In Campo Benfeto, the theatre already has decades of tradition. “There was a tradition in the 1950s and 1960s, through a priest and a catechist. Then, with the great desertification of the 1970s, this thing died. But this catechist continued to do some activities,” recalls Eduardo Correa.
Without dreams, the ideal ground was prepared, at the end of the eighties, for the ICA – Institute of Cultural Affairs, an international non-governmental and non-profit organization working in rural areas, to identify the potential in the municipality of Castro d’Este. . The young people of Campo Benfeito participated in the festivals organized by the ICA in several villages, but if the vast majority of the participants were young people, the young people of Campo Benfeito were older and teenagers.
It was at this time that Englishman Graeme Pullen, an ICA volunteer and theatre professional, arrived in the area and made his mark on it forever. He joined the troupe and became one of the driving forces behind the founding of the theatre company (where he remained until 2004).
With him, from 1990 onwards, the youth group began to create performances, but also to visit the elderly and collect stories. “From 90 to 95 we worked a lot, in a very experimental way, and we did many programmes, from artistic residencies and exchanges, which were also a source of inspiration and knowledge,” recalls the artistic director. In between, they asked the ICA to support projects, and took over a space: the Fogo parish hall, at the top of the village.
In 1992, they organized the first Montemurro Cultural Meeting, which five years later gave way to the first Highland Festival in 1997. To our community. And then, another aspect, the other part, is that we started to receive invitations from many companies that organize festivals. And it was also a way of giving back. “This participation, this relationship that we created, which fortunately continues today,” says Eduardo.
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