It is the simple title of a set of works, about 50, by Eurico Santos, which offers us the fluids of the form and pigments that draw his proto-histories, housed in the watery vestige of the technique used, watercolor, as says in his presentation Carlos Valente. In this first solo exhibition, Rita Rodrigues, an art teacher and researcher from the regional directorate of culture and Emanuel Gaspar, coordinator of the Santa Cruz culture house also helped to compose a portrait of the artist and his work, since due to his shyness he did not want to make any comments.

Many of the watercolors of Eurico Santos are versed in nature, there are many trees, turns out to be a recurring theme.
Rita Rodrigues: In this nucleus of watercolors of Eurico Santos we verified that there is an exploration of a poetic and somewhat lyrical language, particularly between the relation of the landscape and nature, we have the observation of Carlos Valente who wrote the text and he makes this reference, The tree, the man, the nature, the human, the life and the time that is perfectly visible in the exploration of this classic work of the artist. On the other hand, he is able to explore the technical and expressive abilities of watercolor, from its transparency and opacity with a very great lightness and delicacy, hiding stories that are fragmented. We later found that the intrinsic narrative discourse between them is merely a plastic exploration of the watercolor itself, which then counts in each painting, on each board, an easy story to be visualized, although there is such a guiding thread between man, landscape and own nature. It is also noted that Eurico Santos has a very interesting capacity of exploration of plasticity and this all reveals, this maturation, this exercise that he was doing over the years of an experience on watercolor, at the bottom there is a dialogue with the technique and the theme that we see expressed in this exhibition.

But why choose watercolor?
RR: It is a personal choice of the artist. For many years he has been working this tecnique, from extremely small drawings to larger supports, so there is a plastic exploration of the very expressiveness of the watercolor. Eurico Santos always liked to talk in a certain way with this technique since high school, it is a course that was slow, made in a rhythm, a speed of work, with a certain serenity and calmness and this can be noticed in the works. It has an essence of the technical domain, but a certain slowness of the exercise of the drawing and this is the Eurico that we knew from young to the present day.

Why did you decide to bring this young artist to the house of Culture?
Emanuel Gaspar: Because I thought you had an interesting work, it is very much linked to his fantastic world, to pateism, but also to his interior, which can be very painful, or even day-to-day. Eurico Santos is a sheltered artist, who loves his universe a lot, lives a lot inside his cocoon and it was very difficult to convince him to exhibit his works, but after insisting many times, because he has many drawings, after some time ended up accessing it. As we have a relationship of friendship I helped him choose the works and he only decided to show them, because he knew me as a person and professional.

When did you choose the works together with the artist what did you consider for this exhibition?
EG: The technique, the works best executed in this sense, and also works that could somehow surprise people more, that could impress, or seduce the observer.

And which of the watercolors made you more excited?
EG: Those who always excite me most are the very strong works, with a background of violence, of this world that is not easy to live. Then he enchanted me with his universe linked to pateism, linked to the love of the stone, or the sea. The very intimate works, linked to the places of abandonment, also seduced me a lot.

Was the guiding line also an initial choice?
EG: There is no guiding thread, despite being a sculptor, he decided to bring these drawings and he paints a stone, a tree, or his inner world. It is in the background moments that he is going through, his day-to-day and what he feels at that moment, has nothing to do with a story, or a journey.

John Gallo has launched a photographic project, which show cases in images and numbers the forest burned in Portugal in the last 35 years.

The environment and future of the planet are some of the concerns of the photographer and it was in this condition that the photographic project "Black Forest" was born, destined to become a movement of civil society.
A photography book, a website and an awareness and education campaign are the trilogy that compose this initiative, in the words of the author. The photographic project was launched on the crowdfunding platform until 22nd of November.
The amounts raised, in addition to financing the costs of the project, will be awarded to the Portuguese Firemen's League. John Gallo recalls that "in 35 years the equivalent of the total area of the Netherlands or Denmark has burned in Portugal" and that "half of the forest fires in the European Union occur in Portugal". According to the data already presented, "42% of our country, 38 thousand km2, have burned in the last 35 years, compared to 12% of area burned in Spain, 12.2% in Greece, 12.6% in Italy and 1.3 % in France".
The photographer, who has been internationally honored since 1998, particularly with the Joan Wakelin Award for the Royal Photographic Society, believes that his project can make a difference in order to stop this tragedy. A step that can help by helping in this campaign in favor of the Portuguese forest and all the anonymous heroes who try to protect it, just go to the link below.

http://www.florestanegra.chappa.pt/

It is a page dedicated to music and the arts in all its aspects launched by José António Ferreira, music teacher and responsible for the development of the "Field of Music" project in Avintes, Vila Nova de Gaia, a pedagogical space for music workshops and future physical space of the music library.

