Between Thursday and Saturday, the Politics Festival occupied the space of the Braga Youth Center with shows and debates under the motto “The time to intervene is now or now”. The artistic and social participation programming brought young people to the table of society’s most latent discussions, such as LGBTQIA+ rights, democracy, voices of resistance and the meaning of community. This festival once again placed emphasis on the concept of “politics”, which “goes far beyond partisanship”.
For three days, people from Braga were invited to reflect and enjoy the aesthetic qualities of the intervention with initiatives produced by several European countries. The Politics Festival, with a vast annual program in Braga since 2019, completed its fourth edition at the Youth Center. The event, with free entry for everyone, welcomed people from various parts of the country and foreigners, curious and moved by the dynamics that took place during the week. In total, more than 800 people passed through the Braga space.
Thursday afternoon gave way to the performances “Lost – Itália”, which reflected on History and observed the depths of the interior; and “Last minute news – Portugal”, a media spectacle where the public was invited to debate which fundamental rights promised by democracy are yet to be fulfilled.
On Friday, the Braga Youth Center auditorium hosted the “Fado Bicha mata o Fado, com amor” concert. “Resistance Redux – Netherlands” presented a visual, musical and physical interpretation of the experience of the Moluccans in the Netherlands and “You are what you eat – Slovenia”. The “Recognize the Pattern” presentation, which took place in the common room, combined a brief presentation of the magazine with the launch of its new podcast, Argumentum. On the same afternoon, the city center hosted Lucas Pina’s concert. The São Tomé singer became known to the general public after participating in Got Talent Portugal. On March 8, he released “Mamã”, an ode to the mother’s actions and gestures towards her children.
Saturday opened the doors to a day full of activities, starting with the performative speech workshop “Find your voice” which encouraged participants to seek, through games and dynamics, different ways of expressing themselves. The singing workshop “Voices of the world: a protest song” also viewed the voice as an “ancestral instrument that imprints who we are and how we are in the world, making itself heard in the protest song”.
According to the organization of Festival Política, “group singing is the way to bring our voices together and be in tune with a collective purpose of giving voice to what we want to silence.” This workshop worked with the protest song repertoire from various parts of the world.
“The first days of democracy in Braga” was the guided tour with a meeting point scheduled for 10:30 at Praça Torres e Almeida, led by Rui Ferreira. This visit evoked the advent of the democratic regime in the city of Braga based on its main events and protagonists.
Saturday afternoon also featured the shows “Revolution is a sexually transmitted infection – França” and “The intervention goes out to the street”. The most anticipated Portuguese film “Where is Zeca?”, by director Tiago Pereira, had its national premiere at 6:00 pm. The film paints a national portrait through multiple musicians, who use sound as a political tool and as a megaphone for their opinions and social criticism.
The Politics Festival also took three exhibitions to the Braga Youth Center: “LGBT+ History of Portugal”, “After all, how many people abstain in Portugal?” and “Affective polarization: Causes and implications for the democratic system”.
The Politics Festival also took into account the accessibility of citizens. All cinema sessions were subtitled in Portuguese, including those in Portuguese. The exhibitions were accompanied by audio description and all remaining sessions were attended by a Portuguese sign language interpreter.
