Lusofonia has ‘grown and improved’

Portuguese- style gastronomy, music, dance, games and street decorations filled the area around the Taipa Houses-Museum during the the 19th Lusofonia Festival.
The three-day festival associated with the culture of the Portuguese- speaking communities in Macau came to a close yesterday.
During the festival, ensembles of art groups from Portuguese-speaking countries and regions performed different styles of music and dance every evening.
Festival-goers had the chance to eat at Portuguese-inspired gastronomy restaurants and play traditional games. Activities for children were also on offer, such as pole climbing, bigfoot game, tug of war and sack racing.
The Portuguese booth was themed “Palheiros,” of Costa Nova, which is known for its brightly colored houses painted with vertical and horizontal lines.
The booth offered cheese, chorizo and other delicacies for free, while Portuguese sweets and cakes were for sale.
Casa de Portugal also participated in the festival, showcasing the artworks of the association’s school of arts and crafts, such as jewelries and paintings.
Maria Amélia Antonio, president of Casa de Portugal told the Times the festival has been continuously growing and improving over the years.
“This event is very important. Not only for Portuguese [speaking] people but for Macau too. This is already a landmark event in Macau. It’s very good for everybody to shows something from their country […] to gather together and go,” she stated.
According to Amélia António, who has been participating in the festival since its first edition, there are more Chinese residents that come throughout the day, stressing that around 80 percent of festival-goers in the afternoon are Chinese families.
“I was at this festival since the beginning and I saw this growing and growing each year. More improvements [have been made] and […] Chinese people, I believe, are happy to come to this event,” she concluded.
Some participants interviewed by the Times praised the event. “This is the best festival in Macau, all year. I like the music, food and the fact that it’s great weather and you can walk around and enjoy,” said an expat.
“I think it’s a really nice party because we can see many people that we do not see over the years. So this party is like a big meeting point for the Portuguese community,” said another.
Organizers believed that the festival would boost locals’ knowledge of the culture, food and music of Portuguese-speaking countries.
Tourists from Taiwan said they were happy to have experienced various different cultures all gathered together at a small site during their short stay in the territory.
“We can see so many cultures here [and] we’re excited. We fly back to Taiwan tomorrow but we’re really happy we have joined this festival,” they noted.
The 19th Lusofonia Festival was co-organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau together with the Macao Government Tourism Office and the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau.   LV