The Camões Grotto is one of the major symbols of the Portuguese presence in Macau
In its third edition, this year’s “June – Month of Portugal” will have a program composed of a total of 25 activities and events. The initiative is co-organized by the Portuguese Consulate for Macau and Hong Kong, the Portuguese association Casa de Portugal (House of Portugal), the Fundação Oriente (Orient Foundation) and the Portuguese Oriental Institute (IPOR), among other partners. The activities will be held in more than 10 cultural and institutional spaces across town, as announced last week, in the name of the organizing committee.
The event aims to “open the doors” of Portuguese diplomacy and invite people from all communities to join and to learn more about the “modern Portugal,” the Portuguese Consul-General, Vítor Sereno, told the Times.
“This is not [only] an event for the Portuguese community, this is an event to be the greatest expression of the culture, of the gastronomy and of all cultural demonstrations linked to Portugal here [in Macau] and is open to all,” Sereno remarked. According to the diplomat, the numerous activities in the program aim to show the “modern and competitive Portugal.”
“These are events to show the best we have in Portugal and from Portugal to everyone, to the non-Portuguese community.”
“Even the official reception to the Portuguese community [to be held on June 10 – Day of Portugal] is a reception with open-doors and everyone is welcomed,” Sereno concluded.
According to the organizers, this year’s program will feature at least 35 participating artists from several fields, including music, painting, sculpture, photography, cinema and, for the first time, jewelry. This will be the first partnership of the organization with an overseas institution, the Portuguese Jewellery and Watchmaking Association which will be presenting an exhibition on June 28 and 29 at the Gallery of the Consul’s Residence.
Another highlights of the program is the Portuguese singer and songwriter Pedro Abrunhosa, together with his band “Comité Caviar.” They will be performing live on stage at the Grand Auditorium of the Macao Cultural Center on June 8 at 8 p.m.
This year, the event also focuses on art films with several activities in this field, the first being the Portuguese Film Festival, in collaboration with the Portuguese film festival “Indie Lisboa” that will present several movies from June 27 to 29 at the Cinematheque Passion.
The second activity will be the projection of three movies from the well-known Portuguese filmmaker Antonio-Pedro Vasconcelos, received by Portugal’s Consulate Dr Stanley Ho, on June 7, 11 and 12 at the Auditorium. Vasconcelos will also present a talk on June 7 at the Café Oriente at IPOR.
Another highlight will be the cinema workshop held by movie director Catarina Mourão, who will also be in Macau. This workshop is a joint initiative with the local Audiovisual CUT Association.
The workshop will be held for a period of around two weeks and is limited to 15 attendees.
Other activities include the presentation of a book on the life of the poet Camilo Pessanha, as well as music and theatre dedicated to children. The organizers have mentioned that these activities will extend tentatively to July, as it will include the broadcasting of the Portuguese national football team’s matches in the World Cup 2018, which will be held in Russia and will run from June 16 to July 15.
All the events are free of charge, although as noted by the organizers, in some cases numbered tickets will be provided for attendance of certain events in cases where there are limitations of space such as concerts and movie screenings.
‘2019 Year of Portugal,’ Tam proposes
The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macau, Alexis Tam, has proposed dedicating not just a month per year, but an entire year to Portugal. This is not the first time that Tam has suggested such an idea but this time, the proposal is more imminent, with Tam proposing the first dedicated year to be 2019.
“I would like to [dedicate] a year to Portugal,” Tam said, noting that 2019 comes as the ideal year for that due to its symbolism: “It’s the year we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Portugal, and [in addition] Macau also celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the handover. It will be a very important year and we should celebrate it all year long,” Tam said, TDM Radio reported, after a meeting with the organizing committee of the celebrations of “June – Month of Portugal” in Macau.
Commenting on the topic to the Times, the Consul-General Vítor Sereno, who has announced that he will leave the post he has held for over five years, said: “I find it an extraordinary idea and I’m very happy with it […] As I previously mentioned, I don’t ‘hope’, I ‘want’ this concept of the ‘June – Month of Portugal’ to gain roots and grow, and that these words [from the Secretary Tam] are welcomed.” Sereno added that although he would not be part of it directly, since he is leaving the post, but that he agrees with Tam that 2019 creates important opportunities for the event to “consolidate and to enlarge.” Sereno expressed hope that the concept [of a Month of Portugal] “is a concept to stay and [if possible] to develop.”
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