I went to check the meaning of the word "meloteca" in the dictionary and I can say with confidence that it is the junction of the word melody and library, I do not know if it is according to the current spelling agreement, but that does not matter to me, what I intend is to draw attention to this site that addresses music in a very comprehensive and literal global way. In the various sections you can find all kinds of information from a dictionary where you can search, for example, the meaning of "allegro" in classical music, or simply listen to music, or see short films whose plot revolves around what? You guessed it. What I also found interesting on this page about the musical arts is that it can be consulted by all types of audiences and not just by scholars, we can wander through the various themes intuitively and read, or listen only to what we like. But do not just take my word for it, take a peek and I open your appetite with a homage to the writer José Saramago.

www.meloteca.com

Inspired by the Winter Solstice, the great festival of the short film takes place throughout the month of December, focusing on the 21st, taking film sessions to 34 locations from north to south of the country, passing through the archipelagos.

Every year, around December 21st, the northern hemisphere enters the colder season due to the Winter Solstice, in what is the shortest day of the year. This astronomical phenomenon inspired the creation of the festival that celebrates cinema in the short format, "The shortest day". The idea, which was born in France, quickly reached an international dimension and is currently celebrated simultaneously in dozens of countries. In Portugal, the event is organized for the fourth consecutive year by the Short Film Agency and will again travel the country from north to south.

Abrantes, Albufeira, Almada, Amadora, Amarante, Barcelos, Braga, Cascais, Castro Verde, Coimbra, Constância, Elvas, Évora, Faro, Funchal, Guimarães, Lajes do Pico, Leça da Palmeira, Leiria, Lisbon, Maia, Matosinhos , Oeiras, Ponta Delgada, Ponta do Sol, Porto, Sardoal, Setúbal, Vila do Conde, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Vila Nova de Gaia, Vila Real and Viseu will receive a selection of national and international short films for adults and Children, in the most varied places of projection. In addition to the movie theaters, some sessions will take place in unexpected spaces such as the Santana Hotel & SPA pool, in Vila do Conde, where you can watch the session in the water, Porto's carriages and stations, Or on the Internet and television.
The various programmers associated themselves with this initiative through their own sessions or the four programs proposed by the Short Film Agency.

Elaborated in collaboration with the European Short Circuit network, the "Europe in Shorts" session features a number of recent European films that have stood out at the major international film festivals. It is a journey through Europe through seven short films with themes as diverse as poetry and dependence, or as important as the concept of frontier. The program "National programm" reveals the best of Portuguese production through the works of young authors such as Gabriel Abrantes, Simão Cayatte, Eduardo Brito and Ana Maria Gomes and the stories they have to tell. Thinking of families, "shorts in december" is a proposal of the House of Animation and includes a set of little stories full of adventure, peripécias and unique characters, but also reflections on solitude and the right way to go. "Christmas Paper and Other Stories" celebrates the Christmas spirit through short stories for the young, without forgetting the pedagogical aspect.

The Cinemateca Portuguesa and the Cineclube do Porto receive special sessions of the event, on December 21 and 22, respectively, presenting programs that highlight the national production. This year, "The shortest day" also happens on the Internet. Between December 14th and 21st, the Short Film Agency offers five internationally awarded Portuguese films for free online viewing: "Abraço do Vento" by José Miguel Ribeiro, "Rapace" by João Nicolau, "Amélia & Duarte" by Alice Guimarães and Mónica Santos and "Vicky & Sam" by Nuno Rocha.
"The shortest day" will also be marked in schools, by students of different degrees of education, and in social solidarity institutions such as SOS Children's Villages and Santa Casa da Misericórdia. It's the movie festival, a moment of discovery that will light the country's screens!

www.odiamaiscurto.curtas.pt.

It is the third part of a trip to the Azorean island for its aromas and palates.

