Murals "in the style of Quarteira" show the soul of a people

At the entrance is Dino, a son of the land who is successful all over the world. Up ahead, wrinkled hands hold a fishing net, with fish in it, but also – a symbol of the times – plastic, masks and bottles. We turn the corner and a boat appears, made of paper, which represents the soul of a people so connected to the sea. This is what the three murals “in Quarteira style” are like, inaugurated this Friday, 9 October, in the new car park next to the Municipality of Quarteira.

For a week, last September, Nuno Viegas, Menau and Daniela Guerreiro got together to work day and night. All are artists, but in common, they have an (even) greater cause: they are from Quarteira.

"It took seven days non-stop, from 8:00 am to 20:00 pm", says, smiling, Naomi Guerreiro, who, not getting her hands dirty, also played an essential role in the creation of these three urban art murals that have a lasting name. in the ear: “To Quarteirense fashion”.

Naomi, also raised in the city, is one of the faces of “I'm Quarteira”, a movement that he received an irrefutable invitation from the Chamber of Loulé.

“The Chamber challenged us to make these murals and we took it on. We thought about the artists to paint and chose them. We even wanted to bring someone international, but Quarteira is so rich that we have an international artist here: Nuno Viegas. They were the perfect three for this project, which, I hope, is just the first of many», he explains.

Mural painted by Daniela Guerreiro – Photo: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação

The fact is that Quarteira, which welcomes so many people from so many nationalities, has “a very great potential” in urban art, argues Naomi. “There are other cities with such great development in this area. There is almost a tourism for this type of art that we can also exponentiate», he considers.

Vítor Aleixo, Mayor of Loulé, present at the inauguration, could not hide his enthusiasm for seeing the completion of a work that he insisted on visiting throughout its conception to see, on site, the work of artists.

«Quarteira, in recent years, has qualified and raised its level. I needed a good kick-start to a form of urban artistic expression that, here, makes perfect sense. If there is a cosmopolitan land, open to global ideas, it is Quarteira,” he said.

For the mayor, these three murals, which represent an investment of 32 thousand euros, with the support of CRESC Algarve2020, were lacking: «probably, a new path was opened up here with regard to the redevelopment of the streets in this city».

But, a word to the artists: Daniela Guerreiro, Menau and Nuno Viegas, the three people from Quarteira who painted the murals, which are both an ode to the city that saw them grow, as an alert to key current issues.

Mural painted by Nuno Viegas – Photo: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação

Daniela, an artist who has been leading the way in the world of urban art, says that, in this work, she wanted to portray “the problem of pollution”.

«When I think of Quarteira, the first thing that comes to my mind is this sea that has to be preserved. It's a message from here to everywhere. I decided to portray this theme to always remember where I came from and the care we have to take», he shoots.

Nuno Viegas, in turn, speaks of the latex gloves he painted (symbol of the world of graffiti he comes from), but also of the boat, made of paper, «alluding to Quarteira».

Menau, on the other hand, decided to portray his fellow countryman Dino d'Santiago, taking a photograph taken of the singer during the recent demonstration Black Lives Matter. «He is, for me, the face of the new Portuguese revolution – he has a role in the national panorama and has the arm to fight the struggles that are to come», he explains.

Born in Cape Verde, but raised in Quarteira, Dino d'Santiago never denied this almost umbilical connection to the Algarve. It has been successful around the world, but it is Quarteira that always comes back. That's what happened this Friday: the singer did not miss the inauguration of these murals – nor did he hide his emotion for the moment.

"I've received so much in the country and even abroad, important awards, but seeing this honor, being represented there, was the best thing that has happened to me so far," he said.

He, who is also part of “Sou Quarteira”, sees this “movement rising ever higher”. “We made these three murals only with artists from our city and not all of them can say the same thing. We can scream the talent from Quartieri!».

“For me, this is a blessing. Imagine being out there and being able to show: look, this is happening in my country, with local artists. It's a source of pride and inspiration. When you want to know who I am, get to Quarteira and there is a tree where a thousand Dinos sprout. It's a city that emanates talent and that's what has given me strength to continue», he concludes.

Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação