The City and Gualterian Festivities, in Guimarães, will take place between July 26 and August 5, with an investment of more than half a million euros, with performances by Fernando Daniel, Bárbara Tinoco and Zé Amaro, it was announced today.
The event, which is part of the XXVI Handicraft Fair, was presented at the Gualteriana March Artistic Association, in the presence of the mayor, Domingos Bragança (PS), the councillor for Culture and also president of the cultural cooperative A Oficina, Paulo Lopes Silva, Catarina Pereira, from the artistic direction of Casa da Memória de Guimarães and Artes Tradicionais d’A Oficina, and José Pontes, president of the Gualteriana March Artistic Association.
The concerts by Fernando Daniel, Bárbara Tinoco and popular music singer Zé Amaro are scheduled for 22:00 on August 2nd, 3rd and 4th, respectively, at Largo do Toural.
This year’s City and Gualterian Festivities, which have been held in Guimarães, Braga district, since 1906, in honor of São Gualter, will have an investment of more than half a million euros, said the mayor during the presentation of the event.
As for the financial return generated by the festivities, both the mayor and the councillor for culture admitted that it was difficult to quantify, but Domingos Bragança stressed that it would “certainly be greater than the amount invested” by the city council, stressing that these are the city’s festivities, which demand more and better quality, given their “cultural dimension” and the expectations created by residents and visitors year after year.
According to the Councillor for Culture, the city of Guimarães expects to welcome, as in previous years, “several hundred thousand” people during the days of the City and Gualterian Festivities, which “are one of Guimarães’ main tourist attractions”.
Catarina Pereira, artistic director of the Casa da Memória de Guimarães and Artes Tradicionais d’A Oficina, said that this year “there have been more registrations” to take part in the XXVI Craft Fair, which will feature 40 artisans working with various materials, such as wood, iron, embroidery and ceramics, among others.
The president of the Artistic Association of the Gualteriana March indicated that there will be nine floats, alluding to various themes, that will parade through the streets of Guimarães, starting at 10pm on August 5th, which is considered the highlight of the festivities.
José Pontes admitted that, as in previous years, it has been very difficult to find volunteers to help prepare the cars and the parade, made worse this year by the fact that the European Football Championship is taking place.
“With the games taking place at night, [the volunteers] don’t turn up,” lamented José Pontes who, despite this, guarantees that everything will be ready for the parade.
Praça da Restauração will run from August 2nd to 5th in Largo Condessa do Juncal.
The Festas da Cidade e Gualterianas 2024 program also includes a folklore festival, “cantares ao desafio” (challenge songs), a fado night, a parade and gathering of drum groups, a parade and gathering of concertina players and a parade of old carriages, among other initiatives.
“With a century-old tradition, these festivals have been, over the years, a space and time for living, convergence, movement, color, emotions and demonstrations of the economic and cultural vitality of the municipality, with such projection that they have become one of the most important festive attractions in the entire northern region,” says the organizing committee.