My perusal for St. Michael would not be complete without a passage for its odors and flavors. This fertile land overflowing with life produces one of the most iconic fruits of the national territory, the pineapple. The king of fruit and the fruit of kings, as it is dubbed on the island, was introduced in the mid-nineteenth century as an ornamental plant. Only a little later was explored its commercial potential that remains to this day, so I advise a morning visit to the greenhouses that exist along the south of the island, or a plantation in the North, in Capelas, come to eat the famous ananassa sativus lindl (Scientific name) and enjoy an educational and very pleasant tour of their cultivation.

To whet your appetite, there is nothing better than to go to one of the only tea plantations in Europe and decided to visit the facilities of the Tea of Porto Formoso. It is one of the smallest plantations of São Miguel and I must emphasize that I was delighted to see the main house and the beauty of its landscape, it is an estate of only six hectares, ornamented by what seem to be many green shrubs, well-trimmed, horizontally aligned along the hill overlooking the sea, synonymous with an idyllic past, a slower way of life, where everything had its time, its place, hastily and was thus calm and relaxed. There I was explained the cycle of cultivation of the plant and how it arrived to this island, via Brazil, when the first seeds were planted in the middle of century XVIII. Like the Ananas, tea plants were initially used as ornaments in the gardens. Later, the promoter of the Micaelense agriculture brought to the island two Chinese who taught the islanders how to turn the leaf of the camellia sinensis (scientific name) into tea, seems unlikely, right? But it is the purest of truths. The taste for the drink soon won countless supporters, as you would expect, because although there is always a lot of talk about british tea, the fact is that the Portuguese are champions in terms of variety in what concerns this drink that heats the hearts and heals all kinds of maladies, if needed. But, ahead.
Porto Formoso produces six tons of black tea a year that is collected between April and September, the period of time when it rains less on the island. Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to attend the leaf collection process, with great regret on my part, but from what was informed by the guide, all steps from pruning to drying are done in the same traditional and natural way that employs little or almost no machinery for several centuries. At the end of the tour we are offered a cup of tea accompanied by cookies and it was worth it when the stomach starts to complaint.

My third stop on the Azorean palate after so much salt-spattered fresh air was to delight myself with the micaelense octopus. There are several portions of this mollusc accompanied by broccoli, potatoes and a delicious sauce made from the island's pepper sauce, the best in the whole country, since its culinary applications are varied and in fact they give a delicious palate to food, I only pity that is only sold in the Azores.
The famous Micaelese steak was kept for last (and the warning, as you may have noticed almost all the local dishes have the same name, the micaelense and believe me that there is more, so you already know when to see it on the menu it means that it is traditional and a good thing) It is a hunk of meat with cheaps and sauce thtat is all, but I almost felt sorry to eat it by remembering the plump, cute, and genuinely happy azoreans cows. As you may guessed the slight sensation of guilt dissipated immediately before the gastronomic delicacy and the attack did not wait, it was one of the best meals that I ate, enough caloric is certain, but everything is worth when the soul is not small, or rather the stomach. You may already have noticed, I do not usually talk about restaurants or brands, but in this case, I will do it again exceptionally, Alcides not only has excellent meat, but also the high-quality cooking and the staff, the stablishment is in the center of San Miguel, but attention the space is small and a reservation is imperative. Well, that's the end of my journey through the verdant paradise with the name of a saint and this conversation alone has opened my appetite again.

It is a trip back in time to some of the most emblematic pieces of Portuguese jewelery from the end of the 12th century to the beginning of the 19th century, in Funchal's Museum of Sacred Art, through the in-depth knowledge of Francisco Clode,Regional director of Museums and Heritage Services of the Regional Directorate for Culture, in that which was the last cultural talk of the project "Give and see".

The jewelery collection of the Museum of Sacred Art is of great importance not only for its quality and diversity and for its historical legacy, but also for unveiling the history of the Portuguese jewelery. There is a set of works of art of absolute exception, there are four pieces direct offer of the court of King D. Manuel I, whose most emblematic work has circulated around the world for numerous exhibitions, since the nineteenth century, for its representation of Manueline goldsmiths, why is this cross, the king's centerpiece of donation, which dies in 1521, but leaves expressly in a royal charter that this work of liturgical jewelery and the rest would remain for the chancel at the Cathedral, is so important? This processional cross, as the word indicates, that to say that it is taken in the procession, is unique, because the other similar and documented works that are known have disappeared, the one of Jerónimos is one of these examples and the other processional cross that is similar is much older in terms of time and is now in the Alberto Sampaio Museum, in Guimarães.

