The municipality of Vila Real de Santo António joins the celebrations of the Centenary of the Birth of José Saramago with a vast program that includes gatherings, conversations, film screenings, artistic demonstrations and performances.
The activities take place in schools in the municipality and in the Vicente Campinas Municipal Library, between November 14th and December 16th.
The program begins with the presentation of the exhibition «Back to the Steps that Were Given», which will be on tour in school libraries until December 9th.
The exhibition, organized by the José Saramago Foundation, includes a selection and composition of texts by Carlos Reis and Fernanda Costa and design by André Letria and makes a 'journey' through the literary biography of José Saramago and the works and cultural and civic legacy of the writer.
The highlight of the program is the initiative «Passarola on a journey… in the schools of the municipality» which, throughout the months of November and December, will evoke the Passarola Voadora by Bartolomeu de Gusmão – rebuilt for this purpose by the municipal services – in an allusion to the Memorial do Convento, by José Saramago.
The construction of the passerby and its flight was only possible with the union between Bartolomeu Lourenço, Baltasar and Blimunda, characters from the novel, who combined their knowledge: science, craftsmanship and magic, associated with music. Therefore, the passerby symbolizes fraternity, solidarity and equality capable of uniting all of humanity in favor of the common good, its evolution and the conquest of progress in a sustained way, which shows the eternal struggle of man to want to overcome the himself and reach a divine or almost divine dimension.
On the 17th, the Vicente Campinas Municipal Library receives another edition of the Reading Club, this time dedicated to the work of José Saramago.
On the 17th and 24th of November, the VRSA Secondary School will screen the film «Essay on Blindness», while on the 22nd, at 14:30 pm, the large group room of this educational establishment will host the initiative «Conversas com…» , aimed at the debate and exchange of ideas about the Saramago legacy.
On November 25, at 21 pm, the project «Arte com…» arrives at the VRSA Secondary School with a recitation of texts by Saramago accompanied by classical music played and danced by local associations.
The following day, on the 26th of November, Associação ¼ Escuro inaugurates, at the Vicente Campinas Municipal Library, the photographic exhibition «Photographic Journey to the Algarve».
The exhibition is inspired by the texts of the work «Viagem a Portugal», by José Saramago, selected by Diego Mesa, and has the support of the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve.
On the same day and place, at 16:00, the «Rota Saramago», created from the work «Viagem a Portugal», will be presented. In this first phase, the Routes of the municipalities of Baixo Guadiana (Alcoutim, Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António) will be presented, which will be accessible – in digital format – and can be traveled independently by everyone. The event will be attended by the Regional Director of Culture of the Algarve.
The program to commemorate the Centenary of the Birth of José Saramago is organized by the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, in partnership with the Agrupamento de Escolas de VRSA, the Agrupamento de Escolas D. José I and local communities and associations.
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