Rich Bread

Vera Mantero

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The mountain is now deserted. People have foregathered all along the coast.

Empty mountain, swollen coastline.

In a flash (30 years? 40 years?), Quarteira: from poor fishing village to "referenced tourism centre".

The fishermen sold the sand and so the villas were born and then the little skyscrapers. Money and sand, sand and money.

In Quarteira the buildings are all much taller than the buildings in the neighbourhood where I live in Lisbon.

To get to Quarteira I pass by the golf course, by the golf outlet and by the high slides of the water park, from which the cheering population throws itself.

I leave Quarteira on foot, along the Dunes Path, and in 15 minutes I arrive at the Cristiano Ronaldo store in the Vilamoura Marina.

Rich Bread: Vale de Lobo and Vilamoura. Quarteira is the filling of a sandwich, the sandwich of € 10 million.

The invasion of the crowd happened a long time ago here.

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Vera Mantero

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After the first edition of the "DeVIR meetings", held in 2012 by DeVIR/CaPA, for which Vera Mantero created "The Caldeirão Highlanders, exercises in fictional anthropology", which reflected on the desertification in this mountainous area, she was again invited to the third edition of these Meetings, which continue to focus on Algarve themes and problems, this time on the disfigurement of the Algarve coast.

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Credits

conception and performace - Vera Mantero

light design - Hugo Coelho

light operation - Hugo Coelho or Rui Alves

artistic residence - DeVIR/CaPA

co-production - DeVIR/CAPa (a commission from Festival “Encontros do DeVIR”) and Culturgest

production - O Rumo do Fumo

acknowledgments - Nuno Graça, Tiago Barbosa, Margarida Santos, Hélder Rita, Antonieta Rita, Flávio Rita, Luís Romão, João dos Santos, Gabriel Almeida, Alexandra Gonçalves

O Rumo do Fumo is financed by Ministério da Cultura/Direcção-Geral das Arte

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Bio Vera Mantero

Vera Mantero studied classical dance until 18 years old and danced in the Gulbenkian Ballet (Lisbon) between 1984 and 1989. She started choreographing in 1987, and since 1991 has been presenting her work all over Europe, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Singapore, South Korea and the USA. She teaches regularly composition and improvisation in Portugal and abroad. Since 2000 she has also been exploring vocal work and co-creating experimental music projects.

She represented Portugal at the 26th Bienal of São Paulo 2004 together with the sculptor Rui Chafes with the co-creation "Eating your heart out".

Her artistic work has been recognized with institutional awards such as the Prémio Almada (Ministry of Culture - 2002) or the Prémio Gulbenkian Arte for her career as creator and performer (2009).

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