Seixal
Encyclopedia
Seixal is a municipality in Portugal
with a total area of 96.0 km² and a total population of 161,327 inhabitants.
The municipality is composed of 6 parishes, and is located in Setúbal District.
The present Mayor is Alfredo José Monteiro da Costa, elected by the Unitarian Democratic Coalition
and the President of the Municipal Assembly is Eufrázio Filipe Garcez José, also elected by the Unitarian Democratic Coalition.
. It is located in Setúbal District and next to the Rio Judeu ("Jewish River"), the name given to a lagoon formed by the Tagus River.
The name "Seixal" comes from a type of smooth stone (seixo) that is found in rivers, and the city is named after these stones. The city was an important vacation resort for aristocracy from nearby Lisbon
during the 18th century, namely in Quinta da Fidalga.
Seixal is also known for being one of the few cities in Portugal under the power of the communist party for 20 years.
, that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. The events themselves consist of a three-day festival of music, with hundreds of Portuguese and international bands and artists across five different stages, ethnography, gastronomy, debates, a books and music fair, theatre (Avanteatro) and sporting events. Several foreign communist parties also participate.
Famous artists, Portuguese and non-Portuguese, have performed at the Festival, including Chico Buarque
, Baden Powell
, Ivan Lins
, Zeca Afonso
, Jimi Hendrix
, Buffy Sainte-Marie
, Holly Near
, Johnny Clegg
, Charlie Haden
, Judy Collins
, Richie Havens
, Ozzy Osbourne
, Tom Paxton
, Judas Priest
, The Soviet Circus Company, The L-Block Comerades, the Kuban Cossacks
Choir, Dexys Midnight Runners
, The Band
, Hevia
, Brigada Victor Jara
, Adriano Correia de Oliveira
, Carlos Paredes
, Jorge Palma
, Manoel de Oliveira
and many others.
The preparation of the party begins right after the end of the previous festival. Hundreds of the Party's members and friends, mostly young people that would like to belong to the ranks of the Party, volunteer for the hard work of building a small town in a few months using the town resources.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
with a total area of 96.0 km² and a total population of 161,327 inhabitants.
The municipality is composed of 6 parishes, and is located in Setúbal District.
The present Mayor is Alfredo José Monteiro da Costa, elected by the Unitarian Democratic Coalition
Unitarian Democratic Coalition
The Democratic Unity Coalition is an electoral and political coalition between the Portuguese Communist Party and the Ecologist Party "The Greens"...
and the President of the Municipal Assembly is Eufrázio Filipe Garcez José, also elected by the Unitarian Democratic Coalition.
Parishes
- Aldeia de Paio Pires
- AmoraAmora (Seixal)Amora is a Portuguese city and freguesia, located in Seixal Municipality, Setúbal District. It had a 2001 population of 50,991 inhabitants and a total area of 27.31 km²; its density was 1,867.1/km².-Nearest parishes:*Corroios, northeast...
(City status) - Arrentela (part of the City of Seixal)
- Corroios (Town status)
- Fernão Ferro
- SeixalSeixal (parish)Seixal is a Portuguese parish, located in the city of Seixal. It had a 2001 population of 1,506 inhabitants and a total area of 2.37 km², its density was 1,056/km²...
(part of the City of Seixal)
General information
The seat of the municipality is the city of Seixal which is crossed by the river from LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. It is located in Setúbal District and next to the Rio Judeu ("Jewish River"), the name given to a lagoon formed by the Tagus River.
The name "Seixal" comes from a type of smooth stone (seixo) that is found in rivers, and the city is named after these stones. The city was an important vacation resort for aristocracy from nearby Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
during the 18th century, namely in Quinta da Fidalga.
Seixal is also known for being one of the few cities in Portugal under the power of the communist party for 20 years.
Avante! Festival
The parish of Amora holds the yearly festival of the Portuguese Communist PartyPortuguese Communist Party
The Portuguese Communist Party is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist....
