Teresa Jardim Gedge was born on the island of Madeira, but began her acting career in England in three amateur companies. Returning to her origins in 1982, she worked on films, series and decided to organize a group of amateur theater initially designated as ABDM (Association of British drama of Madeira), but quickly becomes best known as MADS (Madeira Dramatic Society) of which she is still the president and also an actress. A route with 20-year-old who took the stage with several plays and musicals that delighted thousands of spectators from various nationalities.

In that context arises MADS?

Teresa Gedge: My husband was appointed consul of England here in Madeira and I remembered to bring together a group of people who lived on the island of British origin or who spook English in order to create a group of amateur theater. We started by having a meeting at the Anglican Church, me in partnership with Carol Gouveia, David Valant and especially my daughters who gave me strength and said let's see how many people come to the meeting and started form that. It was amazing lots of people came in September of 1993, more than 30 were enthusiastic and in late October, early November we staged a text of Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of being Ernest" on a small makeshift stage in the churchyard and it was a success.

What was the first play that marked the route of MADS?

TG: From the moment we decided to continue idealizing another show in the former premises of RTP and we had a full house, the name of the play was "the mayor of Torontal." I was very excited with that warm welcome, meanwhile others appeared to participate on MADS and then we were awarded a government grant, because at the time there was almost nothing, except the Experimental Theater of Funchal. The first piece of music we bring to the scene was a pantomime, the "Cinderella", with 40 people on stage. It's a show that normally is only presented before Christmas, traditionally the prince is represented by a woman and the two ugly sisters are men. "Candid" of Voltaire was another of the most remarkable performances, had the participation of Madeira classical orchestra and was fantastic; we were over 50 people on stage.

Then begins the partnership with the Municipal Theater of Funchal?

TG: Yes, it was a natural evolution after the cine casino. We wanted to do a play in the theater now and then we received a grant per year. We began by staging three shows per year, but it is important to underline that the actors do not earn a salary for participating in the plays, what we have to pay is the professional directors, especially those who come from outside, so that is why our artistic level was so high. Then we started doing shows in Portuguese, "the last of Marialvas" and the "Adams Family", for example. Other musicals that we presented on the stage was "the fiddler on the roof", "my dear lady" and "the sound of music" and even had to bring a few pieces of scenery from England, because here were very difficult to do. Now we have to do everything with the silver of the house, and less means, the monetary aid ceased to exist, the entries began to be paid, but that happens to everybody in this area of ​​culture.

Since the early days of the group you notice that only the audience of Anglo-Saxon appeared in shows?

TG: No, the people of Madeira too. That's why we started doing plays in Portuguese. Only people here on the island, the general public was not used to pay to watch the shows and it was worth it, because the greatest performances took place at a time when there was more money. Now, even with little funds we can present in the stage three musical shows, where we had the Jeffrey Ray as director. Currently we staged plays in English only because now there are other theater groups that are in Portuguese and in addition these shows have only Portuguese in the audience. Being in English we have the foreigners in the hotels, people who live on the island and speak the language and Portuguese following our route, because they recognize our quality and our high standards.

Mozos Manuel is a Portuguese filmmaker with an extensive prize list in fiction and documentaries that allowed him to cement a career as a director in Portugal.

Of all your film projects what was the one that left a positive imprint?

Manuel Mozos: For me personally possibly my first film, "a step, then another step ..." because it was the first and at the time, despite not having gone far in theaters allowed me to get positive reviews. It also helped to film my second feature movie that was "Xavier", which despite having had a lengthy and troubled production is maybe my most prestige film. The documentary "ruins" opened many doors to the outside and thanks to that there was interest in reviewing my work.

Addressing the movie "xavier" due to all the technical and financial difficulties that you mentioned it was a film that failed?