The piece is constituted by the typical elements of the processional crosses, one of them is a knot and it is as in many cases of Manueline goldsmithing is a mixture of achivements, that is, it both represents a final gothic in progressive disappearance, but is in itself the Expansion and openness to the world, is a Renaissance opening to Europe. It is important to observe already at the time that the allusion was made of architecture to the Roman, which is the new emerging art, the rebirth that comes to mix with the Gothic. Manueline art is this crucible between the union of this sacred-mediaval tradition that meets the art of rebirth. The apparatus always constitutes the works connected with the royal orders, for now the constant presence of the symbols of the king, the amilar sphere, the adjustments, the Portuguese royal crown, are represented either in the portals of civil architecture, or religious, in the crowning of the arches and it is very interesting that in the Manueline goldsmith these elements appear again.

There is also another piece of information, often in the Portuguese silversmith's, much of it was made in the street of the goldsmiths in Lisbon, there were masters dedicated only to gold and others to silver, the street of gold and silver appears in the city of Pombal, in the circle of the court, among the nearest goldsmiths of the king who executes this cross. I also want to draw attention to the fact that these crosses are often models for architecture, if we notice the knot of the cross, it has counter-strongholds, butarus and pinnacles, all these vertical elements that give the effect of a construction that is Near the Jerónimos Church, with its Manueline architecture.

Then there is another interesting element, besides the details of Gothic root, also has leaked in these portals that are developing in the hexagon of the base, are open elements, which identify with Diogo de Castilho, the author of the cloister of the Jeronimos monastery, therefore, these are elements that have to do with this new decorative grammar, through the Flemish and Italian engraving that began to arrive in Portugal, often through Spanish models, or even through the presence of foreign goldsmiths who came to work for the court of Lisbon.
Another aspect to mention, the enormous delicacy and technological predicament, and that is how it should be said, the silver piece is very advanced for its time, such is the quality of all its symbolic grammar and thematic exposed, as well as the plight drawing and working of silver. The representation of the scourging of Christ, the betrayal of Judas, there is a main story and the narrative that develops, on one side we have the crucified Christ, on the other the redeeming and savior Christ.

The king's second offer, which is included in the 21 pieces that were placed in a box in Lisbon, of which only these four survived to this day, is also a very rare work of Portuguese jewelery, the peace case, this piece further distances itself from a final gothic language and assumes a modern taste. There are plunderings, Corinthian capitals, the application of precious stones in the goldsmith's shop comes to the conclusion that these are the tombs of St. James of Compostela, has to do with this symbolic idea of offering peace, a moving piece, which represents the epiphany .
Then there is a double meaning, the pilgrims were those who move to the places of greatest pilgrimage, which is the sense of the presence of the stone deposit that flanks the main scene, but also has some regal symbols, the tritans, mythical figures half-human, half-fish who are holding the crown, we do not know if the upper figure would be an angel-lieutenant, or God the Father, because it is broken. However, there is one thing we know is that the scene of the kings that has two representations, one in the altarpiece of St. Benedict, by Gergório Lopes, and another of the altarpiece of Sétubal by Jorge Afonso, most probably the goldsmiths of the silver had for model Flemish and Italian engravings, but were influenced by the Portuguese primitive painters, both names mentioned were royal court artists and very close to this innovation that the Renaissance presentations have in the Portuguese gold and silver.

Our Lady of the Rosary, is another of the works of the estate, the rosary is thought to be of coral, is a piece that can be dated between 25 to 35 years of the sixteenth century, contrary to what was thought, is also unique in National context, at its base presents one of the symbols of being our lady of the bud, which is a flower and it opens, is the idea of being mother not only of God, but of all of us, because it brought us the divine descendants. I approach this work of sculpture because it makes a framing of time and how the other arts react to the goldsmith.

The gold chalice at the end of the sixteenth century no longer has bells, because when the chalice was lifted it redouble the attention of the gesture, but instead have pendants of rock crystal, which is considered a gemstone and it is very interesting to realize that this results from the maritime expansion of Portugal in the Orient. These materials come from those parts of the globe that allow them to be adapted and applied to these pieces of jewelery. The chalice comes from the Cathedral of Funchal, but its origin is a ruined chapel, which is St John of Lateran, near the International Airport of Madeira.

