Last Friday, the Pedagogical Directorate of the Professional School of Ribeira Grande held a thematic class on the figure of the illustrious Rabopeixense Ruy Galvão de Carvalho. The class was aimed at classes A and B of the first-year students on the Educational Action Technician course taught by that training institution.

The class was taught by António Pedro Costa, who recently published a biography of that distinguished Azorean poet and philosopher. Costa sought to awaken the students’ interest in learning about the vast literary work and life of Ruy Galvão de Carvalho, whose name is associated with a street in Rabo de Peixe and another in Ponta Delgada and who is also the patron of the Integrated Basic School in that town.

During the lesson, the students read passages from the book written by António Pedro Costa and recited poems by Ruy Galvão de Carvalho. On the other hand, the author challenged them to turn the house where the poet and most famous anterianist (specialist on Antero de Quental) was born into the Ruy Galvão de Carvalho House-Museum, not only to safeguard his memory but also to promote cultural activities and preserve the town’s cultural memory.

Ruy Galvão de Carvalho was a writer, poet and intellectual who stood out for his love and dedication to Azorean culture and was a central figure in promoting a specific regional identity. The house where he was born is completely dilapidated and would serve as a museum of vital importance for strengthening local culture, acting as a link between the past and the present, and becoming a meeting point for people of different ages and academic backgrounds.

Its existence would be an opportunity for Rabo de Peixe, a town traditionally marked by fishing and its own characteristics, to open up to new generations and tourists looking to learn about the town’s cultural roots. The House-Museum would thus represent a catalyst for cultural dynamization, stimulating both the teaching of local traditions and creativity and reflection on the future.

On the other hand, its collection, from literary works to Ruy Galvão de Carvalho’s personal objects and documents, would constitute a space with interactive activities, workshops and cultural events aimed at the active participation of the community. This cultural offer would become even more relevant at a time when the town increasingly needs spaces that encourage the encounter between heritage and contemporaneity, offering the inhabitants of Rabo de Peixe the chance to recover and reinforce their pride in local culture while at the same time projecting into the future with innovative initiatives.

Thus, the Ruy Galvão de Carvalho House-Museum would not just be a house museum but an engine of cultural and social transformation for Rabo de Peixe, helping to create an environment conducive to the emergence of new ideas, the preservation of identity, and the strengthening of a sense of community.

In Correio dos Açores-Natalino Vivieros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso-American Education Foundation for sponsoring NOVIDADES.