Exhibition opens next Saturday, at 16h00, at Museu da Memória de Matosinhos
Thirty years later, the famous waterfall of the lecher João Cafoca comes back to life with the exhibition "Memories of the João Cafoca Waterfall", at the Matosinhos Memory Museum. The inauguration is scheduled for next Saturday, May 20th, at 16h00, during the pilgrimage of Senhor de Matosinhos.
This is a popular representation of the typical places, monuments and figures of Leça da Palmeira of yesteryear, which includes about a hundred pieces and puppets in wood and cardboard built from scratch in the last hundred years by three generations of the Soares family, as well as documents, photos and videos. A project that aims to (re)visit ancient uses and customs and to make known the main secrets behind this activity.
The magic will be in the air with the light, colour and movement of the cascade, as well as with dozens of typical figures from the Lega region, masterfully sculpted by João Cafoca, namely Mr. José Enfermeiro, Rita, the poet from Leça, Ti Chico Funileiro, Ti Guilhermina do Praga, Rainha das Broinhas, or the grinder "Arreia o Guincho".
João da Silva Ferreira Soares (1927-2006), also known as João "Alfaiate" or João "Cafoca", a tailor, craftsman and popular poet from Leça da Palmeira, carried out the annual tradition of building Sanjoaninas waterfalls, mainly in Rua das Icas, in Amorosa, which fascinated and fed the dreams of several generations of children.
The waterfall was built more assiduously, between 1963 and 1994, incorporating also elements previously elaborated by his father Francisco Ferreira Soares and by his grandfather João Augusto Ferreira Soares, becoming an emblematic reference in the popular culture of Leça da Palmeira.
The family legacy of these three generations of cascateiros, embodied in the hundreds of elements that composed the cascade, as well as a documentary and audiovisual record, was donated by their descendants to the Municipality, in 2020.
After the study and inventory of this collection, the MuMMa - Matosinhos Memory Museum, presents the exhibition "Memories of João Cafoca's Waterfall".
The exhibition will be open to the public until August 13th, with the following schedule: Tuesday to Sunday, including holidays, from 10am to 1pm and from 3pm to 6pm.
Informações:
Museu da Memória de Matosinhos
Rua Alfredo Cunha, 58
4450-020 Matosinhos
Tel.:(+351) 229390967
mumma@cm-matosinhos.pt