Lajes do Pico and the Art of Building Community Through Culture

There are places where culture is presented as a spectacle. There are others where culture is lived as a conversation.

For five years now, the village of Lajes do Pico has quietly been building something remarkable: a space where music, dance, memory, and human encounter transcend geography and language. The success of the Fifth Festival of World Dances once again demonstrated that one of the smallest municipalities in the Azores has become one of the archipelago’s most vibrant laboratories of multicultural exchange.

In an age when communities often struggle against isolation, demographic decline, and the homogenizing forces of globalization, Lajes do Pico has chosen another path. It has embraced the idea that local identity is not weakened by dialogue with the world. On the contrary, it is strengthened by it.

The Festival of World Dances is a perfect example.

Throughout the event, participants were invited not merely to watch but to take part. Workshops, artistic residencies, musical encounters, and community dances transformed audiences into active participants. Culture ceased to be something consumed and became something shared.

One of the most inspiring moments was the artistic residency Cantos do Mundo, directed by acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and composer Natércia Lameiro. Over several days, participants explored musical traditions from different places and traditions before joining the Natércia Lameiro Duo on stage in a public performance that beautifully illustrated the festival’s spirit: learning, collaboration, and collective creation.

Equally significant was the adufe workshop led by Rui Silva, which highlighted how traditional instruments continue to find new audiences and new meanings. The enthusiastic response from participants demonstrated that cultural heritage remains alive when it is shared, taught, and experienced directly.

Yet perhaps the festival’s greatest achievement lies in its ability to balance openness to the world with a profound respect for local traditions.

Alongside French folk dances, Iberian traditions, Cape Verdean rhythms, and European dance forms, the festival placed the Azores themselves at the center of the conversation. Chamarritas and traditional circle dances occupied a prominent place in the program, thanks largely to the work of the Escola de Chamarritas of the Filarmónica Liberdade Lajense and the Chamarrita and Bailes de Roda Group of the Casa do Povo das Ribeiras. Their presence reminded everyone that cultural exchange begins with knowing and valuing one’s own heritage.

This year’s festival also marked an important milestone with the debut of Corda Cordes, the first Balfolk project bringing together musicians from France, mainland Portugal, and the Azores. More than a musical ensemble, the project represents an ambitious cultural bridge, introducing the Azorean songbook to the broader European folk movement and ensuring that these melodies continue to live through new interpretations and new audiences.

In many ways, this initiative reflects the historical experience of the Azores themselves. For centuries, these islands have stood at the crossroads of oceans, migrations, and encounters. Their culture has always been shaped by exchange while maintaining a distinct identity. The Festival of World Dances simply continues that tradition in a contemporary form.

Its success also highlights something increasingly important for the future of the Azores: the role of culture as a driver of community development. Festivals such as this generate more than entertainment. They create networks of collaboration, encourage volunteerism, support local organizations, attract visitors, and foster a sense of belonging that strengthens the social fabric of a place.

The event’s achievements were made possible through the cooperation of numerous institutions and individuals, from local government and community organizations to volunteers, musicians, and residents who opened their homes and offered logistical support. Their collective effort demonstrates that culture remains one of the most powerful expressions of civic participation.

The Festival of World Dances has become much more than an annual event. It has become a statement about what kind of community Lajes do Pico wishes to be.

A community rooted in its traditions yet open to the world.

A community that understands that diversity enriches identity rather than threatens it.

A community where the world comes to dance—and where, in dancing together, strangers become neighbors.

In that sense, the village of Lajes do Pico has become something rare and precious: a place where multiculturalism is not a slogan but a lived experience, expressed through music, movement, friendship, and the enduring belief that culture remains one of humanity’s most universal languages.

From Press Release-Photos from the Municipality of Lajes do Pico.