The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) organizes the ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’ every year, providing local arts groups a performance platform to express their creativity while encouraging participants to showcase their creative talent so as to increase competitiveness. It aims to promote the diversified development of Macao’s cultural industries and create opportunities for local artists to observe and conduct exchange activities with international performing groups. In order to celebrate the 17th anniversary of Macao’s Handover to China, this year the ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’ will be held on Sunday, 4 December. IC invites all local associations registered in the Identification Service Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region to submit performance proposals from 23 to 25 September.

The ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’, themed on the Historic Centre of Macao, has been held annually since 2011. Local and overseas performing groups are invited to participate in this event, celebrating the anniversary of Macao’s Handover to China whilst aiming at establishing the image of Macao as a cultural city. Over the past five years, the Parade has attracted residents and tourists to participate and has become increasingly popular and one of the main trademark festivals of the city.

The Parade is themed “VIVA’s Adventure”, narrating the story of how VIVA, inspired by the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing), makes a journey from Macao to the East in order to explore customs and traditions from all around the world, only to find that the best destination is the place where he started after all. All outstanding performing groups and audience are now invited to welcome VIVA’s return to Macao on the day of the Parade. The artistic groups can select one of the two categories, namely Parade only or Parade and Closing Performance. Arts groups that participate both in the Parade and in the Closing Performance have to produce a 3-minute performance related to this edition’s theme. An award will be given to the best performance, and the winning group will get a chance to represent Macao in the “Asian Ethnic Cultural Performances" in Hong Kong.

Interested local arts groups should submit a programme proposal and all related information to the -2 floor of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Building, located at Tap Siac Square, from 23 to 25 September, from 10am to 7pm. Details of the application regulations may be checked or downloaded at the Cultural Affairs Bureau website at www.icm.gov.mo. For enquiries, please call IC through tel. no. (853) 8399 6699, during office hours.