Between the 23rd and 25th of March, anyone will be able to walk over the waters of the Guadiana, between Alcoutim and Sanlúcar. The Smuggling Festival will take place in the northeastern Algarve village and its Spanish neighbor, and once again its main attraction is the floating bridge that will allow you to cross the river on foot.
For three days, Alcoutim and Sanlúcar, partners in promoting the festival, will celebrate the culture and memories of the Guadiana streak with a reinforced program, in relation to the 1st edition of the event, which took place in 2017. At the same time, the event was expanded. period of operation of the pedestrian bridge which, this time, is inaugurated on the first day, Friday, at 15:00 pm.
The basis and spirit of the festival, revealed to the Sul Informação the president of the Chamber of Alcoutim Osvaldo Gonçalves, will remain in place, compared to last year, but there will be an increase in quality and supply, particularly at the cultural level, with the presence «of artists and shows that, in some cases, are premiere in Portugal».
The alcoutenejo mayor has even difficulty in naming which will be the highlights of the program. “The program is so vast that it is difficult to point out this or that spectacle. The best thing is for people to come here and not miss out on the festival, because it will be very good», Osvaldo Gonçalves challenged with a smile.
Even so, there are two presences that are highlighted by the Chamber of Alcoutim, taking into account that these are national firsts. One of them is that of the artist Chacovachi (whose real name is Fernando Cavarozzi), an Argentine clown and buffoon, who presents the show “Cuidado! A bad clown can ruin your life”.
Also present will be Adam Read, «an artist without borders, who worked on Cirque du Soleil, which brings some of its characters, clowns or mimes on stilts», according to the Alcouteneja municipality. “Mezzanine”, “La Strato”, “Parasomnia” and “TheGiant” are “unique shows”, which the artist will bring to Portugal for the first time.
These and other entertainment shows and events that will be promoted over the three days will be divided between Alcoutim and Sanlúcar de Guadiana. If you are on one side of the border and don't want to miss a show that will take place in the neighboring country, all you need to do is buy a ticket for the bridge and start on the way.
The crossing will be open for periods of two and a half hours, on Saturday and Sunday morning (closes at 12:30 pm), and in the afternoon, until 18:30 pm on Friday and Saturday and at 19:00 pm on Sunday. The complete program, in pdf format, can be downloaded by following this link.
All of this will take place in the midst of a historical recreation, in which smugglers, tax guards, carabineros, street vendors and artisans mingle and interact with visitors.
The launch of the 2nd edition of the event, similarly to what happened in 2017, is marked by the Jornadas do Contraband, a moment of reflection and promotion of knowledge about this activity, then illegal, but which is now part of the historical heritage and imagination of lands on both sides of the Guadiana.
«In this edition, a book by João Rodrigues will be presented, which is already a consequence of last year's journeys», illustrated the mayor of Alcoutim. The meeting starts at 9:15 am on the 23rd and is the kick-off for the three days of celebration.
It will also be on Friday, at 14 pm, that the craft market and the fair that serve as the basis for the event will be inaugurated and where you can have direct contact with the Algarve's traditional arts, with artisans even working live.
The program includes handicraft workshops, which will be promoted by the TASA – Ancestral Techniques, Current Solutions program, on March 24 and 25, at Casa dos Condes, in Alcoutim.
For Osvaldo Gonçalves, this festival, «while still young, is something that is already a mark of the territory», assuming itself as one of the great annual events of the Guadiana streak, in line with «the Medieval Days of Castro Marim and the Islamic Festival of Mértola'.
To that end, the support that comes from the “365Algarve” program, whose financing, admits the mayor, was fundamental for this event to be born. The money that comes from the initiative launched jointly by the Secretariats of State for Tourism and Culture means that Alcoutim's contribution to the festival is greater than that of its partner, the Spanish municipality of Sanlúcar de Guadiana.
“My [Spanish] colleague's will is the same as mine. But, when it comes to financial capacity, we have more than them», he illustrated. This is largely because there is nothing similar to “365Algarve” in Andalusia.
“In the first year, they had a reduced set of support. This year, regional entities in Andalusia have already increased their support. Other applications will also be in progress, which could bring even more investment in the coming years», said Osvaldo Gonçalves.
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.
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