Lagos Museum and school community brought the village of Senhora do Forte to life

The Aldeia da Senhora do Forte, located in the Dr. José Formosinho Nucleus of the Lagos Museum , turned 32 years old and the local authority, with the support of the Lagos community, prepared the appropriate anniversary tribute on Saturday, June 21st.

This is a model born from the imagination and art of Pedro Pacheco dos Reis (1942-2014), offered to the Lagos Museum in June 1993.

Since that year, the work has been on permanent display at the Museum, gathering around it a group of friends, growing ever larger with each passing year, which guarantees the liveliness of its purpose and values.

It represents the main aspects of life in common, with emphasis on the rights that define civilization, such as the right to instruction, education, work, housing, health, or leisure.

In order to keep it “alive”, the Lagos Museum annually promotes the “City Dreamers” project, aimed at schools in the municipality, creating spaces for children to learn to observe, to know, to dream, to have a voice and to transform the society in which they live, becoming citizens with full rights and duties.

In the school year that has just ended, two classes were involved in the project: at the Júlio Dantas School Group, class 24, room 2 of EB1/JI de Santa Maria, under the responsibility of Educator Maria Belchior Mestre; and, at the Gil Eanes School Group, 2.º D of Escola Básica da Ameijeira, under the responsibility of Teacher Isabel Figueiras, supported by their respective educational communities.

In activities adjusted to the development level of each group, the children had the opportunity to get to know and explore the Museum and discover the model of the Aldeia da Senhora do Forte and its author.

The children were challenged to explore, by their own feet and attentive gaze, the streets of their city and to imagine dreams that transform the spaces they inhabit into better and more beautiful places.

From exercising imagination to action, the voices of children were heard by Hugo Pereira, president of the Lagos City Council , who received them in an audience, wanting to know how he can improve public spaces from the perspective of children.

The mapping of these dreams in the municipality of Lagos was presented to the community by the children themselves and their families at the exhibition inaugurated on the day of the Village's 32nd anniversary celebrations, held in the square in front of the Church of Santo António and Rua Henrique Correia da Silva.

Storyteller Cristina Taquelim joined the party, bringing along the boy Franquelim, who lives at number 9 Rua Direita in Aldeia da Senhora do Forte and is the main character in the book “Na minha rua mora o mundo inteiro” (The whole world lives on my street), created specifically for this occasion.

With vibrant sounds and voices, the Lagos Choral Group and the Banda da Sociedade Filarmónica Lacobrigense 1.º de Maio gave proof of their presence, bringing to the sea “lots of music, for free / for the people to enjoy”, with lyrics and music by Pedro Pacheco dos Reis.

The party ended with the presentation of diplomas to the new Friends of the Village of Senhora do Forte, by Cristiano Cerol, editor of the «Gazeta da Senhora do Forte», co-founder of the Group of Friends of the Village, and with the sharing of the birthday cake «of the most real of all imaginary villages».