Torres Vedras Carnival, the most Portuguese in Portugal

By etavares On 28 February, 2009 Moments | 2009 Comments Off No tags

Torres Vedras Carnival is an event that is rooted in the cultural and social identity of the city.

The first reference to the Torres Carnival dates from the time of King Dom D. Sebastião, in a document dated 1574, in which a resident of the town of Torres Vedras presents a complaint against “(…) some lads idling with a cockerel on Shrove Tuesday carrying wheels, swords, cudgels as is the custom on that day”.

In the middle of 1862, in the Church of St Peter, the 40-hour jubilee is held over the three days of carnival. But further references to Torres Carnival only appear in 1885, with the publishing of the first local newspaper. For many years the carnival was restricted to dances and recitals in associations and in private dwellings, with hardly any street events.

Then, in the early XX century, there began to appear some elements of political satire, a characteristic that would mark out the Torres Carnival from then on. It was, however, with the coming of the republic that the street carnival began to acquire livelier activity.

The Kings of the Carnival appeared around 1925, and the matrafonas, ugly old female figures, appeared perhaps in 1926, definitively marking out the story of the carnival of this town.

Imagens das Matrafonas

From 1960 on the Torres Carnival began to be held on a regular basis, once again standing out due to its unique characteristics. The carnival increasingly became accepted as a popular event, establishing a difference in relation to the urban carnivals of the time. Proof of this was the holding of the first “goofy car” outing, in which the participants had to wear masks.

After 1980, the Torres Carnival becomes profession and increases in size each year, rejecting outside influences and taking its stance as the most “Portuguese in Portugal”.

From the outset the Torres Carnival has taken on the spontaneous character of its participation in the tradition of Shrove Tuesday manifestations in Portugal, eliminating the separation between actors and spectators.

From 1995 on there has been the promoting and holding of the Summer Carnival in Santa Cruz (on the coastal area of the borough).

This year the theme of the party is “Professions”

THE ROYAL FRATERNITY OF THE TORRES CARNIVAL

The Royal Fraternity of the Torres Carnival was the first fraternity of carnival in Portugal.

The Fraternity promotes the image of the Torres Vedras Carnival, prepares each Carnival, guarantees the participation of the citizens and maintains the satire and spontaneity that are its characteristics.

The Royal Fraternity of the Torres Carnival proposes in its statutes: to organize “parties, receptions, banquets, tests, competitions, conferences, courses, cultural outings and other manifestations”; to support the study and divulging of works about the Torres Carnival; to glorify the “virtues, traditions and history” of Shrove Tuesday in Torres; to defend the “genuineness, typical nature and prestige” of he local carnival; to collaborate with and/or join “similar Portuguese and foreign organizations”; and to seek support for the “emerging, promoting and maintaining of the Museum of the Torres Carnival”.

CORTEGE

Imagens do corso de carnaval

Carnival starts on Friday, traditionally inaugurated with the School Cortege, and continues until the following Wednesday, with the famous “Burying of Carnival”.

On the first day thousands of children participate, coming from all of the parishes in the borough and representing the schools (crèches, nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools).

CARNIVAL BY NIGHT

Carnaval à noite Only those who know the night of the Torres Carnival can understand the spirit that one lives during it! Intense, electrifying and completely different from all the rest.
The flurry starts with the tradition of putting masquerading, with the outfit chosen for the occasion according to the traditional carnival dinners, which bring together dozens of groups for a meal, followed much later on by a veritable concentration of carnival goers in the centre of town.
We may talk of tens of thousands of people for whom time stops and who have fun and dance without knowing each other, granting a unique colour and unreal dimension to the streets of Torres Vedras.
Bars, cafés and discos generally stay open all the time, mirroring the contagious energy with which the Torres Vedras citizens enjoy their party. The dawn comes but no one goes to bed. One takes a strong breakfast and carries on to the cortege, for yet another day of fun.