Lisbon celebrates the Carnation Revolution and Freedom with an unprecedented cultural programme for all.
The Festas de Abril will take place across the city’s streets and cultural facilities.
Lisbon City Council and EGEAC get the Festas de Abril underway next month and invite everyone to celebrate the 49th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution and Freedom with an unprecedented cultural programme to be enjoyed in the city, both indoors and out.
As the sun, flowers and more upbeat vibes return, help us celebrate April with a calendar full of music, exhibitions, theatre, cinema, conversations and readings, amongst many other cultural offerings.
On 24 April, musician Vitorino will bring his Abril em Flor project to Terreiro do Paço, Lisbon’s most iconic open-air concert venue. Created from scratch under the artistic direction of António Miguel Guimarães, the show combines music, poetry and art and brings together dozens of artists. There will be live performances from Mafalda Veiga, Márcia, Luís Trigacheiro, Zeca Medeiros and Cantadeiras e Cantadores do Redondo, who will be singing songs from the period of resistance to the dictatorship. Meanwhile Aldina Duarte, Capicua, Carlão and Tim, will join us by video with recitations of poetry by Manuel Alegre, Sophia de Mello Breyner, Jonas Negalha and Ruy Belo.
As is now tradition, on 25 April the Paços do Concelho will be opening their doors from 10.00 till 18.00, allowing everyone to discover the architecture and history of this neoclassical building.
The Aljube Museum of Resistance and Freedom will also be open all day long and you can visit its collection free of charge, including the permanent exhibition (with guided tours in the morning and afternoon) and temporary exhibitions.
Another of this year’s initiatives is the “Signs of Freedom-Iconography of Democracy” exhibition in the Arquivo Ephemera, which brings together a collection of images and objects produced after 25 April 1974. From 14 April to 28 May, the Antigo Tribunal da Boa Hora will host this exhibition of iconographic material representative of an historic period in the 20th century, which has been selected from José Pacheco Pereira’s Archive and Library.
The month of April will also provide you with the chance to appreciate the Mural 25 de Abril, created in Belém by artists from the Estúdio Boa Hora collective, and Cartazes de Abril, by illustrator Montraste at the Bordalo Pinheiro Museum. Other events at this year’s festivities include a unique show created by Joana Craveiro designed to inhabit Marvila Library, the chance to get to know Antónia Rodrigues (the latest character in Cláudia Gaiolas’ Antiprincesas series at Parque José Gomes Ferreira) and the Political Festival taking place at the São Jorge Cinema.
All of the above and many other initiatives featuring music, conversations, walks, visits and workshops make the Festas de Abril what they are. With something for all ages, these largely free offerings are divided between the streets of Lisbon and the municipal and cultural spaces run by Lisbon City Council and EGEAC.
See the full schedule by clicking here