MM: Obviously the result is not what I had imagined, though not far short of what was intended, even having to solve on the editing room the end of the movie by failing to film it. I had to change the narrative continuity, though it was not the movie that I felt having stayed away from of what I intended. Of course the time I was waiting for it, to think it thru at the end was just being a film that satisfies me in the result.

Speaking of "4 cups" do you think the Portuguese cinema seldom addresses some of the everyday Portuguese, with real characters?

MM: In my fiction I approach stories of the day-to-day, everyday life of the Portuguese and in particular the Lisbon region. But I believe that throughout the history of Portuguese cinema was less realistic...

More literary.

MM: Yes literary, wandering about certain subjects, but I believe that today are several films that reflect the cotemporary Portuguese society. 

Paula Gomes founded in 1993 "the blue desire" a ceramics workshop and seven years later Duarte Gomes, her brother, also embraced this activity, in Paul do Mar. Both potters produce Moorish-style tiles on edge technique and drought rope, as well as panels with a more traditional or modern motifs.

How does the project blue desire appears?

Duarte Gomes: I participate on this project for about eleven years. The blue desire started with my sister, she had some training in this area, when she lived on the mainland and I came back to the island when she invited me to work with her. The tiles are made in Madeira, aldo is not a traditional art in the region.

How you came up with the motives and patterns of the tiles?

DG: This kind of tiles is not limited to the subject island. Dates back to the sixteenth century a technique called edge that is used in the so-called Hispano-Arab, which is the engraving on the edges of the clay so that when it glazes melts in the furnace and there no mixing of the colors, hence the name. So, we make replicas of these ceramic pieces. My sister then took this technique and also used it for other subjects, such as Madeira embroidery. In addition, we paint tiles.

All tiles are produced on the island?

DG: Yes, almost all are made from clay, which is why I say we have several techniques that we used in our tiles. We own ovens and equipment necessary to develop all these products.

The end of the year provides an analysis of what was done or not in terms of environment, Quercus, one of the most credible environmental organizations in the country in its current report outlined a number of factors that can and should be improved for the year 2013.

The financial crisis in Portugal allowed diverting some attention of the citizens to the serious environmental problems that the country is experiencing, according to Quercus. One of these risk factors for environmental is the disinvestment in renewable energies, "an area that had good perspectives by the higher rates in electricity production due to investments made in the first decade of this new century" . The current government has also announced "a whole lot of significant changes in environmental laws, some of which are already implemented, as exemplified by the legal regime applicable to the licensing of industrial activity," without consulting the civil society organizations and pro –environmental organizations. The continuation of the National Dam plan promises more controversy throughout 2013, because, "it is unacceptable the current executive stubbornness in continuing with the National Dam Plan, even though apparent notion of social costs, environmental and economic challenges that it will bring in medium / long term to Portugal."
The lack of resources allocated to monitoring the quality of air and water, is another of the points, as well as inspection services, "threatening public health and the environment, to the extent that the monitoring of water and air quality is not being performed on a regular basis, with all the inherent risks to the health and quality of life of the people."
The government's decision to publicly announce the end of the National Ecological Reserve (REN), "without any prior dialogue with non-governmental environment organizations and without presenting concrete alternatives that proposes this legal instrument and spatial planning, reveals little democratic sense and a bad negotiation of all the process". The same autism is applied to the policy that approved the project in Vila Formosa Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina.
"The Government approved the implementation of the project" Tourism Development and Environmental Vila Formosa "in Odemira, near Vila Nova de Milfontes. It is an occupation of 55 acres with urbanized area, where it predicts the existence of a hotel, two holiday villages and an autonomous animation equipment for the sports and animation of themed events, all in the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina (PNSACV), Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) and Site of Community Importance, both named "West Coast" and constituents of Natura 2000. More environmental risk factors can be reviewed at the end of the link text.

http://www.quercus.pt/comunicados/2012/comunicados-dezembro/781-balanco-ambiental-2012

The traditions make this holiday season a very special time for the islanders.

