Poetry, music and a tribute to the late artist Milai are part of the program of the 8th Edition of the Spoken Word Festival – Calceteiros de Letras, which Gimnásio Clube de Faro will host on the 15th, 16th and 17th of November.
“There will be three days of spoken word, poetry and performance, in a contemporary approach, which merges the art of words with dance, music, theater and video”, according to the organization.
The public is also invited to share texts and poems in “open microphone” evenings, “where the only limit is the desire to participate”.
On November 15th, a Friday, at 21:45 pm, the performance “Poezia Bruxa” will take place, with the actor Pedro Monteiro taking responsibility for the text and voice and the musician Paulo Strak accompanying on the double bass.
«The beginnings and ends of letters, from the ox to the dagger, plus all the vowels of continuous sound and also the deep rhythm. The secrets of the earth and of beings found in words, distilling ancestral symbols and sounds that wander in the depths of existence and that, unveiled in ritual, perfect life and death. Witch Poetry with double bass is a lit ember», describes the Gimnásio Clube de Faro.
On the same day, “GDM & Convidados” will perform, bringing together on stage GDM, an acronym for “Gangster do Mato”, who is “skilled in Free Style (the art of improvising rhymes)” and “makes this art his daily work, on the street and on the trains – hence he is also known as the Rapper of the Trains”.
He will share the stage with Algarve rappers from the collective Lá do 7 – Almalgarvia, Chalice Bwoy, Okin, Dyabetik, Kabula and Jv.
On the 16th, at 15 pm, the declamation workshop “Poetry from the Heart in the Mouth” will take place, with Maria Vilalobos.
“Do you feel poetry pulsing in your heart, but you can’t let it out? The fear of failure or the fear of being ridiculous often stifles our voice. But when we dare to bring words to life, something magical happens: our skin crawls and our voice takes flight. In this workshop, you will discover how to transform this fear into power,” promise the event organizers.
In this training, theatre tools will be used to teach “how to give strength to words and bring fluidity to gestures”.
The cost of the workshop is 15 euros. Those interested should register by email at [email protected]
Also on Saturday, but at 21:45 pm, the show “Love or Sanity” will be presented, with Sofia Brito (voice), Guilherme Limão (electronics) and Vilma Keuchguerien (flute).
This is a show “where music and spoken word embrace under the pretext of poetry. A set of original themes that takes the spectator through the transversal paths of human sensations, emotions and senses”.
Maria Vilalobos will also be performing, this time with the multidisciplinary Spoken Word project “Mulher Posso e Mando”, which combines poetry, theater and music, using words as a vehicle for the fight for gender equality and equal opportunities.
This is "a performance manifesto for human rights and equal opportunities, appealing to awareness in the face of the violence experienced by many women. An intimate moment of intervention that aims to promote debate and reflection."
On November 17th, at 16 pm, the “Calceteiros de Letras” event will take place, «with the involvement of collectives linked to the world of arts – schools, associations, amateur poets, who together prepare performances around the imaginary of poetry, with the presence of pianist Fernando Pessanha, Lá no 00, Armando Correia and Ricardo Mendonça, Students from Escola Secundária Tomás Cabreira, Dança pela Camada – Centro Coreográfico, Tiago Marcos, “Se é azia, poesia!” with Joana Santos and Rita Guapo».
The afternoon culminates with the presentation of the Calceteiros de Letras award, which distinguishes an artist or entity that over the years has contributed to the dissemination of words and poetry in a creative and original way.
«This year, there will be no hiding who will receive this distinction. This is because we want you to join us in paying tribute, in a simple but heartfelt way, to Milai – Maria Adelaide Fonseca -, a multifaceted artist who developed much of her work in Faro and who left us prematurely in 2023. Milai was “a world to discover, or several worlds in one”. What is certain is that with her “we were all the poets of the world”, according to the Gimnásio Clube de Faro.
The award was created by visual artist João Frank, who is also the author of the video mapping that will be shown at the opening of each of the Festival sessions.
Tickets for the event cost 8 euros on Friday and Saturday and 5 euros on Sunday. Tickets for all three days cost 20 euros. Reservations can be made by email at [email protected].
Comments