The pilgrimage of Senhor de Matosinhos, which has been taking place for more than 700 years, will begin this Friday, 19 May and continue until 11 June with dozens of concerts, exhibitions, competitions and rallies, the city council has announced
Over the three weeks of festivities, in addition to the traditional stalls selling crockery, handicrafts, food, drinks and entertainment, the streets, with decorative illuminations, will be occupied by performances by music bands, folk dance groups or ethnographic groups, according to the programme published on the municipality's official website.
Among the various shows, there is a concert by the singer Fernando Daniel, on 26 May, at 10pm in the gardens of the Florbela Espanca Library and, on 11 June, a performance by Sérgio Gordinho, at the same time, but in the Constantino Nery Municipal Theatre.
The traditional fireworks display will take place on 27 May, at 00:00.
The main attraction of these celebrations is devotion to the Lord of Matosinhos, which is why, on 28 May, there will be a procession of the Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, at 4pm, through the streets of the city towards the Monument of Senhor do Padrão.
On May 30, a municipal holiday, a solemn mass of the Bom Jesus de Matosinhos will be celebrated at 11 a.m., presided by the auxiliary bishop of Porto, Pio Alves.
The Bom Jesus de Matosinhos Church, which on this occasion has its altars artistically decorated with flowers, may be visited between 9.30 am and midnight.
"Visit the handicraft, crockery and traditional sweets markets, watch the procession and enjoy the decoration of the altars with flowers", invited the Mayor of Matosinhos, Luísa Salgueiro, on the official website.
For his part, the president of the Association for the Animation of the city of Matosinhos and councillor for Culture, Fernando Rocha, promises a dialogue of cultures, music, fireworks and joy.