An average occupancy rate of 99,6%, six of the nine shows sold out and more and more foreigners. The third edition of Lavrar o Mar, a cultural program that has taken arts and culture to Monchique and Aljezur, has already come to an end with a very positive balance.
This new edition, which had the air as its motto, resulted in nine shows (five of which were new creations) and six artistic residencies, two of them by foreign companies.
All these shows resulted in 44 sessions that had a total of 7858 spectators.
The desire to get to know these creations (always surprising) by Lavrar o Mar is such that, throughout the entire edition, there were around 1000 people on the waiting list. Shows like the new circus in Monchique, were an example of the box office success of this program.
The data doesn't stop there. For example, among the total public, 69% have Portuguese nationality and 31% have foreign nationality.
Among the Portuguese nationals, 85% are residents of the Algarve, while 15% come from the rest of the country.
Among the Portuguese residents, 22% live in the municipality of Aljezur, 20% in the municipality of Portimão, 18% in the municipality of Lagos and 17% in the municipality of Monchique. 16% of the Portuguese also come from the municipalities of Loulé, Faro, Silves and Albufeira, while 7% come from the other municipalities in the Algarve.
As for visiting Portuguese, the numbers show how this “Lavrar o Mar” is already known far beyond the Algarve: 57% come from Greater Lisbon, 33% from Alentejo (namely from Odemira, Santiago do Cacém, Sines and Ourique), 9 % of the Central and North Zone and 1% of the remaining national territories.
Among the foreign nationals, 81% are residents of the Algarve and 19% are tourists.
Among the foreigners residing in the Algarve, 41% are German, 16% are English, 9% are Dutch, 7% are Italian and 6% are French. The remaining nationalities correspond to 21% of the total.
As for visiting foreigners, or tourists, 41% are German, 10% are English, 9% are French and 7% are Dutch. The remaining nationalities correspond to 33%.
One of the hallmarks of this project is the involvement with the local population, a dynamic that was further reinforced in this edition.
«In eight of the nine shows, there was an active participation of the community, sometimes in support of their realization, sometimes in the artistic objects, concretely. We were able to count on the participation of people of various nationalities, such as cooks, bakers, distillers, seamstresses, musicians, dancers, children, young people and the elderly», say the promoters, in a final assessment that the Sul Informação had access.
The start of this programming took place with "Medronho #1 - Fire doesn't have four letters", a creation that was based on the great fires of Monchique in August of last year.
In an attempt to show the devastation and share the mourning of this tragedy, as well as its subtext, a script was built, based on direct contact with some people who experienced this event up close.
This “Medronho” saga thus had a turning point (compared to previous years), focused on this real disaster, but continued to be authored by writers Sandro William Junqueira and Afonso Cruz. Recently, it's even been published in a book.
In this edition, there was also "Eva Poro #1" and "Eva Poro #2", shows that seek this dialogue between people, space and time.
«For this creation contributed Portuguese and foreign children from different realities, Portuguese and foreign adults, residents and non-residents in this region. Based on the current reality, an attempt was made to portray and pay homage to the reality of the past through the arts and from different perspectives», say the promoters of Lavrar o Mar.
He also returned to using the already famous Sweet Potato Festival of Aljezur as a backdrop for a different creation…the culinary dance “Dancing!”. It was attended by cooks, dancers, local musicians and the brand new Orquestra Vicentina.
In addition to “KAÔ”, dedicated to children up to 3 years old accompanied by their parents, there was the traditional show of a new circus at the end of the year.
All sessions sold out completely, bringing 3500 people to Monchique between December 28th and January 1st. There was even “an increase of 1000 spectators compared to the previous edition”.
In April and May of this year, “Lavrar o Mar” welcomed two French companies that were challenged to work in this territory from an outside perspective. "Traversée" e "Les Voyages" «resulted in two shows with a dimension of intense, fundamental community participation and with feedback quite positive'.
This season, for the first time, workshops were held open to the public and with free participation, without binding nature, in the context of the show “Traversée”. Here people were able to experience and learn the practice of funambulism.
For the promoters, Lavrar o Mar «continues its course with greater motivation and a sense of responsibility towards its audience».
“We set out to retain the existing public and engage with new publics (such as children and foreigners) and we have successfully achieved this. We tried to work and get involved with the community in greater depth and that's how it happened,” they add.
And for the future? The answer is permanent: «continue to surprise».
Lavrar o Mar had the support of "365Algarve", Monchique and Aljezur Town Halls and CRESC Algarve2020.
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