Valença CantAbril (50 years of April) with a wide-ranging program
Valença will mark the 50th anniversary of April 25 with a wide-ranging commemorative program that will take place throughout the month of April. On April 12, activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution begin.
A public art circuit, a youth assembly, freedom without borders, a book fair, concerts, a solemn session, testimonies and memories of the repression in Valença, told in the first person, and feeling April in schools are some of the activities that will mark this month.
The commemorations will be organized by the City Council and feature a wide-ranging, cross-generational program that aims to evoke this landmark date for Portuguese democracy.
The first activity will take place during the week of April 12-19 with the second edition of the Valença Public Art Circuit. This year’s edition will have the theme of freedom and participation and will add three new artistic elements to the Public Art Circuit that Valença is creating.
On April 17, Valença invites young people to come to the Town Hall for the April Youth Assembly, a space for freedom and civic participation, where everyone is invited to come and express their opinion.
On April 19, Agrupamento Muralhas do Minho will host an activity aimed at immigrants living in Valença, where they will learn a little more about the history of April 25 and the values of freedom.
Between April 23 and 27, the Municipal Garden will be the stage for the Book Fair. The latest publishing novelties, book launches and concerts will provide 5 enriching days with a wide-ranging cultural program.
On the eve of the holiday, on April 24, at 10pm, the Municipal Garden will be the stage for concerts by Alma Nostra and Luar do Minho. These two groups will revisit the most emblematic period compositions of intervention music.
On April 25, at 9.30 a.m., a solemn session to commemorate April 25 will be held in the Town Hall, with speeches by the mayors and the Municipal Assembly, as well as representatives of all the political forces represented in the municipality’s local bodies. In the afternoon, starting at 4:30pm, there will be a guided tour of the historic center, through the spaces of repression that mark the memories of Valencians. The tour will include first-person testimonies.
On Friday, April 26, at 10 p.m., it will be 6tàs9’s turn to take to the stage of the Municipal Garden and sing April with the mastery that we have become accustomed to, revisiting the emblematic compositions of intervention music.
On Saturday, April 27, at 10 p.m., Maestro Vitorino d’Almeida, accompanied by Pedro Emanuel Pereira, will take to the stage of the Municipal Garden in a special concert dedicated to the Carnation Revolution, which will close the 50th anniversary celebrations in Valença.
Throughout this month of April, the Muralhas do Minho School Group is working on the theme “Feeling April – 50 Years of the 25th of April” with a wide range of activities across all levels of education.
