Madeira News Blog

(2nd June). ‘Get Marching – The popular saints animate festivals in various parts of Madeira between 12th and 28th June’. The three popular saints are celebrated with “pomp and circumstance” by the various municipalities of the south west coast of Madeira. The popular marches start on the 12th in Santo António, 13th, in Ponta do Sol (both Santo António), and end on the 28th in Câmara de Lobos (São Pedro). Through in between there are Calheta (São João), on the 20th, and Ribeira Brava on the 27th (São Pedro).

Ponta do Sol on 13th, with Santo António with ‘Silver of the house’ (?), that will take the parade through the lower part of the town early evening on the Saturday. At least 10 local groups , schools, and other institutions are expected to take part, with around 500 participants in all.  (UPDATED 13th June – To say locals don’t think that this is the correct date)

A week later, on Saturday 20th, São João festival in Calheta, again expects strong support in the parades, and two celebrity appearances are planned. Each parish of Calheta (8) will be represented in the parade, with at least 600 participants expected.

São Pedro in Ribeira Brava falls on a weekend, so the eve of the official festa day (27th) is expected to be lively with the party going on throughout the weekend. This is the one where many Madeirans are prepared to travel, and many thousands of visitors are expected. The parades will take place on the Saturday night, but details are as yet not released on who will take part, but this year there are no limits imposed on the number of participants.

Rather wisely perhaps, Câmara de Lobos sticks more rigidly to the official day of São Pedro, the 28th being the main highlight.  They are expecting 12 troupes made up of around 700 participants, who will cover the route from Avenida Nova Cidade down to the car park at the front of the bay.

(2nd June). ‘Pools Reopen This Saturday – The beach season begins 21st June in the city of Funchal‘. The swimming pools at Lido, Ponta Gorda and Barreirinha officially open on Saturday, with entrance fees returning to be chargeable. However, the official beach season will not be inaugurated until 21st June in Funchal, as the council says it does not make sense  to do so before with the children still at school and few people on holiday. With maintenance and repair work still to be done at the swimming pools and bathing complexes, the authorities decided to allow bathers to use the facilities free of charge, as long as they were prepared to put up with the noise and dirt, as everything was being prepared. Life-guards and first aiders will not be present on the beaches though until 21st June.

As for other events in Funchal, in the beginning of July there will be a regatta for canoes, and 8th August will see the competition for building sand constructions of the beaches. On 20th August there will be the beauty contest for ‘Miss Praia Formosa’. September will be the month for the annual dog show. Alongside these there will be several initiatives dedicated to the care of the sea, including rubbish disposal and recycling, and health and safety in the bathing complexes.

Eight beaches in Funchal have the ‘Blue Flag’ awards : Seven of these are public beaches (Lido, Ponta Gorda, Barreirinha, Formosa, Areeiro, Poças do Gomes, Doca do Cavacas). The private one is at the Naval Club. The water will continue to be monitored throughout the Summer, and in cases of water pollution the blue flags will be lowered whilst the situation continues.

The inaugural conference of ExpoEnergia, an initiative of Funchal Council (câmara), dedicated to renewable energy begins today in the Largo da Restauração, and runs until Friday. The delegates also include representatives from hotels and civil engineering. Amongst other things, the conference will discuss the use of photovoltaic (solar) panels, the future of electric cars, and good energy practices in hotels.

This is quite interesting and a has a few great photos. The ‘Madeira Island Ultra Trail 2009′ is a ultra long running competition organized by Clube de Montanha of Funchal and Confraria Trotamontes. lt takes place on 5th September 2009 on Madeira, and comprises two challenges. One is to cover around 105 km in a maximum of 25 hours. The second is around 50 km to be done in less than 15 hours. They are not team events. If I am feeling energetic that day, perhaps I will do both. RUNNERS FORUM

(30th May). ‘Cat’ In A Region That Dispenses With 25th April And Election Polls – The work of Ricardo Pereira is of more ‘Cats’ and he makes people laugh, but the leadership until 2015 makes him think’. This is an interview with a TV comedian, from a programme called ‘Stinky Cat’, who is here from the mainland for the Book Fair festivities. In an interview with the Diário on the day it was proposed President Jardim stays in the leadership until 2015, he puts his own take on the news. It didn’t really belong with the front page news, but here are a few of his quotes on the matter, just to get an ‘outsiders’ viewpoint : “It is easier to control people without a culture than people with Culture” (referring to the announcement this week that the government here is cutting expenditure on culture) ;  “There are even dictators that do not last that long” ; and (commenting on the lack of election polls) “One thing that amazed me. I have been to the island at other times, and I happened to come a time when there were elections and I tuned in the local radio station, in my hire car, and was listening to the radio … and one thing that struck me was: there are no polls in Madeira, because there is no need, because everyone knows who will win, it makes no sense … 78% … and this is not needed. On the continent, we find out the intention to vote for this party or that party … here it is not needed, everyone knows the intention of the overwhelming majority of the people”.

‘High Expectations For The Festival Of Sé – Traders expect to do good business in the festival which runs until 6th June’. The festa in the cathedral area of Funchal started today, with a new bar ‘Buxiga Tasca’ opening, deliberately timed for the event. “I hope the celebrations are very good for business, with much joy, much support, and no fights” says one trader. 

Saturday June 6th brings a real treat for athletics fans, with the European Cup 10,000 Metres being run at the Madeira Sports Stadium, Ribeira Brava. According to the list of participating countries, there should be around 28 nationalities represented, in both men’s and women’s events. The event even has it’s own English website – take a look – especially at the rather odd looking timetable :
10000M EURO CUP
RELATED ARTICLE FROM THE BRITISH PRESS

The last football event of the season is on TVI at 5pm tomorrow, when Porto take on Paços de Ferreira in the Portugal Cup.

Late news flash : Anyone in Funchal tonight might like to know that José Cid (above) is playing live tonight in the Largo do Colégio (the square where the council office is) at 10pm I believe. The concert is paid for by the council as part of the Book Fair festivities, and José Cid is one of the top Portuguese names in music. I heard a bit of his music earlier, and he sounds pretty good, and it’s not fado. Not bad for a freebie anyway!

(29th May). ‘Musica EB Livens 3 Thousand Students In June’. MusicaEB is in it’s 27th edition, where students from all over Madeira are united on stage in song, music, dance and theatre. The soundtrack is already being recorded. The event will take place in the Centro de Congressos on 17th, 18th and 19th June, with three thousand students involved. Even the design and construction of the stage and props is left to the ingenuity and expression of the participants, and much of what one will see involves recycled items. Tickets for the event, which has been running since 1982, are €2.50 for adults and €1.50 for children.

(28th May). ‘CD Recovers The Voice Of The Madeiran Tenor – Lomelino Silva (above) was the ‘Portuguese Caruso’ during the 1920′s’. A new CD, due to be ‘revealed’ tomorrow at the Book Fair in Funchal, recovers the lost works of the famous Madeiran tenor, who lived between 1892 and 1967. The project started in 2002, when another younger Madeiran, who was studying in the United States, found references to the singer in old newspapers about performances there. He then decided to search for recordings, which led to the discovery of three old 78 LPs from around 80 years ago. To cut a very long story short … a new CD was produced from the old material discovered. 

Nenê, the striker for Nacional, and the highest scorer in the Portuguese premier league during the football season just finished, received his prize for the achievement in Funchal yesterday. After being awarded the ‘silver ball’, he said it was the greatest / proudest  moment / achievement of his career so far. Truth is I saw it on TV yesterday, and now I can’t remember his exact words.