The 2024 edition of the Latitudes – Literatures and Travelers festival will be held in Óbidos from April 11 to 14, curated by Jose Luis Peixoto.
The festival, which, according to the curator, aims to contribute to “thinking creatively about the world”, will bring to the town of Óbidos, in the district of Leiria, talks on the multiple dimensions of writing and travel, exhibitions, concerts and workshops, among other activities.
The program kicks off on Thursday with a tour of the municipality, and the first day of the event is also marked by the opening of the exhibition “Retratos contados de Alice Vieira em Óbidos” (Alice Vieira’s Portraits in Óbidos), which marks 45 years of the author’s literary work and will be on display at the Abílio de Mattos e Silva Museum until May 19.
As far as exhibitions are concerned, Ana Abraão’s photography show entitled “Other worlds and Kalasha” will be inaugurated on the same day and can be visited at the Nova Ogiva Gallery.
Among the books scheduled to be presented in Óbidos is “Viagem a Portugal Revisited”, in which José Luis Peixoto and five foreign authors – Adriana Lisboa (Brazil), Ondjaki (Angola), Maaza Mengiste (USA), Laura Restrepo (Spain) and Arthur Larue (France) – revisited the places described by the Nobel Prize winner and created original texts about them.
In this edition, authors such as Fernando Ribeiro (lead singer of Moonspell), Sandra Monteiro (director of the Portuguese edition of the newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique), the Romanian poet Dinu Flamand and Thai translator Lanlalit Samanuhat, Susana Jacobetty and João Bacelar (director and deputy director of the magazine A Mazazine), Romanian poet Dinu Flamand and Thai translator Lanlalit Samanuhat, Susana Jacobetty and João Bacelar (director and deputy director of A Mazazine), Ruy Ventura and Nuno Matos (from Devir magazine), writer Afonso Cruz and comedian and broadcaster Fernando Alvim.
On the educational side, the program includes six workshops dedicated to topics as diverse as building a rocket, drawing reflections on journeys, binding logbooks or creative writing.
A literary forest and journeys through the imaginary in the van of disquiet are other proposals for the festival, whose program also includes Animated Shorts by the Sardinha em Lata production company and a Literary Dinner inspired by the life and work of the Obidense poet Armando da Silva Carvalho.
Highlights of the program include a session on “500 years of Camões… Why?”, with the commissioner of the Camões 500 years celebrations, and the concerts “Projeto Entre Nós”, with Beatriz Ferro and Melanie Russo, the show with António Marcos and the Termómetro 2024 Festival, with emerging bands performing.
The Latitudes Festival has been organized by the Óbidos municipality since 2017.
