The Portuguese Festival has been an annual event for 26 years.
This year’s festival was absolutely spectacular. It is a tradition that has been brought down from Madeira by the current generation’s parents and grandparents.
It is a Portuguese custom in Madeira for the church to host a festival for the community once a year, which also has been done in Randfontein.
According to organiser Sandra Nascimento there is a small Portuguese community as well as quite a few Portuguese-owned businesses in Randfontein. These businesses were represented at the food and drink stands at the festival. Traditional Espetada, Prego rolls, Pasteis de Nata, and Caipirinhas were on offer at various stalls.
Although the event is a celebration specifically of the Portuguese culture, performances such as hip-hop dances from Mario’s Dance Academy – owned by Randfontein local Mario Gomes – also were seen. A little girl, Katia Pita from Mario Gomes Dance Academy stole the show with her flawless hip-hop dance moves and had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.
The two groups that performed were an all-girl group, The Flawless Crew and an all-boy group, The Precision Crew. The last performance of the day was by a traditional dance group, Rancho Folclórico da Casa Social da Madeira, dressed in customary wear, performing songs from Madeira.
The last act became interactive when some of the dancers invited members of the crowd on stage to participate in a traditional Portuguese dance.
This gave a humorous and boundary-breaking ending to the beautiful Portuguese Festival.
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