“I truly feel a great pride in the Azorean history for Portuguese culture and identity,” declared José Manuel Bolieiro in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island, during the conference “Culture, Education, and Territory in the Place of Tomorrow,” marking the first event at the Luís da Camões auditorium, part of the PDL26 – Portuguese Capital of Culture project.
In his address, the leader of the Azorean coalition government, comprising PSD/CDS-PP/PPM, emphasized the significance of PDL26 in promoting Azorean culture.
“[PDL26] should allow us to evoke and project, so that all Portuguese people recognize the value the Azores add to Portugal, to Portuguese culture and history, these personalities, this heritage,” Bolieiro stated after acknowledging various cultural figures from the Azores.
In his view, the tangible and intangible heritage present in Ponta Delgada and the archipelago justify “clear evidence in celebrating Ponta Delgada as the Portuguese Capital of Culture.”
“Culture is not a part, it is a holistic being and presence. Therefore, it cannot be reduced to a mere understanding of tradition, popular culture, talent, and art, knowledge and thought, or an identity reference of a people or a place. It encompasses all that. And all that in osmosis, even if this osmosis can sustain each part independently,” asserted the Azorean Government leader.
“And what pride there is in realizing that the Azores hold a unique dimension in Portuguese culture,” he continued, citing Vitorino Nemésio, an “illustrious Azorean from Terceira Island.”
He also mentioned “the role of the Azores and Azoreans in culture,” acknowledging the region’s “fantastic distinction.”
“But if we want to consider the role of Azoreanism and Azoreans in terms of knowledge, intellect, essay writing, philosophy, what to say about Portuguese culture without Antero de Quental, without Teófilo Braga, without Manuel de Arriaga […], Natália Correia, Armando Cortez Rodrigues, and so many others,” he declared.
Prior to José Manuel Bolieiro’s address, a cooperation protocol for the financing of PDL26 was signed among the Ministries of Culture and Economy/Secretary of State for Tourism, the Azorean Regional Government, and the Ponta Delgada City Council.
According to the protocol accessed by Lusa agency, the total funding is 5.3 million euros (650,000 euros from Turismo de Portugal, 650,000 euros from the Ministry of Culture, one million euros from the Regional Government, and three million euros from the Ponta Delgada City Council).
The agreement stipulates that the planning, promotion, development, and execution of the Ponta Delgada 2026 – Portuguese Capital of Culture initiative is the responsibility of the Ponta Delgada municipality, led by Pedro Nascimento Cabral.
“I welcome this initiative because it involves and promotes greater dimension in the comprehension of the entire country,” said the president of the Azorean Regional Government.
“It is good that the country understands its entire condition. The Government of Portugal is not only the Government of the mainland and the national reference must encompass its Atlantic projection and the insular Portuguese culture,” Bolieiro noted.
On the occasion, commissioner Katia Guerreiro mentioned that the project team sensitized the Minister of Culture and the Secretary of State for Tourism to the challenges posed by insularity and the associated costs, granting “an additional 300,000 euros above the expected funding.”
“We need this national understanding. It is welcome. It is fair and in the national interest for it to be so,” concluded Bolieiro.
The conference was also attended by the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, and the Regional Secretary for Culture, Education, and Sport, Sofia Ribeiro.
