A this year's edition of the MED Festival, which ended on Sunday, June 30, in Loulé, was "the most consistent and attended ever".
«Excellent poster, a new stage with fantastic surroundings, surprising animations, a notorious concern with every detail, a unique environment. These were some of the many compliments that the 16th MED Festival received from the numerous public who flocked to the Historic Area of Loulé to experience a panoply of artistic proposals, with special emphasis on world music», says the Loulé Chamber.
For four days, «the medieval heart of this city, where the Islamic heritage is very present and where you breathe a truly Mediterranean atmosphere, was once again the meeting place for people from all over the world, with their different sounds and styles that dazzled everyone».
There were 80 hours of music that echoed on the 10 stages where artists from such different places as Haiti and Trindade and Tobago – two MED debutants – or Niger, Mexico, Turkey and Cape Verde, played.
Regarding the names that most impressed those who watched this multicultural show, Marcelo D2 stands out, of course, considered from the outset one of the highlights of this edition, but also Dino D'Santiago, who performed in front of “his” audience , the Tobagueño Anthony Joseph, the portentous Franco-Congolese project Tshegue, the sonorities mariachi doll from Orkesta Mendoza, the Portuguese melody of Ricardo Ribeiro, the artistic beauty of Camané and Mário Laginha together on stage or the furor of Cais do Sodré Funk Connection that were on Palco Chafariz, a new space that was one of the novelties of this 16th edition.
In the program of this MED Festival, other stages should also be highlighted, smaller in size but equally large for their artistic quality, such as the MED Classic, marked by the performance of classical music groups inside the Igreja Matriz and which once again gathered an audience Appreciator of this classical style, Palco Calcinha, which combined music and poetry, Palco Bica, where innovative projects in the region, especially in the indie area, were present, or MED Fado, which once again gave voice to Algarve fado singers.
Street entertainment with dozens of artists such as members of Satori, the Rhakatta group, Alentejo singing groups or folklore groups of the Municipality walked through every corner of the venue in constant interaction with the visitor.
Gastronomy and handicraft have invaded this Historic Area with the colour, smells and flavors of a world cuisine where burritos, tapas, shoarma, curry, Portuguese snacks or Folhado de Loulé, candidate for the 7 Sweet Wonders, were not lacking from Portugal.
Another highlight is Cinema MED, which this year became part of the Festival's program, with short films and the premiere of “Gabriel ea Montanha”, by Fellipe Barbosa.
«With the curatorship of Rui Tendinha, this was another successful bet, because there was a lot of interest from the public, especially in the presentation session of the film by the Brazilian director, as part of the “Open Day”, in a relaxed space at Alcaidaria do Castelo », says the municipality.
By way of balance, Vítor Aleixo, Mayor of Loulé, underlined the fact that this was one of the most successful editions.
“We are all to be congratulated because this is perhaps the most attended MED edition we have ever had. We saw wonderful shows on different stages, always with great audiences. A party in a country and in a Mediterranean festival, with nights like these, can only attract people and make them happy,” said the mayor.
Vítor Aleixo underlined the environmental concern on the part of the Municipality, which was very present in 2019, with actions such as the ecological cup, the drinking fountains with water from the public network, the intelligent and compacting paper bins or the solar panels that provided clean energy to the restoration taverns.
The 16th MED Festival should also be praised in terms of safety and assistance to people and goods, a topic that is on the agenda in the context of major events, highlighting the exemplary performance of all entities that collaborated with the organization .
With eyes set on 2020, Vítor Aleixo believes that innovation and creativity may continue to be the key to the MED Festival's success in future editions.
«Today we live in a consumer society in which models, formats, tastes are consumed very quickly. What I ask the organizers of this event is that they try to be creative, bring news not only in terms of musical expressions, but of other artistic expressions, in terms of what is displayed on craft stalls, and even in gastronomic proposals. I'm sure the creative and organizing staff of MED is very attentive to this», he concluded.
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