, that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. The events themselves consist of a three-day festival of music, with hundreds of Portuguese and international bands and artists across five different stages, ethnography, gastronomy, debates, a books and music fair, theatre (Avanteatro) and sporting events. Several foreign communist parties also participate.
Famous artists, Portuguese and non-Portuguese, have performed at the Festival, including Chico Buarque
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda , popularly known as Chico Buarque , is a singer, guitarist, composer, dramatist, writer and poet...
, Baden Powell
Baden Powell de Aquino
Baden Powell de Aquino usually known simply as Baden Powell, was one of the greatest Brazilian guitarists. He explored the instrument to its utmost limits, playing it in a distinctive, unique manner, incorporating virtuoso classical techniques together with popular harmony and swing...
, Ivan Lins
Ivan Lins
Ivan Guimarães Lins is a Latin Grammy winning Brazilian musician. He has been an active performer and songwriter of Brazilian popular music and jazz for over 30 years. His first hit, Madalena, was recorded by Elis Regina in 1970. Beyond his own performance of his compositions, Simone is his most...
, Zeca Afonso
Zeca Afonso
José Manuel Cerqueira Afonso dos Santos, known as Zeca Afonso or just Zeca , was born in Aveiro, Portugal, the son of José Nepomuceno Afonso, a judge, and Maria das Dores. Zeca is among the most influential folk and political musicians in Portuguese history...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
, Holly Near
Holly Near
Holly Near is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist for social change.-Early years:...
, Johnny Clegg
Johnny Clegg (musician)
Jonathan "Johnny" Clegg is a musician from South Africa, who has recorded and performed with his bands Juluka and Savuka. Sometimes called Le Zoulou Blanc , he is an important figure in South African popular music history, with songs that mix Zulu with English lyrics, and African with various...
, Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden
Charles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
, Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
, Richie Havens
Richie Havens
Richard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Tom Paxton
Tom Paxton
Thomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
, Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, The Soviet Circus Company, The L-Block Comerades, the Kuban Cossacks
Kuban Cossacks
Kuban Cossacks or Kubanians are Cossacks who live in the Kuban region of Russia. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are of descendants of two major groups who were re-settled in the Western Northern Caucasus during the Caucasus War in the late 18th century...
Choir, Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart....
, The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
, Hevia
Hevia
José Ángel Hevia Velasco, known professionally as Hevia , is a Spaniard bagpiper – specifically, an Asturian gaita player. He commonly performs with his sister, Maria José, on drums...
, Brigada Victor Jara
Brigada Víctor Jara
The Brigada Víctor Jara is a Portuguese folk band, with a career of more than 30 years and among the most influential bands of the Portuguese folk....
, Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Correia de Oliveira
Adriano Maria Correia Gomes de Oliveira, GCIH, ComL, or just Adriano was a Portuguese musician, born to a conservative Roman Catholic family in Porto. His family moved to Avintes after his birth...
, Carlos Paredes
Carlos Paredes
Carlos Paredes, ComSE, was a virtuoso Portuguese guitar player, born in Coimbra, son of the equally famous Artur Paredes. He is credited with popularising the medium internationally during the 20th century, being frequently considered to be the most talented Portuguese musician in the 20th century...
, Jorge Palma
Jorge Palma
Jorge Manuel d’Abreu Palma, known as Jorge Palma , is a Portuguese singer and songwriter.-Early life and career:At just the age of six, Palma learnt to play the piano and to read...
, Manoel de Oliveira
Manoel de Oliveira
Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira, GCSE is a Portuguese film director born in Cedofeita, Porto. He began working on films in the late 1920s, but did not receive international recognition until the early 1970s. Since the late 1980s he has been one of the most prolific working film directors and...
and many others.
The preparation of the party begins right after the end of the previous festival. Hundreds of the Party's members and friends, mostly young people that would like to belong to the ranks of the Party, volunteer for the hard work of building a small town in a few months using the town resources.