The last pieces are from Antwerp, it is the chalice of the Matrix of Machico and the named platter of Figueira, no one knows who this man was, since it is nicknamed as the basin of Figueira, is a Flemish work of the third quarter of the sixteenth century and has the representation of the god Janus, who is the god of the two worlds, of the two faces, of the gate to the way of heaven, or of sin. It is very interesting to see how classical mythology and all this symbolic grammar of rebirth are also introduced in the pieces of Christianity. Do not forget that Antwerp was until 1587 one of the most important centers of commerce in Europe and why this date? Because the Spanish empire takes the city, destroys it in that year and stops being the center of the European goldsmithery.

The small calderon is also a meeting of two worlds, the near disappearance of the final Gothic and these classicist ideas of the Renaissance and here we have the importance of the regal symbols, one of the greatest amilar spheres of the Portuguese context, the world sphere, symbol of the Portuguese king thought of him self very highly and and self-called the hope of the world and was presented as a redeemer. It is very interesting to see that the ball covers the entire bottom of the piece.

The other set of pieces that represents the extraordinary richness and typological diversity of the museum, in the last quarter of the sixteenth century and most of the seventeenth, all of them, or the vast majority represent the wealth of goldsmith workshops and reveal them that the masters of silver while working for religious confraternities demonstrate a great vitality of this business in Portugal.
Most goldsmiths in Madeira approach the national mannerism and often translate into a language devoid of great apparatus, but have a formal delicacy and engraving work that is very characteristic of the goldsmith of the time. The salvo with foot was executed by someone who saw the work of the Flemings and established it in the tray of the Figueira, there was an ability to observe the goldsmith from other sides and later to translate it to the national and regional taste. Another element that brings this piece closer to architecture is that Portuguese art has an idea of simplicity, of discourment, of formal rigor, which is rare in the European context, but which is interesting in the Iberian context and especially in the national context. We cannot forget that in 1580 we lost our independence, which we only recovered in 1640 and therefore we will see ourselves in Portugal, which is designated as a chantry architecture, which is stripped down, creates an idea of great formal and decorative simplicity and then has this Functionalist effect.

The nave, which served to transport the incense, there is a great presence of the jewelery of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, but are integrated other artistic elements and help to perceive the decorative context, in this case, is the idea of th baroque. At this time we have the filling of this art by baroque elements. The word baroque seems to be of Portuguese origin, according to some European countries it arises in the way the Portuguese called deformed stones of Arabia, baroque, pearls that were not perfect, but also in the Alentejo there are stones in the plains called barrocais, in the background what lies at the base of this movement is a visual dispersion.
When we looked at the pieces that were marked by visual restraint in space with their decorative sobriety, the Baroque brings the spectacle of the triumph, of a church that is renewed, after the schism of Europe and the Council of Trent that will bring a new expression and propaganda of faith. This visual language is linked to an appropriation of space, there is a kind of broad, unbalanced gesture that begins to develop in all works of art to architecture and goldsmithing.

The great seat of Baroque art is Rome and it is from Italy that models come to be expanded in Portugal and that we will translate our way. The piece is of extraordinary chiseled, is one of the works of the baroque court, of 1747, previous to the earthquake of Lisbon, there is an illusory formal attention, but that later is revolutionized by these borders and "labéus" and bring space within the own object.
Madeira has the largest collection of navetas at the national level, the piece in question is a kind of representation of the baroque, the definition of the ship disappeared almost completely, took off from the work and is a formal revolution of appropriation of space, organized chaos, the disappearance of the basic form and the creation of a formal authority that is very idetificative of the Portuguese baroque art. A series of sacra, worthy of its architectural meaning, by the optical illusion, but in the background were a cheat sheet, so that the priests were not deceived was written exactly what was to be said, the repetition of moments of the Mass.

The gold custodian of a French goldsmith who lived in Lisbon, Paul Malle, is dated 1799, is the first example of neo-classical goldsmiths in Portugal, in addition, we have some elements of neo-classicism that will mark the eighteenth century and a part of the XIX. I draw attention to the delicacy of the work of engraving gold, from the cuts of the paintings of the classic.

É um documentário sobre a vida do cônsul português que desafiou a Salazar para salvar vidas, realizado por Victor Lopes com uma equipa de jovens universitários argentinos e filmado na cidade de Buenos Aires. A estreia está prevista para o fim do ano no Festival Internacional dos Direitos Humanos, em São Paulo, no Brasil, entre os dia 7 e 13 de Dezembro de 2016.