The buzzword states that Christmas is when men want. Not true, in Madeira the festive season unlike the rest of the territory is lived in a very intense way and covers a variety of traditions that make it unique in Portugal. Everything begins and ends with the holy family. The rise of a crib is one of the first moments involving the family at this festive season, everyone participates. First, the mother plant wheat to adorn the scenario that will be assemble, children paint paper to imitate the volcanic soil, all go up to the mountains seeking for heather to strategically place at the manger, then unwrap up the plaster figurines around the cave where the baby boy Jesus sleep, the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, the cow and the donkey (the tradition continues even if the pope has said there is no evidence that these animals were present in the miraculous event!) and placed the little shoes as we call it, a species of orchid that is traditional in this time. In the kitchen mothers prepare also the honey scones, cakes and liqueurs that fill the compartments with savory odors that are offered to friends and family who come to see and appreciate the crib. It is the perfect excuse for a gathering!

Another of the great local Christmas traditions is birth masses. At dawn, around five in the morning, Christians and less faithful enter into the road in the dark night toward the church where the parish priest celebrated from December 16th until Christmas Eve, a homily in honor of Our Lady, Mary, mother of God. It is a moment of great joy for the local people who to this day maintain this habit that dates back to the colonization of the islands. Bells, chants and hymns fill the slopes and paths to the sound of music of the guitars and accordions, authentic pilgrimages ending loud in the church altar. It all end when the sun peeks out, but people still imbued with the spirit of Christmas talk, laugh and drink a poncha cheerfully, before another day of work and say goodbye until tomorrow in a mass.

The night of the farmers market in Funchal is what gathers more people, on 23rd of December, farmers and producers across the island put their fresh products for the Christmas dinner for sale through the night until dawn. This is the last of shopping before the eve of the birth of Christ and is celebrated with a hard party. There is music, carols, drinks, sandwiches of meat wine and garlic in the streets to the delight of young and the old. It's a crowd that occurs over the city to perpetuated one of the favorite traditions in Madeira, and I guarantee that Christmas is still what it was, because it is more alive than ever! Merry Christmas where ever you are!

This is the second part of a journey thru the country of the Scots, further north, near where the land ends and the sea ice begins.

About Scotland, what can I say? Well, firstly that their meteorologists are the most optimistic people I met. They always say it will be sunny, but this fact is only a mirage for those who come from Portugal. In nearly two-week stay, I saw the sun comes only on one occasion and a half. What I can assure yes, right in August, almost every day, that pervaded a very strong breeze thru the territory, the cold wind from the North. As the photos of landscapes, I can say right now that are not a big deal, they don't do justice to the beauty of its mountains and its lakes. The locks are flanked by intensely green vegetation, (if you will excuse the redundancy) lush and populated by dense morning mists. I should point out also, that like the other mortals, I did not see the loch ness monster, all do I wait for its appearance sitting for a couple of hours. The grazing valleys are ideal for sheep and the famous angus cows swarming these landscapes, only cut by rocky cliffs which overlooks to the sea. There are immense ruins of abandoned castles along the coast, static ghosts of a more warlike time, a skeleton deterrent to potential intruders that remain standing, despite the hardships of time and the disappearing of their respective clans. The rugged mountains are half-covered by a purple robe, a wild resilient plant, they call it heather, urze in Portuguese, which has a very special meaning to the Scots, though is not its official flower, when a highlander leaves their land, rips a small amount of the ground and takes it with him to other new worlds, is a bit of his beloved Scotland that he carries next to his heart. It's beautiful is not it?

