Captains of April our neighbors

Seven Captains of April will tell their stories on a journey through places in Algés linked to important episodes in the preparation of the 25th of April. Contribute and come celebrate with us.

Algés is proud of its April captains. In this neighborhood where everyone knows everyone, our neighbors who were part of the conspiracy to overthrow the regime are respected and continually remembered.

They are Luís Costa Correia, Manuel Martins Guerreiro, José Santos Coelho, Pedro Lauret and Manuel Monge, who will tell us the stories of the coup preparation meetings along the route through the places where they lived or where these meetings took place. We will also have the participation of Almada Contreiras and José Maria Azevedo who were present at these meetings and wanted to join us.

We will also remember the “captains” who have passed away: Rui Montez, Oliveira Monteiro and Costa Brás.

The route starts in front of the Nortenha pastry shop, will pass by the Caravela café, in Jardim de Algés, and will continue along Avenida dos Firefighters Voluntários, Rua Margarida Pala and Largo Comandante Madureira. We will then go down Avenida dos Combatentes where we will stop at two symbolic places of the political-cultural “movement” of Algés in the 60s/70s: Livraria Espaço and Primeiro Acto - Clube de Teatro, today the Amélia Rey Colaço municipal theater. The Companhia de Atores, based at Teatro Amélia, will offer march participants a musical show with Romeu Bairos so that with him we can remember and sing songs from April.

The Filarmónica Fraternidade de Carnaxide accompanies us along the route and there will be many carnations, many red carnations greeting the march.

So that we would have a material souvenir of our party, we commissioned Planeta Tangerina to create a program that celebrated Algés, containing an illustration of the route, biographies of the captains and other texts. Each participant will be entitled to one of these maps designed by Madalena Matoso, and will certainly want to keep it as a souvenir.

To carry out this April 50th birthday party with the participation of our neighboring captains, we incurred expenses for which we do not have any institutional coverage. We would like to ask you to join us, in advance, by contributing to this crowdfunding that will cover the expenses of this original party because you will be able to interact with the April captains, walk with them, and also listen to the little stories and anecdotes from each episode. For the first time, you won't be speaking to the audience in front of a table, you'll be speaking to yourself. Contribute and participate.

About the author

Desafiar Algés is a network of residents, which was created in November 2018, with the mission of contributing to improving the quality of life in Algés through the identification of problems and possible solutions in the areas of environment, urban planning, accessibility and mobility, culture , social intervention and local commerce, as well as through dialogue between neighbors and local agents, public debate and communication with responsible bodies. The name Desafiar Algés (DA) was chosen, intending to mean that we wanted something that would stir people and institutions, that would question them about what they wanted for the future of Algés and that would bring together thought and action. It is intended that residents and other people with ties to Algés participate in the development of the village, through critical thinking and civic intervention, contributing so that, through ongoing transformations, the identity of Algés is maintained, improving the quality of life and the enjoyment of public space by its inhabitants.

At the beginning of 2020, the DA organized the Pensar Algés Forum in two sessions that covered the History of Algés, Urban Planning and Spatial Planning, Economic and Social Issues and Culture and Sport, bringing together more than a hundred people each day.

After the idea of reconverting the area of the old Praça de Touros was launched by the PCMO, the DA promoted, in June 2020, a request, signed by eighty residents, for the municipality to provide existing information about the preliminary plan and commit to hold an information session on the topic open to residents in Algés.

Despite the restrictions resulting from the pandemic, the DA has maintained a permanent intervention in the sessions of the Parish Assembly and in the meetings of the ALCD Board and, sometimes, the Municipal Assembly.

The DA has maintained a constant dialogue with traders in Algés, seeking, through informal meetings, to listen to their aspirations and think about initiatives capable of promoting local commerce with them.

Whether with local authorities, or through its Facebook Group and Page, the DA has actively intervened on various topics of interest to the quality of life of residents of Algés and surrounding areas, such as the need for spaces for civic and cultural activity, the lack of green spaces in the central areas of Algés, the requalification of beaches or the preservation of built heritage.

Budget and due dates

€400.00……. Illustration and graphics by Planeta Tangerina

€450.00……. Poster/map printing

€300.00……. Printing on fabric

€200.00……. Buying carnations

€150.00……. Coffee break

1,500.00……. Total

Images