"Não se é santo para ser-se um eleito por Deus, senão que, se é um eleito por Deus para ser-se santo", repete Victor Lopes, um argentino com nacionalidade portuguesa, para sublinhar a obra humanitária do cônsul de Portugal, em Bordéus, que assinou 30000 visas em apenas sete dias desobedecendo ao ditador luso António de Oliveira Salazar, quando os nazis invadian França nos cruéis tempos de 1940, "Para Aristides teria sido mais fácil desocupar com o exército, ou a policia, os jardins da Embaixada que nesse momento encheram-se de homens, mulheres e crianças perseguidos procurando un salvo-conduto que os levasse ao porto de Lisboa. Contudo, Aristides não o fez, Sousa Mendes não chamou as tropas alemãs e a questão é o que eu faria? O que farias tu? O que fariam os nossos atuais embaixadores de Portugal ao redor do mundo?”. É esse o eterno conflito gerado entre "o dever e a conciência que não sempre estão de acordo" diz Lopes, enquanto lembra também o soldado da obra de Javier Cercas que podendo matar a um Sanchez Mazas indefeso decidiu não o fazer, durante a tragédia da Guerra Civil Espanhola.
"Portugal teve uma ditadura de mais de quarenta anos e desembaraçar a trama de cumplicidades de centos, milhares de profissionais e líderes formados na intolerância vai levar muito tempo", como sabe que sucede nos países que sofrem com os regimes autoritários, apesar do esforço e a boa vontade que realizam os atuais dirigentes e as novas gerações democráticas. Levar ao ecrã e ao público a história de Sousa Mendes é um dos objetivos do realizador com uma equipe formada por jovens das universidades argentinas e a produtora “cite tango-ultra tango”, debaixo do atento olhar de Paula Fossatti e Ramiro Klement, junto com os atores Melissa Zwanck y Nahuel Vec, Lopes vai assim, "aportar o seu grãozinho de areia" aos que já vêm fazendo o mesmo há muito tempo em diversos lugares do mundo, quer sejam familiares, amigos, ou fiéis seguidores da causa Sousa Mendes. Victor Lopes reconhece ainda, que pouco a pouco irá respondendo as convocatórias que diariamente lhe chegam já que “a proposta causou boa recepção por tratar-se duma história praticamente desconhecida e que ainda desperta certa polémica nos setores mais conservadores da sociedade portuguesa”.

They are small birds whose importance to the Laurissilva ecosystem on the island of Madeira is essential.

The Life project sparrohawk ends in 2017 but, so far, the funds are not enough to continue the conservation work of this priority subspecies and its habitat, the Laurissilva forest of Madeira. After the last fires in the island, acting has never been so important.
The Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds is launching this crowdfunding campaign to continue to ensure the control of invasive species and the recovery of Laurissilva forest, as well as the conservation of the boreholes through their monitoring and environmental awareness.
Share this campaign with your friends, family and contacts. Identify us on social networks using the hashtag #HelpFuraBardos.

More than a project, a unique part of Madeira needs your help!
Support the cause and contribute in:

https://www.generosity.com/animal-pet-fundraising/help-fura-bardos-in-madeira

It is the second part of an island tour with holy name.

It was the most remarkable experiences in  my trip, a dive in the ocean where the water was a mixture of cold and hot, flavored with salt and metal at the same time and no, I'm not exaggerating. São Miguel is famous for its large number of unusual hot springs experiences, my favorite was at Ponta da Ferraria in Ginetes. This is a small hollow on the shore where the sea expands while comes out hot water from the interior of the island is a bizarre and exciting feeling diving on a mixture of metallic salt and warm water and we can feel immediately the difference on the surface the comfort of a hot water bath and under a fiery cold sea current that is dispersed on the ground, without exaggeration we can have half of our body heated by volcanic hot springs and the other side are "massaged" the cold waves of the Atlantic, was surreal in every way, literally. Our bodies try to adapt to this strange new dinamyc that happens at the same time whare there is also a termic shock and we are invaded by a shared sense of euphoria also shared by the people who have also decided to dive in these strange waters.