As for the people who can add more? I mentioned that they are one of the nicest? And oh, have a real obsession for auctions, it is true. If there is something that the Scots like to do is bid on objects of every life and I am not exaggerating. You can get the stuffing of a house in these places, is indeed one of the favorite pastimes for the end-to-week, I attended one where an angry ex-wife auction, as revenge, everything she received at the wedding including the wedding dress, how I known that? The auctioneer makes a point of telling these little tidbits interspersed with notes humor, this is another of the attractions of these places, the stories reveal about the items up for auction. And living up to the event, I will relate a little mishap I had on my first visit; going through the crap runners I crack a porcelain green lion, which seemed the football sporting club mascot. It was horrible! Everyone looking at me and the auctioneer was kind enough to remember that nothing brought more bad luck to a future owner than taking home a piece cracked, of course everyone laughed! What matters is that this young lion was worthless and happily he not charges me a cent. Just thinking that I had to pay for such an ugly piece in my first week almost broke my nervous system. That's what I say, that the Scottish are nice. This whole conversation for what? To highlight another of their features. They love to buy porcelains of all types. The pieces I saw, in my view, were not worth the effort! But they, the women, especially do not share my opinion of this subject. People here buy compulsively all kinds of porcelain. They love "bargains". Another idiosyncrasy of this people is to decorate the houses with different wallpapers in all the rooms of the house, is a festival of patterns, colors and motifs that left me somewhat perplexed because there was paper up in the bathroom and kitchen, something that may seem strange to the Latin peoples, accustomed only to paint the walls of various colors, but that is common in Scottish homes. An event that I would strongly recommend, are the highlanders games. The strongest men in Scotland, without exaggeration, a sort of Olympics sites, faced several trials of strength, throwing tree trunks, cast iron balls and spears made of heavy wood, dressed in kilts! And, to my regret I must say, everyone had lycra shorts underneath these clothes instead of the tradition. To my luck, Prince Charles was even among the distinguished guests who attended accompanied by his Camilla and ultimately held the awards. It was a royal end to a really wonderful trip.

Is the story half talked, half sound, half written essay of a musical composed by Martin Loyato.

When I walked into the rehearsal space in Scat had the feeling invading the privacy of a moment, a discovery, a meeting between a groups of people trying to establish the parameters of a universal language, music. They almost indifferent to my presence dotted the instruments, as they read, exchanged impressions and studied the notes that would interpret. It's a lesson that has not already been learn in every single way, it was necessary to be understand, memorize and internalize so then they could be able to express through a melody of flavors of the middle-east. At the signal of 1, 2.3, 4 begin to echo in the room the first chords of "for free minds" of Martín Loyato, from Argentina, considered one of the twenty composers of the century, and this is one of the first rehearsals with the musicians from Madera who he coordinates Duarte Nuno, on the piano, Ricardo Dias on the bass and Jorge Maggiore, on drums and repercussion. Its set to hit a compass, an intimacy of sonorities that are gaining strength and consistency as time goes by. The melody follows a rhythm of its own, which must be respected, according to Martín Loyato this composition, "can be translated freely as open minds, but also I use the preposition in English that for is four, so we're four musicians. In this theme I play the flute of Egypt and it is very difficult and even more to get a person who would built one was very complicated. It's also a composition where I am using computers. "

The dynamics of the remaining compositions requires a more complex mental exercise by the musicians; it's almost too much information for two shows in just three days of rehearsals. This is the second, a sort of adjust the needles which is translated into notes, in this context the composer clarifies, "I have chosen compositions that we could do together and enjoy playing. It is something that I share in another place; the opportunity is very good because I share my music with other musicians. In New York I have my own quintet and we know each other, I like the challenge of playing with people who I do not know, then they, the musicians, contribute always with something. The music I write music is not just for play what I wrote, has many parts open to improvise, for play as they like and give me their artistic voices".

