Echoes of Fado

A Dialogue With The City And History

O Fado_1909_Malhoa

The exhibition “Echoes of Art in Portuguese Fado XIX-XX Centuries,” framed in the application of Fado Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (UNESCO), is patent to the 17th of September, the Court of the Gale, at the Palace Square.

With free entry, the exhibition, devoted to the presence of Fado in Fine Arts, is promoted by the Lisbon City Hall by EGEAC / Museum of Fado.

In care by Sara Payne, the exhibition brings together 128 works by Portuguese artists and an integrated and multidisciplinary representation of Fado Portuguese Art in the XIX-XX centuries. The exhibition also shows the deep roots of Fado nationwide, as well as the mainstreaming of its representation as an object of fascination by successive generations of artists from various fields.

On display in the Sala do Risco, every day between 10.00 and 19.00, “Echoes of Art in Portuguese Fado XIX-XX Centuries” presents works by Roque Gameiro, Columban, Malhoa, Constantino Fernandes, Almada Negreiros, Amadeo Souza Cardoso, Eduardo Viana, Domingo Alvarez, Bernardo Marques, Stuart oak, João Abel Manta, Carlos Botelho, Cândido Pinto da Costa, Júlio Pomar, Leonel Moura, Graça Morais, Paula Rego, João Vieira, Arman, Adriana Molder, Bela Silva, João Pedro Vale, Miguel Palma and Joana Vasconcelos, among others.

Provided by/copywrite: LPM Comunicação & Lisbon Tourism

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Summer Festivals in Lisbon

June Festivals in Lisbon

Festas de Lisboa

Visitors in June will notice that the streets of Lisbon are decorated with colourful paper streamers. These are for the Festas de Lisboa, also known as the Santos Populares. The main saints’ days are for St Anthony on June 13, St John on June 23-24 and St Peter on June 28-29.

The huge St Anthony’s Parade, called the Marchas Populares, is preceded by the weddings of 12 couples in Lisbon’s parishes. They are driven through the streets in vintage cars to start the celebrations. The parade then begins from Avenida de Liberdade with folk dances and live samba music to entertain the crowds lining the streets.

St Peter’s Day has a beautiful boat procession on the River Tagus, a custom dating back to the Middle Ages.

The ongoing Festas de Lisboa includes cultural events, street parties and religious services. Local people exchange gifts of pots of basil and paper carnations with poems written on them as a sign of affection. Streets are filled with live music and dancing during the afternoon and evening parties see the local Lisboetas grilling sardines outside their homes and having huge street parties, particularly in the Alfama and Mouraria districts.

International Handicrafts Fair

The last week in June is the time to head for the Feira Internacional de Lisboa Centre at Parque das Nacoes. The Handicrafts Fair highlights Portuguese crafts including tile painting, jewellery, pottery and collectibles.

July Festivals in Lisbon

Santa Catarina Music Festival

This week-long festival is held at Santa Catarina Church on Calcada de Combo in late June/early July. Choirs and sacred musical performances take place in the church along with chamber music, films and a splendid exhibition of the church’s religious artifacts.

Almada International Theatre

In early July this drama festival looks for new talent in performances spread between the Belem Cultural Centre, Almada Theatre and Culturgest venues. Dance, street theatre and exhibitions culminate in choosing an honoured piece for the following year.

Delta-Tejo Festival

Another music festival is held in the Alto da Ajuda district each year during July. Organised by Delta Coffee, it promotes well-known musicians from coffee-producing countries in a series of open-air concerts.

Festival in the Square

The Festival ao Largo is a lively arts festival held in the Sao Largo Square throughout July. It includes ballet, traditional Portuguese fado singers, drama and symphony orchestra concerts. In the past it has been attended by the Mozambique National Song and Dance Company, the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the National Ballet.

Estoril Music Festival

The last two weeks of July see Portugal’s Estoril Music Festival get underway with a varied musical program of classical and modern music.

August Festivals in Lisbon

Oceans Festival

Held annually at the Riverside Area between Alcantara and Nations Park the Festival dos Oceanos takes place the first two weeks of August. The free events include water jumps displays, a fluvial parade, concerts, street performances, nighttime opening of museums, fireworks and entertainment put on by the Lisbon Tourist Board.

Jazz in August

Jazz lovers gather for this musical extravaganza of live jazz organized by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Magic Lisbon

A unique and unusual festival of magic provides a host of entertainment and amusement as international magicians gather to show off their skills each August.

copywrite: AGuide2Portugal
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Tourism of Portugal in the countryside!

Guarda receives first School of Hospitality and Tourism

Hotel tourism school development in Guarda Portugal

Turismo de Portugal signed today with the City Guarda, in the presence of the Secretary of State for Tourism, Bernardo Trindade, the deed of sale of the building of the Hotel Turismo, thereby fulfilling the first step in their conversion to the new School of Hospitality and Tourism of the city.

