The works on the building where the historic Atlético Sporting Clube operated, on Rua das Lojas, in Loulé, were inaugurated this Monday, April 25th, and the renovated space will be the new headquarters of the Casa da Cultura de Loulé.
And it was not by chance that the Municipality of Loulé chose the 48th anniversary of the 25th of April to mark this moment since, for the local community, this is a space that refers to the context of the last years of the Estado Novo and revolutionary period.
It was a stage for «events of the democratic conspiracy» by a group of young people who found there the place to put their ideas and cultural ambitions into practice, «considered subversive in the eyes of the regime», as Sérgio Sousa, head of the Casa of culture.
The main hall of the building was filled with people again and there were many memories shared this afternoon, from the beginning by the mayor Vítor Aleixo, who was also a frequent visitor of the space and of the «balls, readings, music auditions, preparation of plays , a lot of discussion of politics and culture».
«We came here, listened to Zeca Afonso, Adriano Correia de Oliveira, and many others. I remember the performance of the play “O Avejão”, by Raul Brandão, rallies of the Portuguese Democratic Movement, before and after the 25th of April, the performance of Auto do Curandeiro by António Aleixo. We organized against status quo social and political city an independent Carnival. We were irreverent, disobedient», recalled the municipal official.
It was also there, in a room on the upper floor, that João Barros Madeira was chosen to preside over the Administrative Commission of the Municipality of Loulé in the period following the Revolution, in which for the first time the destinies of the Municipality were managed in democracy.
But if the rescue of the past was present in this intervention, it was also with the thought of the new generations that the work was carried out.
«The building was recovered precisely so that memories can give way to the future because the future happens with vigor, with youth, with creativity, but it always happens better when it is based on the memories that are inherited by each generation», underlined the mayor.
On the part of the Casa da Cultura de Loulé, there is a guarantee that it will respond in the best way to the challenge of making the place more dynamic.
«We will work to strengthen the role of Casa da Cultura as a space/platform for creation, training and production in the greatest possible diversity of areas of culture, sport and citizenship», reaffirmed the president of this cultural association, created 43 years ago, precisely on the 25th of April, and which has been «a 'school', a space for creation, germination and development of cultural and social processes».
The work represented an investment of around 360 thousand euros.
«Heritage is our identity, it is part of our most personal memories. People connect affectively to their city spaces, whether in public space or in an interior space, as is the case and this is a line of our municipal management», said Vítor Aleixo.
The rehabilitation of emblematic buildings and spaces such as the Cineteatro Louletano, the Municipal Market, Praça da República, Palácio Gama Lobo or Solar da Música Nova, and in the same vein, the inauguration, next May, of the Islamic Baths, in addition to the work that is still taking place at the Igreja Matriz de Loulé, they are examples of «a consistent commitment that will put Loulé on the map of cultural tourism».
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