As part of the celebrations for the centenary of Portimão’s elevation to a city, July will be marked by a number of unmissable events.
By decree-law signed by the then President of the Republic Manuel Teixeira Gomes and published in the Government Gazette of 11 December 1924, Vila Nova de Portimão was elevated to a city.
For the fourth year running, the Manuel Teixeira Gomes Municipal Library is organising the Verão Azul (Blue Summer) cycle of literary gatherings on four Saturdays in July. This year’s event will focus on the theme “All Cities Are (Also) Imaginary Cities”.
From 10 pm on 18, 19 and 20 July, the French company Akoreacro will be performing the circus show “Arrêt D’Urgence” on Portimão’s riverside, with free admission, where “nothing goes according to plan”, according to the synopsis, neither in the acrobatics nor in the speed races, beatbox and techno, “with lots of flames in the mix”, all the more so as “the two cheerful presenters (who are also sometimes on fire) don’t know which way to turn.
But there’s no need to panic, as everything is under control in this delirious entertainment, part of the artistic proposals that Lavrar o Mar – Cooperativa Cultural has devised to commemorate the city’s 100th anniversary, under a partnership established with the Portimão Municipality.
Also on the evening of 20 July, the large auditorium of TEMPO – Teatro Municipal de Portimão will host the show “Manuel Teixeira Gomes e a Odisseia Mediterrânea” (Manuel Teixeira Gomes and the Mediterranean Odyssey) from 10 pm, under the musical direction of Pedro Jóia, a musician with family roots in this city.
The musical and visual show evokes the journeys made by Gomes Manuel Teixeira Gomes, who was a Portuguese politician and writer who served as the seventh president of Portugal between 5 October 1923 and 11 December 1925. Born on 27 May 1860 in Ferragudo.
The show, promoted by the Portimão City Council, evokes the journeys made by the illustrious Portimonian along the Mediterranean basin and their influence on the creative talents of the great man of the First Republic, who also produced a number of literary works.
This special performance will also feature Pedro Jóia on guitar and the Arabesque Quartet, which consists of Denys Stetsenko (1st violin), Raquel Cravino (2nd violin), Lúcio Studer (viola), and Ana Raquel Pinheiro (cello).
Produced by Tocaia Bem Alto, tickets for the show, priced at 12 euros each, can be purchased now at https://tempo.bol.pt and at the TEMPO box office, open from Tuesday to Saturday from 13h00 to 18h00.
The Grupo Coral Adágio/Academia de Música de Portimão is also organising a programme “Manuel Teixeira Gomes e a Produção Artística nos Alvores do Século XX” (Manuel Teixeira Gomes and Artistic Production at the Dawn of the 20th Century), which aims to pay homage to the tastes and time of the avowed art lover, by offering cultural soirees around the city between 16 and 28 July, with the participation of renowned singers, an operatic gala in Alameda da República, a performance of the opera “Soror Mariana”, a conference on the life and work of the Brazilian composer Júlio Reis and a performance of the monologue “Manifesto Anti-Dantas” by Almada Negreiros.
Another highlight of this special agenda is “Noitada – Festival of Light, Art and Culture”, the first edition of which will take place on 26 and 27 July, in a partnership between NewSheet and the Portimão Municipality.
Artistic installations can be viewed in 20 different parts of the city, from music stages and works of art to interactive streets, 12-metre-high inflatables and light promise to surprise everyone, and the promoters are counting on the contributions of local associations and talent.
In addition to the specific programme for the city’s centenary, other highlights are worth mentioning, such as the start of the Quintas-Feiras ao Luar (Thursdays in the Moonlight) trade promotion project (4, 11, 18 and 25 July), another edition of the Lota Cool Market (24 to 28 July), the opening of the Sardine Festival, which this year starts on 30 July, or the return of World Press Photo to the old Lota, which from 28 July will be exhibiting the best photojournalism images in the world from 2023.
More information on July’s centenary programme can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/JULHO-Portimao-Centenario
