April, the month of the Carnation Revolution, which this year celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, has a diverse program of celebrations promoted by the Municipality of Barcelos, with more than two dozen initiatives scheduled for this month.
From conferences to music, from books to gatherings, from exhibitions to theater, cultural proposals fill this April like Liberdade filled the streets fifty years ago.
Thus, on the 2nd of April, at 9:15 pm, in the Salão Nobre of the Town Hall, the Conference “48 Years of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic” will be held, with Jerónimo de Sousa as speaker – General Secretary of the PCP between 2004 and 2022, an event that features a presentation by Mário Figueiredo.
Three days later, on April 5th, at 10 am, the book “Sílvio, Herdeiro do Cravo” by Francisco Duarte Mangas will be launched at the Barcelos Municipal Library. On the same day, but at 9:15 pm, in the Auditorium of the Town Hall, the “First Municipal Assembly” meeting will take place.
With Fernando Santos Pereira as moderator, this initiative has the following participants: João Carvalho de Sousa (Popular Democratic Party); Fernando António Carvalho Andrade (Socialist Party); Rodrigo Carlos da Cruz Amaral (Social Democratic Center); Alfredo Cardoso da Conceição (Aliança Povo Unido); João Macedo Lourenço (Group Dynamizers of Popular Unity).
On April 6th, it’s time for music and words. At 10:30 am, at the Municipal Library of Barcelos, there is “Orquestra da Primavera”: Session of Stories with Classical Music by Marisa Carvalho.
Later, at 9:30 pm, Theatro Gil Vicente will have the Opera on stage – “Small History of a People with Memory”, with a second session, the following day (April 7), at 4:00 pm, also at Theatro Gil Vicente.
On the 12th, at 9:15 pm, the conference “Local Power and Unionism” will be held, moderated by Cândido de Oliveira and with the participation of Fernando Ribeiro dos Reis and Carvalho da Silva, in the Salão Nobre of the Paços do Concelho.
Exhibitions mark cultural spaces
Of the program planned for April, the exhibition program for the celebrations stands out. Thus, on the 12th, the Exhibitions “Ceramic Techniques in Portuguese-speaking Countries” are inaugurated in the Chapel Room of the Pottery Museum, and the Exhibition “In other Times Era Assim…”, in the temporary exhibition room of the same cultural facility.
The following day, on April 13th, at 5pm, it is time for the opening of the exhibition “April 25th, 1974, Thursday”, by Alfredo Cunha, at the Municipal Art Gallery, while on April 19th there is a double dose: 5:00 pm, opening of the exhibition “The Revolution and what it brought “EPHEMERA” – José Pacheco Pereira Library and Archive – at Espaço Cultura, and, at 6:00 pm, opening of the exhibition “Silenced: The books that could not be read” from the Estate of Barcelos Municipal Library and “Books banned during the Estado Novo”, from the documentary collection of the General Library of the University of Coimbra, in the Barcelos Municipal Library.
The cultural day ends with the presentation of the theater play – Cartas de Guerra, at 9:30 pm, at Theatro Gil Vicente.
On April 20th, at 10:30 am, it’s time for the “25th of April, almost like a fairy tale” Theater Workshop with Rui Branco Silva, taking place at the Municipal Library.
March for Freedom mobilizes students from schools in the municipality
The celebrations scheduled for this month of April include the March for Freedom involving students and teachers from Schools in the Municipality of Barcelos, an initiative scheduled for the 23rd, at 2pm, taking place in the Historic Center.
On the same day, but at night, at 9:30 pm, a musical show by the Portuguese-Brazilian singer and composer, Luca Argel, takes place at Theatro Gil Vicente.
The next day, on April 24th, there is time and space for more music: “Que Força é Essa – A Força da Música de Barcelos | Celebrar Abril”, musical marathon that will take place from 5:30 pm to 2:00 am, at Largo Dr. José Novais and Largo Dr. Martins Lima.
And upon arriving at the big day of celebrations, “April 25th, 50 years of the Carnation Revolution”, at 10 am, the Flag Raising takes place, in the Town Hall; at 10:30 am, Parachute Drop in Freefall, on Av. Dr. Sidónio Pais (as part of the VIII Meeting of Parachutists and other combatants in Barcelos) and, at 11:30 am, Fanfare Parade through the Streets of the City and Street Entertainment (Folklore ), in the Historic Center of Barcelos.
In the afternoon, at 3 pm, the Solemn Session of the Municipal Assembly of Barcelos begins, in the Auditorium of the Town Hall, which is followed, in Largo da Porta Nova, at 6 pm, by the “Concerto Mil Vozes a Cantar Abril” , by the choral groups of the municipality of Barcelos and Orquestra da Banda Musical de Oliveira.
Finally, on April 27th, at 4pm, there will be “Historical-Cultural Recreation of the 25th of April” with the participation of Theater Groups from the Municipality of Barcelos, an action that will take place at Campo 5 de Outubro, Avenida da Liberdade and Largo da Porta New.
The April program for the Commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution ends with the April Anonymous concert, at 9:30 pm, at Theatro Gil Vicente, but the initiatives that the Municipality has planned for these celebrations will extend throughout the entire year.
