baixa» are performances conceived and developed by TIPO – Teatro Infantil de Portimão.
At 15:30 pm, the meeting is scheduled at Café Concerto do TEMPO, to talk about “New Ideas for Intangible Cultural Heritage”, with two young researchers, Nélia Olival and Andreia Pintassilgo, who will share fresh ideas for promoting local memory and traditions.
This is followed by the presentation of the book «Catalogue of Traditional Portuguese Tales», a breath-taking work that is the result of years of research by Isabel Cardigos and Paulo Correia, researchers in oral literature at the Ataíde de Oliveira Study Center, at the University of Algarve. From the written words to the spoken words, the storyteller Ana Machado treats the public with «Stories of Salt».
At around 18:00 on the 13th, the FORA crosses the garden and arrives at the Casa Manuel Teixeira Gomes, where the group Canto Renhado is expected, with notes and poems from the traditional songbook, under the baton of conductor António Vinagre.
The public is then invited to put on their gloves and enter the ring in an authentic “Battle of Accents”. Dário Guerreiro, Môce Dum Cabreste, and their guests will reveal the different nuances that mark the diversity of the Algarve accent.
In the evening, at 22 pm, Clube União opens its doors to the Baile FORA. The invitation is to dance to the sound of Pedro Silva and Marcelo Rio's voices and accordions.
But this Saturday, the 13th, FORA takes place on two fronts. From 16 pm onwards, everyone is invited to appear at Alvor Castle and hang up their saying in the «Oficina do Estendal». In the evening, at 00 pm, “Our People's Stories” are heard, about enchantments and fantastic creatures, narratives that make us laugh, imagine and even frighten us. This is an ALVORecer initiative, part of the association's 21th anniversary celebration program.
Sunday is the day of the ball. At 11:15 am, FORA puts on their boots and goes to the game. Orality will also be present in the Portimonense-Olhanense game. This will be a solidarity game, as the initiative To the Ball to Help invites the public to take goods to share with charities in exchange for a ticket to the game.
But FORA couldn't end without a big party. It will be the «FORA em Festa» at Espaço Raiz. What will there be? Typical Monchique cuisine to fill your stomach, music to cheer you up and a Traditional Dance Workshop organized by Mariana Correia to burn calories. Nothing better than finishing the FORA dancing!
As you can see, there are many good reasons to schedule this meeting with the oral heritage of the Algarve between the 10th and 14th of May on your agenda.
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