The Festas de Abril open Lisbon’s doors wide in celebration of the return of spring, lengthening days, and gatherings with friends through music, drama, cinema, exhibitions, dance, poetry, and visual arts. In the month when we celebrate freedom, we’ll also be commemorating the centenary of Carlos Paredes’ birth with a great concert at Largo do Município.
The highlight of the Festas will take place on 27 April at 7:00 PM in Praça do Município with the concert Variations on Paredes. Inspired by the music of Carlos Paredes, composer and Portuguese guitar master, António Miguel Guimarães (artistic director) and Pedro Jóia (musical director and classical guitarist) bring us a show featuring various instruments. The concert will include performances by Joana Bagulho (harpsichord), João Paulo Esteves da Silva (piano), José Manuel Neto and Bruno Costa (Portuguese guitar), with the participation of Carlos Manuel Proença and Nuno Botelho (guitars). The concert will be accompanied by live painting and drawing by António Jorge Gonçalves.
The Aljube Museum, a place of remembrance for the resistance and the fight for democracy, will be hosting two exhibitions: Architects of Freedom, which explores women’s struggle for the right to housing before and after 25 April, 1974, and Before Independence, There Was the Struggle for Liberation, which uses archival materials and documentary collections donated to the museum to understand the liberation movements and the anti-colonial and anti-racist struggle.
The Aljube will also host The Faceless of April by Rogério Charraz and José Fialho Gouveia, featuring João Afonso and Joana Alegre, as well as the documentaries Women and Resistance and Those who remained (all around the world). Paula Godinho will talk with Diana Andringa about her book Memories of Rural Resistance in the South, 1958-1962. On 25 April, the museum will be open to all free of charge.
The Political Festival will return to the São Jorge Cinema, while the National Fine Arts Society will host Sessões, a photography exhibition by Kenton Thatcher featuring iconic portraits of various personalities. For younger audiences, there will be workshops at the Bordalo Pinheiro Museum and films at LU.CA – Teatro Luís de Camões as part of the PLAY Festival. There’ll also be guided tours, allowing us to return to the streets and some of Lisbon’s historic sites.
We invite everyone to celebrate April, Spring and the city.
Check out the full programme for the Festas de April here. (link)
