(...)
There would soon be no light, particularly to be able to walk around, so we were fortunate to still have met Ivanilda before heading back to the pension. She was visibly happy and so was her mother who came over to say hello and meet my friends.
I couldn't resist taking some photos of the small children who sat in a mesmerising way looking at all that was going around them ... maybe wondering why it was not happening to them ...
As we were leaving Juliza's sister Anicia came over to greet me and meet my friends as well. She has grown since I first met her in 2009 and looks like a yound lady now. I was very happy to see her.
Henriqueta went back to the pension but Lurdes and I still walked back to the port to pay a second visit to one of our "protégées" we had tried to locate before, but who was at school then. We soon found out there was no electricity, so we took a picture of her in almost total darkness.
Inspite of that we could see how happy she was to have received a small wallet with her photo printed on it that both of us offered her. She agreed to come over the following day to have her pictures taken with the new outfits, even if she wouldn't be present at the birthday party.
With no electricity the work of the two sisters (Marlene and Dulce) we had asked to help us with the party would be more difficult, but despite that they were enthusiastically working for the following day surroubnded by plastic bags filled with the necessary ingredients we had bought, as we left the pension late in the evening.
We payed what we thought would be the last visit of the day to the Mayor as Henriqueta had brought something for the Town councillor but soon found ourselves invited for a local song festival to sellect the best peformer out of six competitors.
Prior to heading to Polivalente, where the competition would take place we still had a local "Poncha" at the Mayor's and then went by the Town councillor's to hand her out what had been brought for her.
We only realised that Polivalente was a stadium-like space when we reached it with the Mayor and his family by around ten, when the cold breeze was settled in but it was then too late to return to the pension and change again, as the presenter was beginning to introduce the competitors.
We felt honoured to have been placed in a special area together with the Mayor himself, paricularly because it allowed us to have a wider view of the "stage" , as well as the public beyond the lining "fence".
The presenter had a way of communicating which was rather amusing and we soon forgot how cold it was. The competing songs were interspersed by other songs sang by winners of revious competitions or well accepted singers.
From time to time people from the public approached the "stage" and placed bank notes that would be later collected by the singer who was performing at that particular time. There were times of sheer enthusiasm and good music, so we must confess it was a rather special night despite the tiredness and cold.
Competitors wer entitled to singing two songs each and irrespective of the style the voting would be based on the whole performance. It was soon clear that the best voice was from a young lady from Achada
Batalha (dressed in black), but the final results (communicated at around one in the
morning) gave the first place to an amazing performer, whose voice was
not particularly "powerful" but who had competed with a song written by
himself - Domingos Lapis (the last performer of the evening.)
We went to bed looking forward to the next day, which would be as important for us as for the children ... though naturally at a different level ...
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