There are Portuguese, a French, an Israeli and even a Brazilian. There are 12 people united by music and for inclusion and interculturality. This is the Orquestra Vicentina, whose premiere is scheduled for this Thursday, November 29, at 19 pm, at the culinary dance “Dancing”, of the program “Lavrar o Mar”, to be held at the headquarters of Rancho Folclórica do Rogil, in Aljezur
André Duarte, also known as Júnior, had this idea “for some time”. The co-founder of the well-known band Terrakota, who now lives in the municipality of Aljezur, is the director of the Orquestra Vicentina and guarantees that the group will show, on stage, «all the love» he has for music.
«I've always wanted to create an orchestra for the inclusion of the local community, but I needed the right circumstances to make the idea come true and it came up with “Dancing”», he explains, in an interview with Sul Informação.
About a month and a half ago the project started with «everything to be done from scratch». In “Dancing”, the Orchestra will present 12 themes: 11 originals and an adaptation.
«Everything has been done running. We have people from various nationalities because I want to show, more and more, that Aljezur and Costa Vicentina are a focus of multiculturalism», he justifies.
To this end, in this culinary ball, which will be the new show on the program “Lavrar o Mar”, music of various styles will be performed, but all with the same basic theme: mutual respect for people. "Whether white or black".
«All the songs are positive because they will be danceable. Some may be a little more interventional, appealing to socially sad situations, but all have a message of breaking down barriers. There is a complaint, but in a constructive way», he explains.
And what situations can these be? For example: the lack of integration of immigrants in the local community. «Multiculturalism needs time, but it will have to happen», believes Júnior.
The issue of joining cultures that are so different, but at the same time, so equal, is also the motto of “Dancing”, another production of “Lavrar o Mar” that promises to surprise.
At the headquarters of Rancho Folclórico do Rogil there will be «lots of food and lots of dancing», guarantees Madalena Victorino, one of the programmers of “Lavrar o Mar”. All recipes will be based on sweet potatoes, but the traditional delicacy of Aljezur will be “cooked in a way that is not usual”.
There will be sweet potato samosas, a typical Eritrean dish with bread, lentils, meat and sweet potatoes, and even a North African dessert with hazelnuts, raisins, honey and, of course, sweet potatoes. In other words, the dishes are used as a metaphor for the joining of cultures.
At this dinner, exclaims Madalena Victorino, between laughs, the best thing is to “don't eat anything and come with an empty stomach because we're going to have an authentic delicacy!”.
But there will also be ways to burn some of the calories. A group of dancers will invite the audience to dance to the sound of the Orquestra Vicentina. The fact is that, in this show, the musical part is «really very important», highlights Giacomo Scalisi. "We want people to feel that this dinner is an immersion in food and dance," he adds.
For such, the presence of the Orchestra is one of the great attractions.
«We always wanted, while Lavrar o Mar, to trigger cultural initiatives in the territory. For us it is very important to have this connection with those who are from or live here and with its artists, giving the possibility to create new projects», says Madalena Victorino to Sul Informação, during a break from one of the Orquestra Vicentina's rehearsals.
Furthermore, one of the main objectives of the entire “Lavrar o Mar” program is the connection with “the initiatives that already existed before, such as the Sweet Potato Festival”. For example, three of the four shows will take place at the same time as the Sweet Potato Festival, in Aljezur, which is scheduled to start this Friday, November 30th.
The “Dancing”, in which the Orquestra Vicentina will participate today and tomorrow (the shows on Saturday and Sunday will be provided by the band Fogo Fogo, with Cape Verdean rhythms), will serve for the new project of 12 musicians to mature.
The seed has been sown and now “it's going to blossom”, assures André Duarte, who doesn't hide his pride in the group of people he managed to gather for the Orquestra Vicentina. «They are from different places in the Algarve, yes, some from Tavira, others from Portimão, Lagos, Aljezur, but everyone told me: let's get to this», he says, smiling.
In the future, the objective is to «travel the entire Algarve and show the Orquestra Vicentina to the region», he concluded, ambitiously.
For this show, all tickets… are already sold out. “We have a long waiting list, even,” says Giacomo Scalisi.
So, let the cultural programmer know, the best thing is to buy, as soon as possible, tickets for future “Lavrar o Mar” shows, such as the new circus “Saison de Cirque” in Monchique.
Photos: Pablo Sabater | Sul Informação
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