The first School of Tourism of Portugal in the districts of Guarda and Viseu reinforces the training needs of the tourism sector in this region, contributing to the creation of qualified jobs and to improve services in line with the objectives of the National Strategic Plan Tourism.

Scheduled to open in 2013, the new development represents an investment of 12 million.

By specializing in those areas, the school enhances the proximity to the tourist resources of the region – and half dozen spas, more than 200 establishments Manor, Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela and its ski resort and Villages Network historical – as well as meets the needs of tourist differentiators, planned and existing.

This educational establishment, with capacity for 200 to 250 students, also extends its educational offering to the field of Tourism and Cultural Landscape, with a hotel application, implementing a restaurant, an auditorium and a cafeteria for students.

This project will be developed in collaboration with the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, which already has expertise in higher education in the areas of Tourism Management and Health and is also a partner in this training initiative.

Adding the initial training of young people – technological specialization courses and a real work environment – will develop training for professionals in the asset and the recognition and certification of skills (through the New Opportunities Centre) for integration and reintegration into active life.

The School of the Guard will be installed at the Hotel Turismo, building of 40 years, with a vocation and history tour – designed by Vasco Regaleira and pending classification – located in the downtown area – It will be distributed over five floors in an area more than eight million square feet.

This conversion is part of the strategy of Tourism of Portugal to install some of their establishments in public areas in cities, buildings restored and architecturally striking, honoring the training activities. This is the case of resettlement of Schools of Lisbon and Porto and the current construction of the new school in Setubal.

Turismo de Portugal manages a network of 16 Schools of Hospitality and Tourism throughout the country, attended annually by more than 3 000 students. In recent years, the network has undergone substantial modernization, with the creation of new schools such as Portland and Caldas da Rainha and resettlement of Lisbon and Porto.

This and other notes to the media are available for consultation on the Tourism Website of Portugal – www.turismodeportugal.pt – the “Press”.

copywrite: LPM Comunicação & & compliment Turismo de Portugal
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Warm & Sunny Arrives in Portugal

The warm and sunny travel season has again come back to Portugal!

For some travelers this equates to the best time to travel – not to hot and not too cold! In areas such as Faro, Portimao and Lagos temperatures are reaching for the mid 20’s! This is a great time to be an active traveler! Still, depending on your travel origin, relaxing at the beach in 24 degrees is not a bad idea especially if you’ve been watching snowflakes and wearing long underwear!

Whats’ your favorite travel season and why?

Portimao weather: Thu Mar 31st
Clear
22°c (72°f)
11mph (18kph)
Clear
15°c (59°f)
11mph (18kph)

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A Week in Portugal – Mainland

Lisbon city edge

If you had a week in Portugal, where would you spend your time?

Here are a few ideas to keep in mind…

Regions and towns: we recommend keeping your travel time down so choosing 2-3 of the 5 mainland regions and then picking a few cities or town in 6-7 days is a good plan to begin!

Time of year: Outside of Nov to Jan, the weather is nice in most regions, otherwise, stick to the Southern parts unless you want to explore the more historical sites or spas towns of the North (there is 1 ski hill to consider as well)!

Your starting point: On the mainland, you can arrive either in Porto in the North (norte) or Lisbon in the Lisboe region (almost central) or Faro in the Algarve region (south) if you are flying to Portugal. If you are travelling by train or car entering Portugal, there are a few more options.

Norte region: In the Norte, Porto is a must — this is where Portugal originated and the old city blending with the new is a charm. You can then venture to Viana do Castelo which is very scenic along the ocean, head inwards towards the spa towns, or stick closer to Porto and visit the great forests of Serra do Buçaco, and Aveiro — the Venice of Portugal. There is of course the famous wine making Douro Valley to consider as well.  

Liboe region: Lisbon is the busy part of Portugal with many shows, and historic features to enjoy. From here, you could also check out Setúbal which has known for its wine, parks and oceanic enjoyments. To the west and north of Lisbon, there are many interesting towns north west such as Sintra that offers an interesting village, palace, parks with great views, historic sites..

In the Algarve region, you could spend your time from the city of Faro enjoying its history, nature reserve… to Portimao where much of the modern develops are with great beaches and entertainment and then over towards Lagos which is a much enjoyed quieter community and also offers easy access to the South west most part of Europe and the great cliffs and incredible views of the Atlantic Ocean!

If you had more time, we would recommend, checking out more inland eastern towns. From the 3 main cities mentioned: Porto, Lisbon and Faro, you can take day trips to the smaller towns or stay at each one of them to take in the full cultural experiences.  

What do you recommend? Got a question?

Aguide2Portugal

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Happy New year!

With the arrival of 2011, where will your feet take you on your next trip?

Tell us about next your trip ideas or interests around Portugal!

Best 2011 Wishes from AGuide2Portugal! Read the rest of this entry »