The 6th Encounter in Macau – Arts and Cultural Festival between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries kicks off with the main event, the Lusophony Festival, from 25 to 27 October and 1 to 3 November.
The programme also includes Mozambican singer Selma Uamusse, Cape Verdean funaná group Ferro Gaita, Brazilian singer Filipe Toca, music and dance group Daman Darshan (representing the Indian cities of Goa, Daman and Diu), Guinean singer Nené Pereira, dance group GE Dancers (from Equatorial Guinea), Cultural Group 100% Santola (from São Tomé and Príncipe), and Timorese dance group Le-Ziaval.
This will be the first time that the festival in the Casas da Taipa area, co-organised by associations of Portuguese-speaking communities in the semi-autonomous Chinese region, will last more than a weekend.
The decision to extend "a very significant activity" was taken because "this way the communities can have more opportunities for cultural exchange", said Leong Wai Man, president of the Cultural Institute (IC), which is organising the event, on Wednesday.
According to the IC, the event will feature "more than 700 artists" in total, with a concert by Cape Verdean singer Tito Paris with the Macau Chinese Orchestra on 15 November as another highlight.
The collaboration with Tito Paris, known for his music that combines morna and jazz, "is a new idea", said Leong Wai Man, recalling that in the past the focus was on mixing fado and Chinese music.
Last year's edition saw the Macau Chinese Orchestra perform with fado singer Camané. On 4 November, fado singer Mariza will perform with the orchestra at the closing of the Macau International Music Festival.
Leong Wai Man also highlighted an exhibition featuring 136 works by 23 Chinese and Portuguese-speaking artists, including the Portuguese Manuela Pimentel and João Alexandrino, known as JAS.
The exhibition, themed "Memories, Legacies, Mutations", will be held from 25 October to 9 February at the Macau Museum of Art, the Exhibition Gallery of Casas da Taipa and Rua da Felicidade.
Leong Wai Man revealed that Brazilian muralist Eduardo Kobra will create a work specifically for the exhibition, which will then be displayed in Macau.
Between 24 October and 3 November, several venues in Macau will host performances of Portuguese-speaking music and dance by groups participating in the Lusofonia Festival, including a company from the city of Zhongshan, in neighbouring Guangdong province.
An exhibition featuring hundreds of illustrated and children's books in Chinese or Portuguese will be on display at the Casa da Nostalgia, one of the Taipa Houses, from 25 October to 5 November.
Macau will also host, from 22 November to 7 December, a festival featuring around 30 films from China and Portuguese-speaking countries, with screenings at three locations in the city, including the Cinemateca Paixão and the Lai Chi Vun Shipyards.
Despite the expansion of the Lusofonia Festival, the budget for the event will fall from 9.6 million patacas (1.09 million euros) in 2023 to around eight million patacas (911.3 thousand euros) this year, said Leong Wai Man.