But it was not my only surrealistic adventure, counting down, the next stop was in Furnas, not by the fumaroles, but the Terra Nostra Park. It is a bicentennial garden, with 12.5 hectares of gardens and forests, divided by different botanical collections. For specialists in gardens and botanists, I estimate that should be a dream come true, but for the remaining ordinary mortals, is simply a path  not to be missed for its great chromatic beauty. There is an area only dedicated to the endemic forest of the Azores, one for the giant ferns, then there is an area for vireyas, some plants from Malaysia that bloom throughout the year in various shades, there is a Azaleas site and cycadelas, plants of millions of years, endangered, looked like Jurassic park, seriously, it would be a great place to shoot a scene with dinosaurs, but ... moving on, only in this space there are 85 different plant species and for the most romantic at least several spaces with camellias. The lakes that connect these different areas are populated by koi fish, huge and various shades which gives an air even more exotic to this whole atmosphere and there are different species of ducks.

The jewel in the crown for me at the end of this tour, was dip in the thermal water tank is a huge underlying pool to the main house of this property that is surrounded by a garden, the water is orange color because of the iron, it is 28 celsius degrees celsius and I assure that we not became orange, but the swimsuits change tone, and again here I had one of those experiences for a life time, I was in the water with hundreds of tourists surrounded by large trees and plants of different species and behold, it began to rain, a group of ducks joined us and it was again those moments of another world. I was heated from the metal waters bubbling from the belly of the island and from the sky drops of cold fresh water refreshed my face. But the day was not over here, after this visit a few meters further on there are the so-called pools of Dona Beija, with five tanks iron water of around 40 degrees and if you want another Kodac moment to later remember, I can say that these pools are open until 10 pm, and there is nothing better for the body and weary mind than being surrounded by a mixed vegetation sauce, in various shades of green to the sunset over the horizon and the only chills you had are an immeasurable happiness and I could not help admiring once again the strength of this untamed nature.

This is a critical retrospective of publications devoted to fashion.

I'm a fan of fashion magazines since my teenage years, today there are two publications that I buy religiously every month just to read the articles, see trends and admire the photos of the advertising campaigns. Read it and flip it through more than once only for pleasure, but as attentive reader could not help but notice something over time that the number of pages for advertising has increased exponentially over the interesting stories that addressed various issues related to the female universe in all its aspects. I'm talking about this why? I recently saw a video that specifically criticized the fashion magazines for perpetuating not only the physical models impossible to reach for most of its readers and how that helps to boost low self-esteem of women in general, but also as thru time magazines have turned into mere luxury sales catalogs, because as riping off the advertising images, there were only some journalistic content pages. I could not help but agree with all the arguments of this video, which incidentally I also argue vehemently, and one that touches me most, perhaps for the professional aspect, was the slow disappearance of informative content articles replaced by pseudo-interviews international and nationals actresses who after all are only advertising maneuvers where they "casually" address a product or brand they use in their day-to-day and it occupies at least three to four pages. I have nothing against advertising, I guarantee you I also like to flip through the sophisticated bags, shoes, clothing and perfums imagens, it is a weakness that I have, but What I do regret is that the evoluiton of visual campaigns is not accompanied by large reports with important and relevant information and often nothing glamorous. I am saddened by this reality that come already noticing for several years, because if we do this same exercise to pull off the advertising pages of a national fashion magazine well known, for example, in the early nineties and we do the same in its latest edition, the result is devastating.
Currently there is a clear reduction in information content of articles and advertising, camouflaged or not, dominates the space of the publication almost completely. One of the main reasons, in my view, because all this happens is because of the cluster of various means of social communication in a single economic group, I give you an example, I notice on an interview with Meryl Streep, I read the same text illustrated by different pictures and the order of the questions changed in different publications of the same group, why? Because it helps to reduce costs in terms of personnel, content research and potential displacement, so it is easier for a company to buy from international news agencies a number of texts that are the same for everyone, than having a group of accredited professionals to produce them locally, which in economistic terms ends up maximizing revenue advertising space selling not only the largest number of pages in one magazine as the other publications that belong to the business group, thereby generating more profit.
I'll be honest, I like fashion magazines, like flipping through advertising and want to continue to buy them, but it is still unfortunate that we are view by the economic agents as mere futile consumers who do not need to be properly considered and informed. And you know what annoys me most in all this? That the editors and supervisors in these publications are, as a rule, composed by women like us and what do we gain with it? Nothing, apparently, the dumbing mass is more profitable than a most informative content, socially, ethnically and even bodily more appropriate. I really have to stop buying fashion magazines that perpetuate these models...