About 70% of the paid shows are already sold out two days after the start of the 24th edition of the International Festival of Theater Mindelact, in Cape Verde, an official source said, ensuring that everything is ready to start the event.
The information was forwarded by João Branco, president of the Mindelact Association, indicating that one of the shows that are already crowded is the choreographer and dancer Marlene Freitas, who opens the event on Friday with ‘De Marfim e Carne – As Statues also suffer ‘.
Marlene Freitas will do the same show on the second day of Mindelact, in what will be her first performances in the country, after being distinguished in January with the ‘Silver Lion’, career prize of the Venice Dance Biennial in Italy.
Mindelact will have seven stages, and the two paid and already practically depleted are at the Mindelo Cultural Center and the Académia Livre de Artes Integradas do Mindelo (ALAIM), which are considered two “houses” of the festival.
Concerning the fact that most of the shows were already sold out within two days of the beginning of the festival, João Branco considered that it shows the demand and “passion” that the Vincentians have for theatre and the performing arts, but also that the island already needs larger rooms.
“We have said that for a long time, the rooms are already small for demand and demand, not only in relation to this festival but to the performing arts in general,” said the associate.
“It was very important that in the medium term we could get a bet on a larger, better equipped, undisputed auditorium at the Luís Morais Auditorium, at the Centro Cultural do Mindelo, which receives stage 1, or ALAIM, which receives stage 2,” stressed.
For João Branco, the search for the result is the “unparalleled quality” of programming, which is also diversity, so that there are not two similar shows in the program.
One of the highlights of Mindelact is the choreographer and Portuguese-born dancer Marlene Freitas, who is a native of São Vicente, recalled João Branco, for whom it is a “supreme honour” to receive “one of the best dancers” in the world.
She also considered it an “important message” for families and young people, considering that they need to be encouraged and see in the example of Marlene Freitas that artistic activity can also be a profession.
The president of the Mindelact Association said that the goal is to “respond to the high expectations” of the population in relation to programming, which he considers to be “high level” and that this year will have a “strong national presence”.
If last year was considered by the organization as the best Mindelact ever, João Branco said that this year’s goal is to do better than in 2017 and prepare the next edition.
“It will be an edition that will certainly be very festive, which is 25 years and silver wedding, so much so we call this edition of 25 minus 1 and not the 24 edition,” he said.
Two days after the start, João Branco assured that the set up of the shows is taking place at a good pace and practically all the artists are already in the city of Mindelo.
For 10 days, the festival will host 60 shows from 38 different countries, from Cape Verde, Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Cuba, Spain, USA, France, Ghana, Morocco, the Czech Republic and Uruguay.
Portugal will also be represented in the festival by the Teatro Extremo, which will stage the show ‘Einstein’, by Pedro Lamares, who presents ‘Poetry is a weapon loaded with the future’ by Miguel Horta, with ‘CICE’ and by the Teatro d’Image , with the piece ‘Stored’.
Another prominent presence at the festival will be the Brazilian actress Vera Holtz, well known by Cape Verdeans through soap operas, and who will stage her show ‘Dreams for Dressing Up’.
As it has been for two years, Mindelact will have an extension to the city of Praia, with five shows, one of which will be from the Portuguese Pedro Lamares.
Considered to be the largest performing arts event in the country and West Africa, Mindelact is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Creative Industries, the São Vicente City Council, Portuguese Cooperation and many Cape Verdean companies.
