The XXIV International Folklore Festival takes place this Saturday, August 5th, at 21 pm, in the amphitheater of the Parish Council of São Bartolomeu de Messines.
Organized by the Folklore Ranch of São Bartolomeu de Messines, this event is also part of the XXV Folklore Festival.
The initiative has the support of the Municipality of Silves and the participation of several national groups (Rancho Folclórico “Os Camponeses” of Riachos, Folklore Group of Lavradeiras of São Pedro de Merufe) and a Spanish group (Grupo de La Escuela Municipal de Folklore of Adeje).
Stories of participating ranches:
SB Messines Folklore Ranch:
This Rancho, founded on October 5, 1976, is located in the inland center of the Algarve, where the mountain range ends and the barrocal begins. On the moor, the dried fruits are produced and the enterprise is handcrafted. In the mountains, arbutus brandy is produced and cork is the middle urban range, mainly dedicated to commerce.
Started in 1981 and a work of collecting and researching the uses and customs, dances and songs, costume, crafts and gastronomy with people from the mountains to the barrocal, the current group reappeared with costumes from the period between 1880 and 1920, among which the newlyweds, costumes for going to mass, going to the fair, Sundays and various peasant costumes: strawberry pickers, dried fruit pickers, spinners, weeders, domestic tasks, mummers, cork- and millers.
The toccata is made up of small irons, accordions, bitoque, viola and Algarvian castanets.
The work songs, the corridos, the marked, the low-lying waltz, the round dances, chained, warrants and even stravanca, are the dances that the group presents, which animated the spontaneous dances on Sundays, festive days and in some agricultural work (undressing, debugging, rowing, mowing and threshing).
This Ranch has acted with greater incidence in the Algarve and participated in National Festivals from North to South of the country and International, also counting on tours to France, Spain, Italy, United States of America, Germany, Netherlands, Morocco and the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and of the Azores.
Children's Ranch:
The Folklore School of the Folklore Ranch of SB Messines began its activity in 1994, in partnership with the Primary School of SB Messines. The purpose of this initiative was, above all, to make known to younger people how people sang, danced and played in the late XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries, making them aware of something so valuable, such as the culture of a people.
Since that time, the Rancho Folclórico de SB Messines has continued this project, helping these young people to gain a taste for tradition, and thus naturally getting them to continue with us all the way to Rancho Adult.
The dolls of old told more stories, they were rag dolls, made with leftover fabric. Hand-sewn, these gained shapes and smiles and distracted the children when faced with the difficulties they had.
The game of palms and the game of stones were other forms of entertainment, they invented words, gestures, sharpened their own senses in each game.
The carts were made of small pieces of wood, cork or cane.
Jumping rope was mainly a game for the girls where the ones who managed not to trip over the tether jumped more, and so they took turns one after the other.
A ball made of rags was also played, of course, and often this ball could be any old mug or even a piece of cork.
The bow was played with the purpose of not letting it fall to the ground.
The pawn was another fun, well, this one rotated on the ground and made a shine if it managed to rotate in the hand! It was a game very appreciated by the boys.
Many young people didn't have time to be children, they took care of their younger siblings, guarded whatever cattle there were, did the housework they were responsible for. They went hungry, often eating the "bread that the devil kneaded".
They walked barefoot for a long time and when they received the first pair of shoes they were already quite grown up. They usually had two changes of clothes, one for everyday life, the other used on Sundays to go to mass or some celebration.
In the parish of São Bartolomeu de Messines, in a small piece that joins the mountain range to the Algarve's Barrocal with the sea as a backdrop, many were those who saw this sea so coveted in adulthood.
The times of yore intersect with the times of now, the past is relived to better understand the present. Through the games, dances and songs of the past, they get to know a people, they get to know our people!
Folklore Ranch “The Peasants” of Riachos:
The Folklore Ranch “Os Camponeses” of Riachos was founded on January 14, 1958. The collection of costumes, singing and dancing took place from the summer of that year, having been officially presented at the Feira do Ribatejo in Santarém on the 2nd. of June 1959.
