Avero’s legacy as a Portuguese cultural capital

Avenger from Aveiro as a Portuguese cultural capital is a basic exercise, especially for the capabilities that this address can bring to the city and the municipality. Recently, in an interview with RIA, Bruno Dos Reese, the former director of Greta, made some relevant considerations on Avero culture policies, so the timing could not be more appropriate.

Written by Joao Sarmino *

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Historically, culture has always been poor, and Bruno Dos Reese specifically emphasizes. In 2015, Aveiro was immersed, as a boycott, completely in mystery. Despite some progress, the city remains a fragile or some fragility, out of its right to confirm itself as a cultural reference. On the first day of 2024, already as a Portuguese capital of culture, Aveirenses witnessed that the museum prices increase 40 % by Aveirense Executive. A decision, at the beginning, does not honor the title that the city of Avero. As it was not enough, in the first month of the year, we lost one of the largest spaces to promote and spread culture, the legendary and unlikely legendary market. Thus the exacerbation of the cultural offer in the city, because Avenida Café Concerto was also closed due to the strong real estate pressure that chases the entire municipality.

Over the past few years, Aveiro has not confirmed itself as the capital of culture. In fact, investment from Camaraio Executive in this sector is not even the highest in the Aveiro region. It is inconceivable that cities with fewer populations than Aveiro can provide their citizens with a better cultural offer than the province’s capital. In fact, it shows the way to reduce the value of culture by the Avero City Council.

Investing in culture is much more than the creation of infrastructure and the purchase of new equipment. Culture is people, it is creativity, it is a fiction. This investment should focus on training the main actors: artists. Investment must also enhance and spread cultural events -often neglected -as well as to give the democratic character to reach culture, which makes it easier and comprehensive, either as an intervention or as a spectator. Only then we can obtain a real cultural democracy and enhance collective growth at the intellectual, spiritual and social level. Culture is one of the main pillars for the development of the critical spirit, and it is necessary for our progress as a society.

Over the course of the capital of Portuguese culture, Aveiro has not attended the creation of any new cultural association or theatrical, nor the opening of the spaces designated for artistic production. The artistic housing was not essential to strengthening a real cultural center for any new space to create culture in the municipality, or building artistic homes to strengthen a real artistic and cultural center. What this executive authority has done is, mainly, to continue the current cultural agenda -which only puts some foreign cultural groups -and placed the Portuguese capital of culture. As if it was not enough, artists in the street were prevented from practicing their art, with the requirements of the shows that the mayor himself rejected again and again.

During this year, we still have an episode of cartoon of mysterious arts, which the president chose unilaterally. The executive authority chose not to distinguish anyone, and does not discuss the type of artwork that will be placed at a central point of the city and the symbol of bridges. Here lies the real problem: there is no discussion, no dialogue, there is no openness. Citizens are not taken into account, the opposition is not taken into account; Deeply, there is no promotion of participatory democracy. When politicians assume this position of ignoring those whom they elected, it becomes unaccounted for the structure of a strong plan to take advantage of any field of appreciation and enhance it.

Due to the lack of a real strategic plan for culture, the cultural and theatrical societies of the municipality did not participate in the Portuguese capital of culture. When the municipality enjoys the privilege of obtaining a title of this size, it must start meeting with local cultural agents, in order to enable and develop the culture that is already developed in the city. Only then, the culture can be used in the municipality, which involves cultural roots and make them grow and flourish in an organic and sustainable manner. By not doing this, we lose precious assets like Bruno, forcing them to change the city so that they can perform and get their career and success. Unfortunately, Aveiro does not do what is necessary to attract his best. I hope that Bruno’s best and successes and those who had to leave their lands to adopt new challenges, in the hope that the city of Gapear Bruno will provide the recognition and opportunities denied by the city of Aveiro.

Epicing, if we make a real reflection on the inheritance that was the Portuguese capital of culture, we conclude that what remains is an empty and (more) lost chance to benefit from Aveiro as a real capital of culture, and the municipal design in national and international panorama as a center for cultural creation. The final balance is the lost promise, which translated into a lost opportunity for the city, its artists and its society.

* The head of the socialist youth in Avero.

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