The municipality of Nordeste promoted a cultural event to celebrate the fifty-year literary career of writer João de Melo and to launch a work edited by the local authority and authored by Mafalda Vicente. Entitled “Landscapes do not exist alone,” inspired by a phrase from the book “Azores: the secret of the islands” by writer João de Melo, two days were dedicated to literature, the territory, and the landscape.

To celebrate the golden anniversary of the literary career of writer João de Melo, a native of Nordeste, parish of Achadinha, several guests shared their work experiences based on the author’s work, and there was also a presentation focused on the books that make up the writer’s vast literary career.

Teresa Viveiros was one of the guests with the presentation of her project “A mala pedagógica: João de Melo, de menino a escritor” (The educational suitcase: João de Melo, from boy to writer), inspired by the life story of João de Melo, as well as Bárbara Mesquita, who went to Nordeste to express how João de Melo’s words touched her and helped her develop her doctoral thesis on the vineyard landscapes of the island of Santa Maria.

Zeca Medeiros, who in 2002 adapted the novel “Gente Feliz Com Lágrimas” (Happy People with Tears) for television, portraying the drama of an Azorean family marked by emigration and the wounds of the past, and Urbano Bettencourt, a long-time friend of João de Melo, with a presentation on the fifty-year literary career of the writer João de Melo, were also present.

The cultural event continued on Saturday with the presentation of the book published by the Nordeste City Council and written by Mafalda Vicente, “Cronologias do Nordeste, Abordagem histórica e cronológica à evolução territorial do concelho” (Chronologies of Nordeste, A historical and chronological approach to the territorial evolution of the municipality).

The vice-president of the Câmara do Nordeste, Marco Mourão, highlighted the value of Mafalda Vicente’s work for the bibliography of the municipality of Nordeste and emphasized the commitment and pride that the author, an architect in the municipality for several years, has put into this book and into the work she does in the municipality.

The writer João de Melo, author of the preface, presented the work, and several other guests took part in a debate during the same session on “Landscape, territory, and identity: obstacles and challenges of local history.”

The panel included Nuno Costa, president of the regional section of the Order of Architects, João Pedro Regalado, professor of Geography at EBS in Nordeste, writer João de Melo, Mafalda Vicente, architect at the Nordeste City Council, Bárbara Mesquita, researcher in Human Geography, and Rui Monteiro, landscape architect.

No Diário da Lagoa – Clife Botelho, diretor.

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 the Luso-American Education Foundation for their support.

https://event.auctria.com/5e89c412-a9f1-41b4-a429-1fad5b362180/a780d600ec2e11e9ae081db830846aa5