More than a thousand people at the 25th of April celebrations in Albufeira

The 25th of April celebrations in Albufeira brought together more than a thousand people, including the Teresa Salgueiro concert, the videomapping show, the inauguration of the sculpture “Breath of Freedom”, by Santos Carvalho, the Solemn Session dedicated to Local Power and the launch of the book “A breath of Freedom – Albufeira 1974-2014”, in which the new edition of the Municipality contains the Albufeirenses detained by PIDE, the testimonies of several Albufeirenses and military personnel who were in the region, as well as a brief study on the municipal elections in Albufeira.

Also notable was the singing of “A portuguesa” by Michelle Tomaz at the moment the National Flag was raised, as was the X Triatlo – 25 de Abril of FC Ferreiras and “Caminhadas ao Luar”, events that also brought together hundreds of participants.

The Town Hall was the privileged stage for the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the 25th of April, and the night before, the incomparable voice of Teresa Salgueiro brought together around a thousand spectators, who were dazzled, in the end, by the show alluding to the Revolt dos Cravos in videomapping, in addition to the crescendo of emotions with the fireworks, with the end of this day being marked by the joy of the participants of “Caminhadas ao Luar” under the theme of Freedom.

The historic day began with the usual Guard of Honor and raising of the Flag to the sound of the fanfare of the Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters, while the Sociedade Musical e Recreio Popular de Paderne surprised those present with the voice of Michelle Tomaz, who sang the national anthem , “A Portuguesa”, to loud applause from around two hundred Albufeirenses, representatives of the security, associative and political forces, all with carnations in their hands, distributed by Municipality workers.

This celebration took place on the north entrance side of the City Council building and immediately afterwards everyone present went to the south entrance of the building for the inauguration of the sculpture “Sopro de Liberdade”, by Santos Carvalho, which marked the highlight of the celebrations.

“The entire creation process was a moment very much mine, which from now on becomes everyone’s”, said the sculptor, who has been developing artistic works in stone since 1990. “It is an impactful work”, highlighted the president of Albufeira City Council, José Carlos Rolo, highlighting that “Santos Carvalho leaves his mark here in Albufeira, on a date of great importance, whose work carries with it an enormous symbolic load”.

The sculpture, three meters high in marble, has inside the figure of a carnation cut out of steel, which is why the president of the Municipal Assembly, Francisco Oliveira, associated the need to celebrate the date with the need for a flower. “What April 25th represents is something that must be watered every day and cherished, in order to ensure that the achievements of these 50 years do not regress”.

After this moment, the municipal Executive went to the Parishes of the municipality, where the official ceremony of raising the Flag to the sound of the anthem “A Portuguesa” took place. The morning also saw the great success of the running and cycling events of the X Trialo – 25 de Abril, organized by FC Ferreiras with the support of the Municipality. The home club was represented by a large delegation that presented results to match: 3rd place in the Women’s team and several podiums at different levels: Afonso Gouveia, David Alfeirão, Isa Parreira, Marina Zaborskayaa and Cecília Tintim.

In the afternoon, the Noble Hall hosted the Solemn Session of the day, dedicated to Local Power, where all the bench leaders in the Municipal Assembly and Parish Councils attended.

Among several topics, José Carlos Rolo focused his speech on the ethics of Power, stating that “the ethics of Local Power does not, and cannot, involve the personalization of power, when the face of local power is the face of the voters who entrusted their destinies to us. One should not ‘take the cloud for Juno’. Neither by those elected nor by voters. It is because this analysis of the concepts and practice of local authority exercise is not carried out that many people sometimes incur frivolous and unfair criticism. Albufeira scores in many rankings ranging from environment to financial performance.”

Carlos Quintino (Coligação Ser Albufeira) highlighted that “that deepening April in local authorities, is planning the future, is having new horizons, is giving objective answers to people’s problems, is making it happen.”

In turn, Domingos Coelho (PS) said regarding the new powers on decentralization, “Greater challenges and new horizons are opening up to Local Authorities. It must be your obligation to rise to these challenges and the wishes of the population.”

Raúl Ferreira (MIPA) noted that “It is still time to be guardians of the democratic regime, which allows us to make our choices freely and to educate our young people so that they do not naively believe in the false saviors of the Fatherland” and Carla Vieira (Albufeira Prometida) emphasized, regarding the beginning of April, that “It is our duty to protect and defend them zealously, we have an obligation to honor the legacy of those who came before us, working tirelessly to build a more just, inclusive and supportive country.”

Luna Silva (CHEGA) recalled that “change in the political regime that occurred in 1974 […] it led to a greater rapprochement with European institutions that culminated in Portugal’s accession to the European Economic Community in June 1985.”

The presidents of the Parish Councils of Ferreiras and Guia, Jorge do Carmo and Dinis Nascimento, respectively, also spoke. He remembered the first one on April 25, 1974 “It was a day that was engraved in the memory of all Portuguese, a day when the people stood up and said ‘Enough!’“, while the second stated that it was “Our responsibility is to defend and strengthen democratic institutions, combat corruption and promote transparency and accountability. It is also our responsibility to combat all forms of discrimination and injustice and ensure that all Portuguese people have equal access to opportunities and rights”.

This session was closed by the President of the Municipal Assembly, Francisco Oliveira, who noted the role of local authorities that “reorganized the territory, improved accessibility, built schools, provided education, allowed the creation of companies and jobs. Democratic local power helped transform us from subjects into citizens, and involved hundreds of thousands of those citizens in the political process in the 13 local elections already held.”.

After this moment, the Municipality of Albufeira launched the book “A breath of Freedom – Albufeira 1974-2014”, which contains the Albufeirenses detained by PIDE, the testimonies of several Albufeirenses and military personnel who were in the region, as well as a brief study on the local elections in Albufeira.