Portuguese may be the official language of Alcoutim and Castilian that of Sanlúcar de Guadiana, places that look at each other, separated by the river, throughout the year. But all it took was a physical bridge, allied with others of an immaterial nature, for the most varied languages to be heard in the two villages. The common denominator is smiles on faces.
The Contraband Festival once again united the two banks of the Guadiana and promoted cultural trafficking on the border between Portugal and Spain. Until tomorrow, Sunday, a pedestrian bridge is installed between Alcoutim and Sanlúcar, which allows anyone to pass from one side to the other. You don't even need a passport.
And if the floating passage is the ex-libris of the event, it is far from its only attraction. In the two villages that host the festival, street entertainment is a constant and there are smugglers, fiscal guards, carabineros and characters from the past at every corner.
But there is also crafts made by masters of our days, who, in some cases, are at their stalls creating live pieces. And, of course, gastronomy, typical of the northeast of the Algarve and the border area.
Yesterday, Friday, many arrived early in Alcoutim, to enjoy lunch overlooking the Guadiana River, anticipating the inauguration of the bridge, scheduled for 15 pm.
The official ceremony was attended by two members of the Government, the Secretaries of State for Culture and Tourism, MiguelHonrado and Ana Mendes Godinho, respectively, who oversee the “365Algarve” program, the main sponsor of the festival, as well as a representative of the Spanish Government.
And if the occasion began as a solemn one, it quickly became quite informal. Upon arriving in Spain, after opening the bridge, Miguel Honrado and Ana Mendes Godinho accepted the challenge of smugglers Spaniards to take a dance step, rocked by the music of a Portuguese group.
Around him, tourists from the most varied nationalities encouraged the ball with applause and took the opportunity to take many photographs.
The general happiness and good mood did not go unnoticed by the president of the Chamber of Alcoutim Osvaldo Gonçalves, who pointed out, as a goal, to exceed 10 thousand visitors in three days of the festival.
“Our expectations are huge, after last year's success. Nobody expects the turnout to be less. Bearing in mind that last year was what it was, this year we hope to increase,” he said.
The number of visitors is important, not least because it will mean an increase in return for the local economy and for exhibitors. But there was also a concern to “increase the quality of what we offer people”.
"We improved a little what the cultural offer is and we hope that, even with the threat of bad weather, people will be satisfied, something that is happening, as I saw today", added Osvaldo Gonçalves.
This event has a high emotional charge for those who live in the two localities that host it, on both sides of the border. As he recalled in the Jornadas do Contraband, which once again kick-started the festival, smuggling was an activity to which an impoverished, hungry population and, in the case of Spain, suffered the consequences of the civil war and the post- war, was forced to resort.
Hence the symbolic importance of this bridge, which allows today to be made, openly and with ease, a passage that used to be done clandestinely and under the risk of being shot down by the authorities on both sides of the border.
There is, indeed, an old desire in the hearts of the inhabitants of Alcoutim and Sanlúcar: that a bridge be built that will stay on all year.
“There is a great desire from these two sides to unite through a permanent link. This is a very old wish. We are not talking about a road bridge. Our idea is to create a pedestrian and cycling bridge, because what we want is for people to stay here», explained Osvaldo Gonçalves.
On the part of the representatives of the Governments of the two countries, the opening for this bridge to exist was affirmed. "The will is there, so there are financial conditions to build the bridge," said the alcoutenejo mayor.
While waiting for a connection that works all year, the only way to walk on the waters of the Guadiana to pass between Alcoutim and Sanlúcar is the bridge, which will be installed until Sunday.
The ticket is open for periods of two and a half hours, on Saturday and Sunday morning (closes at 12:30 pm), and in the afternoon, until 17:30 pm on Friday and Saturday and at 18:00 pm on Sunday. The complete program of the festival, in pdf format, can be downloaded by following this link.
The Smuggling Festival is organized by the Municipality of Alcoutim, in partnership with the Ayuntamiento Sanlúcar de Guadiana. Support comes from the Government of Portugal, Turismo de Portugal, the Algarve Tourism Region and “365Algarve”, as well as the Junta de Andalucia and the Mancomunidad da Betúria, both from Spain.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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