The conversation continues in a distinct musical rhythm, inspired by the jungle, I am transported to the motherland, piano, bass and drums mimic the sounds of the deeper womb of Gaia, I hear the purr of the forest, the waters rushing by the streams, wings beating in flight and suddenly the sound of a indigenous flute packs the senses, "the healing of mother earth", moves from a almost tribal sound to a more sophisticated one that is diluted in distance, allowing each musician to find his own voice, one of them is Jorge Maggiore, who says, "I liked the music, I identify with it, I had some technical difficulties on two issues in terms of uneven bars, but I'm quite enjoying this experience ". When confronted with the guidelines, the drummer says, "is not really the question of originality, it is more of a spirit that is captivating." Hence the challenge of this unusual musical project, "there are parts that are quite certain, we must respect the writing and some very open when we have to use more intuition, it takes a lot of communication between us. The challenge here was to keep the interest in the right proportion at times very open, in which everything can be possible. You can follow an interesting story line, for those who hear and touch, if a theme has twenty minutes to be interesting during this period of time, if not it is not worth continuing. "Duarte Nuno, the pianist also stresses, "is more of an experience, I only agreed to do it because I found it interesting."

New stop, between a coffee and a cigarette, another disquieting composition gains new life, the "seaside tango." It's one more musical barrier that dissolves itself through small personal notes, short conversations between certain passages that are repeated over and over again until exhaustion, to satisfy the ears and soothe the more demanding spirits. Each of the musicians tries to tame notes to their liking, Taka, tiki, tiki taka, taka, taka, repeat to themselves, mnemonics that transform sound into improvised music that arises unexpectedly, is a melody that follows a particular alignment, but after a while gets a distinct personality, the musicians interact with each other through each musical notes and their voice echoes through the instrument they play. This is a warmer sound, Latin, Ricardo Dias, the bass, explains, "Is music that has an identity, I think the Argentine roots are very much present. Nowadays it is much more important than the music itself. In the background is rooted as traditional, or world music, difficulties arise because it is necessary to enter this kind of language. With globalization barriers are shorter, just see, we're on an island with a few square meters and we have a man who lives in New York and came to play in an islet. The world is a T0, this closeness, this contrast with other musicians to live right next to you and come to show their music which we are not used is wonderful. "The experience in jazz also helps, he continues, "is a process and when it is done well we have an extreme communication extreme and this is what is meant to be. Not in the radical sense, but proximity and jazz is that. All this is present in his music, despite those that feature traditional Latin rhythms, there is room for improvisation. "It is in this almost impromptu way that this musical conversation ends until the next rehearsal.

Susana Paiva is an artist of the image. Throughout a professional career with more than twenty years, she sought to rediscover, redefine and deconstruct the prejudices about photography. Accompany us on this journey visual and sensory, in the first person.

Twenty-two years ago I started photographing, what I consider to be the first casualty good in my life. Was a student of psychology and when I came to Coimbra discovered that it was a fascinating university city, which had a very interesting parallel life with various cultural and artistic activities. As curious as I am, it was at the time and now I'm even more, do the opposite route of adults, that with age become less curious, I like the kids get more and more motivated and discovered that I could learn photography and theater, all in the university. I enrolled in two courses simultaneously and somehow found two great passions, which I did as an amateur, but it somehow came to turn into lasting loves, structural in my professional practice. Both languages ​​interested me enormously I found myself in the world of theater through photography and when I say it's a fluke, because as I went to Coimbra I never would have imagined that I could work in these two areas in a coordinated manner. For a set of coincidences, late in the day, among them, waiting for calling from a phone booth and have a camera with me which proudly used on my shoulder, was challenged by an actor for a session. Was curious to peek and I get into the pocket theater in 1991 photographing the haircut of a university theater company who prepared a show called vanguard group. What happen? I had fun too, do some pictures at the time was only black and white analogue photography, and a few days later timidly let some pictures in the mailbox of the theater.