These collections prove that the folklore of Riachos is quite rich and varied, due to its geographical situation, as it is in the transition zone from Lezíria, which we call the field, to the Neighborhood where the heath and the asparagus are located. The one south of the village, entering the banks of the Almonda river as far as the Tagus. The other to the north, passing through the entire municipality of Torres Novas, an area of small mountains that lead to the Serra d'Aire.
In the dances and in the songs, the gaudy, the joy and all the genius of the people of Lezíria Ribatejana are evident, towards which the people of Riachos have always been more focused, while in the others the pain, harmony and beauty of the folklore of the undulating area, where olive groves and fig trees predominate, transforming the landscape into softer tones, highlighting the gray and dark green of the trees.
The costumes are faithful copies of those used by their ancestors, in the late XNUMXth and early XNUMXth centuries, featuring Sunday costumes, work clothes and even work and party costumes from the countryside in each show.
In addition to the collection work that has greatly valued its heritage, the Rancho Folclórico de Riachos has disseminated the popular culture of its region, through National and International Folklore festivals and festivals from North to South of Portugal, including the island of Madeira.
Abroad, since 1964, he has participated in International Folklore Festivals in Countries such as Germany, Belgium, Cape Verde, Spain, France, Hong Kong, England, Ireland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Folklore Group of Lavradeiras de São Pedro de Merufe:
From the rural and typical characteristics of its inhabitants, from the great neighborhoodism of its inhabitants, from the depth, richness and dissemination of its vast and valuable heritage, whether built, natural or cultural, the ex-libris of the land was born, a true ambassador of its culture – the Folklore group of Lavradeiras De São Pedro de Merufe.
Since its creation in 1972, during the ethnographic procession in Monção, the group has been a great promoter of cultural events in the county, highlighting the annual organization of its International Folklore Festival.
The monumental and pompous “Scenary” that the centuries-old Monastery and the magnificent seat of the Junta confer on the event is also an added value for its grandeur.
The Grupo das Lavradeiras de S. Pedro de Merufe, has traveled the country from east to west, has left the best marks and charms with its vast and original repertoire, consisting only of songs from the land and its ancestors.
Across borders, he has acted in several festivals, namely, in France, Spain, Andorra, Italy and Switzerland, he has been the true ambassador of Monçanense Folklore and Ethnography.
Grupo das lavradeiras de Merufe is an effective member of the Portuguese folklore federation, being its founding partner, having been awarded the Medal of Cultural Merit by the City Council.
Group of La Escuela Municipal de Folklore de Adeje:
The Grupo da Escuela Municipal de Folklore de Adeje was founded in May 1988 with the creation of the Escuela de Folklore de Adeje. Its first performance took place in the Municipality's Celebration Parties that same year, thus beginning its performances in different places on the Island.
In its work to disseminate and exalt Canary Folklore, this group has had the opportunity to share customs, ways of life and ways of understanding their own folklore with other national and foreign groups.
Throughout the year, the group organizes several events, namely: Folklore Festival and the Pilgrimage of Patronal Festivities in Adeje in October; the Ball of Magos in the month of May; Rota da Água in Adeje and the Mayantigo Fest, Traditional World Music.
Regarding the costumes that the group presents, we can observe: the traditional dress of the 50th century from the Comarca of Chasna; the traditional clothing of the Peasant costume that corresponds to the end of the XNUMXth century and the beginning of the XNUMXth century; traditional clothing from the XNUMXth century corresponding to different districts of all the islands of the Canary Archipelago; and finally, at the end of October, the garment corresponding to the XNUMXs of the XNUMXth century is used, both for parties, for work and for everyday life.
Several musical instruments of strings, percussion, wind, among others, are used, these are traditionally used and handcrafted, using natural products.
The group has a large repertoire of both popular and traditional music, as well as pagan and religious rituals from across the Canarian geography. It also has a repertoire for the celebration of sung masses.
It currently has a total of 37 components divided between the toccata and the dance.
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