Since 2004, the inhabitants of Cortelha, in the municipality of Loulé, weeks before Christmas, go out to the fields to collect the raw material of what will be the manger of this village. In 2018, it was no different and, as of this Saturday, a special crib will once again be on display in which the baby Jesus, the shepherds, the donkey, the cow and even the camels, are made of cork.
“This is all taken from the bush. We go out and look for pieces of cork that will allow us to make the figure afterwards. When we pick up a piece of cork, we are left to think about which figure we can fit», he explains, to the Sul Informação, Avelino Costa, one of the villagers who participates in the creation of the nativity scene.
A piece of cork can become the hump of a camel, or a shepherd's crook: it all depends on the shape.
The process of building the crib takes weeks, "according to everyone's availability". In all, around 15 people are involved in the construction of the crib, coordinated by the Association of Friends of Cortelha. It is in front of the headquarters building of this institution that the nativity scene is set up.
In 2018, there are new things and there is even more cork than in previous years, around 150 kilos. “This year, the figures of shepherds and wise men are also made with tenements. Before, we had a net structure covered with burlap and then a cloak, in the case of kings. But this year, we did it like this», explains Dionísia Costa, who has also participated in the construction of this crib since 2004.
From year to year, «the images are built anew, or reconstructed a little bit. My nephew Rui, who is a carpenter, helps with the assembly of the images, but we all help so that the images are as perfect as possible», Avelino replies.
O Sul Informação he visited the crib two days before the official opening, when there was still work to be done. The rain and the wind destroyed some images that were already ready, but «by Saturday [today], everything will be ready, lit up and with a waterfall that still has to be finished».
In the first year the crib was built, «the objective was to give a beautiful image of our land and we wanted to win competitions, to give value to our village. And we even won a competition between the cribs in the villages of the Algarve and Baixo Alentejo», congratulates Avelino Costa, as he points to the gifts that are next to the baby Jesus.
«These are our offerings from here, we have bread, honey, oil, wheat and arbutus. That's what we have to offer», he explains.
For those who visit the village on purpose to visit the crib, the inhabitants of Cortelha offer a welcome: “people come from all over to see our crib, it is very visited. Even before it was ready, we already had visitors and we really enjoy receiving people. It is also to make the village move that we built this», concludes Avelino Costa.
The Crib in Cortiça da Cortelha is exposed to the public at Largo da Associação until the 6th of January and can be visited at any time.
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