To my great surprise, this same group in a short time professionalized, soon to be called the school of the night and I end up being invited to view a series of practical theater, through this new company. My entry in the photography and what was discovering were very good chances and never imagined myself a photographer. I no culture in this area and in the theater I was even more median. I came actually from a set of artistic practices which fascinated me a lot, but more tied to movies and literature, never thought visually work in photography as an area of ​​expression, which passes by the theatricality of the text.
Working the images in the theater was my first language, the election. Like all people who fall in love a passage by the laboratory is essential. The practice is far from alone, but it gives us a certain self-sufficiency, this dive tactile and technical were spaces of discovery and fascination went on for twenty years, since my first experience, an adventure that began in 1989 until 2006, and for reason I was a fervent photography in black and white and analog. I thought I had made up my look, my language and I have always recognized a valence in the black and white image that takes us away from a representation of the real mirror, until I realized, through the opportunity to work with an Austrian foreign agency, that these parameters in the photograph as they see it did not sold commercially and were uninteresting.

It is a free zone which is situated in the center of the Danish capital.

Over the few trips I wended meet all types of people, cultures, smells, tastes and sounds that always seduced me and although I still haven't visit the rest of the world, whenever I think of it I renewed with enthusiasm the idea of ​​the eminent travel, because I already foresaw until today left in me a mark of fascination, thirst for knowledge and also a certain perplexity for the all the best reasons, Christiana is one such example. In the city center of Copenhagen in Denmark, there is an extensive territory where groups of people live in a commune, living like a collective communion collective, the good hippie way. There is even a gateway that welcomes us, and at the same time we are warned (just turn up!) That we left from that point on the European community. The first impact is of a garden in an urban area, which overlooks a playground, a building that is a cultural center, but appearances can be deceiving, as we go along to a more open space, a sort of square stands where we encountered all kinds of handmade products from clothing, shoes and jewelry, there are what also food stalls where they sell organic hamburgers, which actually I ate, for lack of better but whose hygiene I doubted until the last bite. What a woman can do when she's hungry! The fact is that I did not have sick. The most curious of this outdoor plaza is the community of Christiana makes of this place their meeting ground to eat, drink, talk and smoke joints. True, here everyone can buy and wrap his "cigarette" freely, but do not expect hard drugs they are banned, as well as weapons and violent behaviors. The nursery is communal and is not paid, there is a supermarket where you exchange vouchers for products, outsiders, like myself and the rest of the world we paid in Danish kroner if we want to buy something, yet I did not risked, I am convinced until today that if the health authorities of my country saw what I saw, just shut down the place! In a blink of an eye! At least I'll say is archaic, but for locals this is not a problem, because what counts here is why the lifestyle, that is to say the way of being part of the world, they have a peaceful existence, healthy and in communion with nature. The community here intervenes in every way, if a neighbor needs a hand to cut firewood or build an attachment, or teach children to read, there is always someone willing to help. All are welcomed, no one is excluded, is an almost sanctuary for the most disadvantaged in society. Some of the family's home left me speechless, the walls were made of scraps of different materials, some even seemed tents and I saw one house which its cornerstone was a boat upright. The creativity of these buildings is high and disconcerting at the same time, I could not imagine anyone living well there in winter.

They always accompanied me throughout my life. Could see them when I barely opened my window, or on my way to school, when I went for a dive until one day I decided to visit them ... the deserted islands. Waiting for me moored in the marina at Quinta do Lorde was a sailboat, the beautiful Madera, ready to set sail on this autumnal new adventure in the company of club of free foot, it would be an unusual walk. The distance that separates us from our destination is 17. 2 Miles, about two hours in a deep blue and calm ocean, the morning decided to wake up with a cold, but that does not stop the good disposition aboard. Behind lies the island of Madeira suddenly flooded by a waterspout that covers much of its green and humanized landscape. We ran in time from the rain and the opened sea has new surprises ... suddenly at the bow of the boat we hear screams of joy alerting us to the presence of other inhabitants of these Atlantic waters, we saw a group of pilot whales and some dolphins glide placidly. It is wonderful to see these animals with smooth black skin cutting small waves indifferent to our presence, sometimes they even stop, rest, resume their pace wavy, dive and resurface until there comes a time that we lose sight. We were graced with his presence and that's something that no one never forgets.