Organized by The Cultural Affairs Bureau, Co-Organized by The Macau Government Tourism Office and the Municipals Affairs Bureau, and primarily supported by Galaxy Entertainment Group, the 2023 GEG Lusofonia Festival takes place from 27 to 29 October at the Taipa Houses. This year edition of the Festival emphasis will be placed on promoting Portuguese culture through Portuguese gastronomy and handicraft shows.
During the three days of the Festival, artists from Portuguese-speaking countries and around 30 local Portuguese-speaking artists will perform at the event, while the various Portuguese-speaking communities residing in Macau will showcase music, dance, art, crafts, traditional costumes, literature , tourist information and even typical snacks and drinks from their countries or regions on their exhibitors.
The Lusofonia Festival started in 1998 with the main objective to pay homage to the Portuguese-speaking communities residing in the Macao SAR., who have contributed greatly to the development of Macau. Over the years, the Lusofonia Festival has become an important event for sharing the culture of Portuguese-speaking communities with the Chinese culture, revealing Macau's role as a platform for cultural exchange between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Since last year, each edition highlights the characteristics of one of the Portuguese-speaking countries or regions.
In the 26th edition of the Festival, the emphasis will be placed on promoting Portuguese culture. At the handicraft shows, citizens and tourists will be able to appreciate and buy Portuguese tiles and ceramics designed by Portuguese artisan Paulo Reis, and at the gastronomy exhibition at Largo da Igreja do Carmo they will be able to taste, for dinner, typical Portuguese dishes prepared by Chef Telmo Gongó. Performances by the Cape Verdean band Fogo Fogo, on Friday at 8:30 pm, by the Portuguese singer Carlão, on Saturday at 9:30 pm, and by the Guinean singer Sambala Canuté, on Sunday at 8:30 pm will be presented on the main stage at the Taipa Amphitheater. On the secondary stage installed in Largo do Carmo there will be light music shows performed by local Portuguese-speaking artists.
A cultural exhibition from the 10 Portuguese-speaking communities residing in Macau, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Goa, Daman and Diu, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, East Timor, and the Macanese community, showcase, through its exhibitors, music, dance, arts, crafts, traditional costumes, literature, tourist information, and the typical snacks and drinks of their countries or regions.
On Saturday and Sunday afternoons, visitors of all ages can participate in the Portuguese Traditional Games, namely the ski race, sack race, wooden spoon race, climbing the tallow stick, tug of war, throwing the ball, and rings on the crosspiece, amongst others, as well as Table Football Tournaments and various games for children. A temporary restaurant will operate in the Taipa Municipal Garden, serving grilled food and typical Portuguese specialties, and, in the evening in Largo do Carmo, different specialties from participating countries and regions will be served.
During the three days of the Lufonia Festival, the combination of singing, dancing, games, food and different customs will allow citizens and tourists to experience the culture of Lusophone countries and deepen their understanding of the cultural heritage of each Lusophone country or region. At the same time is held the 5th Meeting in Macau – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries, where citizens will be invited to experience and feel the lively atmosphere of the Festival. The Cultural Affairs Bureau hopes to deepen cultural and artistic exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries through these activities and be a bridge for Macau to serve as “base for exchange and cooperation with Chinese culture in a multicultural coexistence”, and implement and promote the cultural exchange center between China and Portuguese-speaking countries under construction.
For more information, visit the "Meeting in Macau - Arts and Cultural Festival between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries" page at www.icm.gov.mo/FCP, the "IC Art" Facebook page or the WeChat page "IC Macau Cultural Institute".
