Paderne hosts, on Sunday night, the gala for the choice of the two finalists in the Rural Village category of the contest “7Wonders of Portugal Villages”. The ceremony will be broadcast by RTP1 and RTP Internacional, but throughout the day, the public television channel's spotlight will be focused on the town in the interior of the municipality of Albufeira, on the city itself, and on the other pre-finalist villages, among which is also the Algarve Cachopo, in Tavira.
But the village of Paderne is also hoping to be chosen, in its own home, as a finalist, by public vote. This was affirmed yesterday at the end of the afternoon by the inhabitants, other important figures of the land, mayors and even the godfather of the village in this application for the Wonder of Portugal, the well-known commentator and sports journalist Fernando Correia.
By the way, on Sunday, Fernando Correia is years old…and he will be present at the gala. And yesterday the godfather asked for a very special gift: that everyone spend at least 60 cents voting for Paderne.
Fernando Correia, who was not even born in the village in the interior of the municipality of Albufeira, made a point of explaining why he accepted the invitation to be the godfather of this locality, at the Wonders of Portugal event.
«I used to come to the Algarve many times, on vacation, to rest, and at some point I decided that I had to have a house here. But I wanted it to be away from the hustle and bustle of beaches, bars. That's why I bought a rural house 40 years ago in Ribeira d'Alte, parish of Paderne, municipality of Albufeira. It's a nice resting house, built by hand by me and my family. And I go to Paderne to shop, to Maria dos Anjos, I go to the post office, buy the newspapers at the stationery, to the newspaper “Avezinha” to visit my friend Arménio,” Fernando Correia began by explaining.
«Why do I accept to be a godfather? Because Paderne is true, it's authentic, it's that hill and then it spreads out,” he added.
“What I'm going to do on Sunday is to explain to people that that village is true, it didn't find anything in a hurry for the competition, it didn't invent anything touristic”, said Fernando Correia. “Unfortunately, I wasn't born in Paderne, but I've been living here whenever I can for 40 years. I was not born here, but the remains of me will remain in Paderne», he announced, moved.
The godfather's intervention was much applauded by all, but especially by the members of the supporters of Paderne, who, wearing the bright green t-shirt with the words "For Paderne", ended with shouts of encouragement - the same as the cheering fans will be broadcast on Sunday, live, on RTP – the words of Fernando Correia.
The cheering group is made up of 15 “local men and women, of different age groups”, professions and even nationalities. It is captained by Cristina Ramos, who called for the vote in her village of heart.
For his part, Miguel Coelho, president of the Parish Council, highlighted the “beautiful landscape, the monuments, the good people who worked a lot”.
Carlos Silva e Sousa, mayor of Albufeira, also made a point of praising «these curious people, because they are extremely attached to their land».
The mayor, born in Olhão, recalled: "I came to Albufeira by the hand of a Padernense, my father-in-law", and one of his first memories of the council is that of "listening to the Banda de Paderne, which represents very well what the Padernenes they are: it is the oldest in the Algarve and one of the oldest in the country, but it is being renewed and captivating the youth”, therefore, like the land, it “has a future”.
Carlos Silva e Sousa also pointed out that, despite being a land of strong traditions, Paderne is also – and has always been – a land of vanguard: «here we have Arménio Aleluia Martins, a boy already a few years old», who was director of «Avezinha» , «avant-garde newspaper, with a feminist matrix, founded by women».
The mayor of Albufeira also called for a competition «healthy, with joy, with a smile, but with a huge respect for all other competing villages and for this wonderful Portugal that is ours».
And speaking of other villages, the hearts of the Algarve, when it's time to vote, will be divided next Sunday: it's just that Cachopo, in the interior of the municipality of Tavira, competes in the same category of Rural Villages to be one of the two finalists...
In addition to the two Algarve locations, there are also semi-finalists Alegrete (Portalegre), Casal de S.Simão (Figueiró dos Vinhos), Faial (Madeira), Manhouce (São Pedro do Sul), Sistelo (Arcos de Valdevez).
After the first event dedicated to the Riverside Villages, which took place in Santa-Clara-a-Velha last Sunday (and chose this village in the municipality of Odemira as a finalist), then follows the gala of Paderne (Albufeira), on the 16th of July, with the Rural Villages (where the village of Cachopo, Tavira is also nominated), and Azenhas do Mar (Sintra), on the 23rd, with the Aldeias de Mar (where he is still applying for Ferragudo, Lagoa).
The gala of Aldeias Remotas is scheduled for the 30th, in Branda da Aveleira (Melgaço), and the one of Aldeias Autênticas takes place in Podence (Macedo de Cavaleiros), on the 6th of August. In this last category, Alte (Loulé) is the candidate Algarvian village.
Monsanto (Idanha-a-Nova) receives the Gala of Aldeias Monumento (where Estoi is nominated, Faro), on 13 August, and Porto Martins, on Terceira Island (Azores), the gala of Villages in Protected Areas (which has Bordeira, Aljezur, as a candidate), on 20 August.
On August 27th, RTP broadcasts a program dedicated to the 14 villages counted, followed by a week of voting. It is in Piódão (Arganil), on September 3rd, that the chosen ones will be known, at the final gala.
At the upcoming galas, the guest artists are Os Azeitonas, António Zambujo, Áurea, Mariza Liz, The Black Mamba, Ana Bacalhau, Lúcia Moniz and Luísa Sobral. These are performances that aim to portray, «in an abstract way, the experiences, diversity, essence, beauty and pride in our territory», showing «the village as a living place».
How to vote
Voting in the 7 Maravilhas de Portugal® – Aldeias pre-finalists is carried out through a telephone call to flat rate numbers (760). The cost of each call (IVR) is €0,60 + VAT.
The pre-finalist marvel voting numbers are revealed on the antenna, simultaneously with the opening of the poll.
Voting period for the pre-finalists ends at the end of each live gala and with the voices of the presenters (approximately 15 minutes before the end of the Gala).
There is no restriction or limit on votes per participant. It is possible to make any phone calls you wish, during the specific period during the respective Gala.
From this list of 7 pre-finalists, the 2 most voted villages will be chosen.
In total, the 7 categories pass 14 villages to Finalists.
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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