The two venues in Minho announced in a statement today that the celebrations for the 110th anniversary of Theatro Circo and the 12th anniversary of gnration are being organized in a coordinated manner and collectively, marking the year when the city is recognized as the Portuguese Capital of Culture.
The festivities commence on Friday at 9:00 PM with the world premiere of ‘Hei-de reparar’ at Theatro Circo, the latest creation by Raquel S., described as a “monologue that multiplies voices, memories, and bodies.” The presentation indicates that the piece, based on documents, biographies, photographs, memories, and rumors, “constructs a fictitious history of actresses in Portugal—a fiction designed to reflect on the reality of Portuguese theater, both past and present.”
The celebrated Brazilian rock band Boogarins returns to Braga on Friday to present their new album ‘Bacuri’ at gnration. The band last performed on this stage in 2018 with their third album, ‘Lá Vem a Morte,’ marking their return seven years and two albums later.
On Saturday, the program features the return of the DJ set format for younger audiences at Theatro Circo, starting at 10:30 AM. Cálculo, a rapper and producer, will be at the helm, taking the audience on a journey through funk, hip hop, electronic music, breakbeat, jungle, and soul.
For the younger crowd, gnration will host the ‘Estação de Experimentação — Hacking de Consolas de Vídeo’ workshop, aimed at dissecting and altering electronic devices to create new sound and visual apparatuses.
At 3:00 PM on Saturday, the final presentation of ‘Três Tempos’ will take place at Theatro Circo’s Small Auditorium. A co-production involving Theatro Circo, Culturgest, and Teatro Viriato, the project showcases Capicua’s songwriting and musical composition processes. Accompanied by mediators Inês Malheiro in Braga, Luís Montenegro in Lisbon, and Gonçalo Alegre in Viseu, the project concludes with this performance.
The celebration continues in the gnration blackbox with another notable return by American Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, who invites the audience to explore the endless possibilities of spontaneous music.
Following Saturday’s concert, Aubrey Lowe will spend a week in residence working with the pipe organ of São Lázaro Church in Braga as part of the Braga’25 Pipe Poetics program.
At 6:00 PM in the Main Hall of Theatro Circo, Lena D’Água will take the stage to present her latest album ‘Tropical Glaciar,’ featuring compositions and lyrics by Pedro da Silva Martins.
In the evening, the festivities conclude with the customary “gnration open day,” featuring a series of free-entry concerts by bands like Fogo Fogo, followed by the jazz-punk sounds of the Portuguese band Sereias.
Braga’s new rapper, Tricla, will also perform at the open day, while Syrian musician and producer Rizan Said will enliven the square at gnration with his dabke, a Middle Eastern traditional music genre interwoven with electronic music, to energize the dance floor.
The dance floor experience continues with a ‘live act’ by Zancudo Berraco, and the DJ set for the night will be curated by the collective Boca de Sino in collaboration with Portuguese DJ Sheri Var.
The program also includes “O CORDÃO — Coro de Doentes e Amigos Oncológicos,” a presentation in installation format built from the contributions of various voices, hosted in the Salão Nobre on Friday between 8:30 PM and 10:00 PM, and on Saturday from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
The festivities also feature two new exhibitions at the gnration galleries: Ana Vieira’s ‘Cadernos de Montagem’ and Tatiana Macedo’s ‘Still Moving Inside me’.
