O Festival takes place at Palácio Baldaya and is a co-production of the Commemorative Commission for the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April with the Parish Council of Benfica.
Still within the scope of the Festival, and in partnership with the National Republican Guard, the Commission organizes guided tours to the Carmo Barracks, where, on April 25, 1974, the last leader of the dictatorship government, Marcelo Caetano (1906- 1980), eventually surrendering, after being besieged by the military commanded by Captain Salgueiro Maia (1944-1992).
The Festival opens on the 22nd, at 5 pm, at Palácio Baldaya, with a concert by the collective Vozes em Liberdade, with Martim Vicente.
The following day, at 16:00, the Grupo Coral Planície Cantada performs, and an hour later, the show “Cantigas da Liberdade” takes place, by the musician and composer Sebastião Antunes, leader of the Quadrilha group, with the Traditional Canto groups of Benfica.
Alma de Coimbra will perform on the 24th of April at 9:00 pm, and the Brazilian musician Lenine will perform on the 25th of April at 5:00 pm. On this day, at 21:00, the show “Liberdade, Nu Bai!” takes the stage, featuring Rutthe Lopes, Soraia Morais, Rúben Torres and Gisela Casimiro, accompanied by Djodje Almeida on guitar and Emílio Lobo on drums .
The independent journalism, culture and education platform O Gerador organizes a daily ‘workshop’ addressing the Portuguese electoral system, intervention music, racism and also the production of April posters.
On the 22nd, between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm, there will be a debate on “The Portuguese electoral system: How does it work? How to reform it?”, with José Santana, Professor of Political Science at the University Institute of Lisbon.
At the same time, the next day, with the singer and composer Francisco Cortesão, it addresses “What is intervention music today?”.
On the 24th, at the same time, the founder of the Afrolink digital community Paula Cardoso talks about “April to open: the race path remains to be closed”.
Also at the same time, on the 25th of April, the graphic designer and illustrator Hugo Henriques proposes to make an April Poster.
The campaign “#NãoPodias” is an initiative of the Commission, which “calls on young people not to take freedom for granted, challenging them to choose one of several prohibitions imposed on the Portuguese during the dictatorship (1926-1974) and to share this information and its reflections on digital platforms”.
This action, which takes place throughout the festival, from 22 to 24 April, also includes three informal conversations that bring together academics, journalists, artists and activists, on the following topics: “#Can’t Vote”, “#Can’t Express Yourself” and “#Couldn’t you be European”.
On the 22nd, at 3:30 pm, there will be a talk about “What is the young people’s relationship with voting? How to interpret and how to combat abstention? The power of the street versus the power of the ballot box”, with Pedro Magalhães, from the Instituto de Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon, João Maria Jonet, political consultant, and Joana Sá Pereira, deputy of the Socialist Party to the Assembly of the Republic, a conversation moderated by Diana Duarte.
The next day, at the same time, the theme is “How do we interpret freedom of expression today? What are its limits?”, with actress Jani Zhao, veterinarian Guadalupe Amaro, comedian Diogo Faro, with Álvaro Filho as moderator.
On the 24th, but at 6:30 pm, the motto of the conversation is “What was it like to be European under dictatorship? What does this condition mean today for those who live it and for those who dream it?”, with historian Victor Pereira, the journalist Amanda Lima, researcher in Urban Studies António Brito Guterres, moderated by João Francisco Gomes.
The Festival program is available at
Also Read: Leiria celebrates April 25th with poetry, theater and music by Sérgio Godinho
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