Afonso orders ZigurFest, the festival that killed the musical thirst inside | Lamego



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In 2010, a dozen 20-year-olds decided to create an alternative music festival in Lamego. It could have been just a child thing, I could have hit it. But he did not do it. ZigurFest is already going to the 8th edition and it keeps growing. Afonso Lima, the director of the festival, was one of the dreamers who, at the age of 24, felt that it was time to give back to the city that created it.

Already lived in Porto, but never lost connection with Lamego. Neither he nor his friends, who were scattered throughout the country to study. They returned home on weekends and the cultural gap between the coast and the interior seemed abysmal. "We were in contact with so much cultural richness and in Lamego there was no room for new artists and new cultural expressions to appear.The coolest kids had Pearl Jam covers ." ZigurArtists was born – a collective created by young people with groups and solo musical projects, who became a label and organizer of a festival.

Now, Afonso is 32 years old, holds a degree in economics and a Master's degree in Creative Industry Management, working as a financial consultant, but with a passion for music, he directed the festival and is a member of ZigurArtists, which already has thirty or so associate artists

Rafael Farias [19659006Whentheydecidedtomaketheleapforthefirsteditionofthefestivalin2011theydiditwiththefullsupportoftheTeatroRibeiroConceiçãoWithlessthan5000eurostheybroughttoLamegonineconcerts(amongthemFish:PlaneandDearTelephone)andtheyexhibitedthedocumentary Portuguese Music to Like by Tiago Pereira. "We have not exhausted it, but the reaction of people has been," Do more, please, "recalls the young director.A natural demand, if one look at the desert that was inside, at the level of the festival offer.We remember: the ZigurFest was heard the same year that the Ephemeral Gardens appeared in Viseu, three years before the Rock of the North- Is appearing in the current mold in Vila Real, and five before the Douro Rock in Peso da Régua. "We did it when there was nothing at all. There was Mêda +, who came a year earlier. Whoever wanted to see this kind of band had to go to Porto, "says Afonso

. Since then, the ambition has grown and the project has developed with him.The 2016 edition has already received support from the Lamego City Council and in 2018, the festival which will take place between August 29th and September 1st will have a free admission and a free encampment in the sports complex of the city.The abolition of the paying ticket, which had a symbolic value of five euros, was one of the most recent victories of the collective, who believed that the prize "worked as a retraction" to the festival, which takes place at the time of the festivities of the city , when everything is free.

In Lamego, today you discover what you want to hear tomorrow

In 2016, the Lamecense poster announced names like Surma, Luís Severo and 800 Gondomar. Names that did not reach radios until the following year and that only appear now on the posters of the biggest music festivals. In this, explains Afonso, that the ZigurFest differs. "We are not looking for names that we know are calling many people, we are looking for what people do not know yet, what is new, what is emerging, we are always trying to anticipate, our greatest disgust as That programmers is launching a poster and seeing that a nearby festival bears the same names, "he concludes with a laugh.

And whoever chooses new music inevitably ends up discovering a new city. The scenes are scattered everywhere and people find music "in completely unexpected places," reveals the director. "We move people around the city, which is very different from what we see in other festivals, where people are sitting somewhere drinking beer and drinking beer. wait for concerts, we get people moving, and it's not only good for tourism because it's good for people's health because the city has a rugged topography, "laughs. he

Jokes aside, Afonso knows that in Lamego there is a before and after of ZigurFest. "The city was a little forgotten. Culturally, in the media, it was summed up in Sunday afternoon programs. Now he is becoming more and more sought after by artists. I have a lot of requests from musicians who want to present their work. They are looking for the festival of the environment and proximity, not only for the artist but also for the aspirants: "We will never have grills; there is proximity. Not only by the artist, who can interact, but also by the public who thinks "I could be there". "

But this festival is not only musical.There is a ZONE (Residência Artísticas de Lamego) ready to receive artists for two or three weeks to produce works that will be presented at the festival – artistic installations, painting, video art, among others, and, for the moment, they are in open call

Rafael Farias

Partying with 25,000 euros (and a lot of work behind the scenes) [19659009] The edition of this year, 20 artists spread over more than 10 scenes, cost 25 000. A value of at least 10 000 euros below the "real value" of the festival. there is a great effort on our part and our families to support the festival of forms, sometimes non-monetary, but with volunteer work and equipment, "says the young man at P3.

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