Lisbon Blog

Queer Lisboa Film Festival in its 15th edition. The motto of the festival this time will be the “transgression”, which is the central topic that the entire program will presented during seven days. Queer Lisboa will show the best of the gay and lesbian films produced during the last two years in competitive categories for: best film, best documentary and best short film. Likewise, film works out of the contest itself will be shown, like Queer art and other samples in which the topics represent the most transgressive roots and techniques of gay cinema, classical narrative on the big screen, and marginal productions. Likewise Queer Lisboa will feature presentations from performance, installation and graphic arts, converting an event where various forms of contemporary representation are combined in a single event.

Queer Lisboa is the only festival in Portugal, which aims to present films about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, all gathered in what is known as Queer Cinema. The intention of this festival is to present the thematic and aesthetics that do not reach the large commercial film markets. Queer cinema has been available for decades in various films and filmmaking styles. However, in the early nineties which were consolidated as a new language of cinematic expression, directly linked to sexual and gender identity.

It is worth mentioning the importance of such festivals, as they help to spread the work of young artists and renew broadcasting possibilities. Queer Gender has an important place in film today with an undeniable influence on the recent production of contemporary cinema. The fact that, it addresses issues of gender and identity as previously mentioned, serves equally to create a solid foundation in search for better conditions for the work of queer artists not only in Lisbon but also throughout Europe. While the film and art should not be judged by consensus or style or gender issues, but by its quality of interpretation, the audience must just be open to new perspectives and stories.

Queer Lisboa is so committed to generate dialogue on these issues and link the public to academic space, the promotion of reflection on these contemporary manifestations. Thus, retrospective representations of homosexuality in film history, subgenres and educational activities and seminars will be organized during the festival. For more information, visit: http://queerlisboa.pt/

Alexa Ray

Nothing better than getting apartments in Lisbon and being part of one of the most important film festivals of the year. Lisbon is also a city that you can enjoy even more when summer is gone and the cool fall arrives. If you are looking for fun and nightlife, there are plenty of gay friendly places.

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Translated by: Hans
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The National Museum of Ancient Art of Lisbon presents until the 11th of September the exhibition ‘Dutch Splendor: The ‘Family Portraits’ by Pieter de Grebber’, in the Sala do Tecto Pintado. The exhibition is framed in the fourth version of the programme of small exhibition that the museum carries out to show works of its collection that are not very well known.

The painting ‘Family Portrait’ is the excuse of the National Museum of Ancient Art to focus on the splendor of Dutch painting in the 17th century, a time in which the painting of Pieter de Grebber belongs, as well as the special taste for Dutch painting in Portugal.

Pieter Fransz de Grebber was born in Haarlem, the Netherlands, in 1600. Son of the painter and embroiderer Fransz Pieter de Grebber and brother of the painters Maria and Albert de Grebber, painting and art was his natural path. Since he was little, the sacred images were part of his surroundings due to the religious atmosphere of his household, marking his picture work.

At 18 years of age, he moved with his father to Antwerp, where there was an interesting art market, selling his famous work ‘Daniel in the lions pit’. HIs fame meant that he was hired to make the decoration of Honselaarsdijk Huis in Naaldwijk and the Noordeinde Palace in Huis ten Bosch of The Hague. He painted altarpieces for churches in Flanders, Denmark and Holland.

Although his work has clear signs of Dutch baroque, he was one of the representatives of the trend known as ‘Haarlem Classicism’ and a tribute to the influence of the Caravaggistas like Rubens, Rembrandt and Bernini, among others, whose dramatic style of high realism that influenced painting at the end of the 14th century, marked the work of de Grebber. As well as historical and religious themes, he painted portraits, made engravings and drawings, from which some still remain.

In 1649, de Grebber wrote an interesting manual on the rules that all painters should abide to. In them he established eleven rules that, according to him, classic painters should preserve, among others, that painting was the highest in the hierarchy of artistic genres.

In 1933 the painting ‘Portrait of a Young Couple’ by Pieter de Grebber was stolen by the Nazis, which belonged to the German-Jewish citizen Jakob Oppenheimmer, owner of the then famous Van Diemen art gallery. Oppenheimmer and his wife Rosa had to flee to France after the expropriation of all their goods. In 1941, after the Nazi occupation, they were arrested and taken to concentration camps, where they were murdered. All the works stolen from their gallery were auctioned. In 1937 the Wiesbaden Museum bought the painting from a small gallery in Berlin. In 2010, the painting, of an enormous artistic and economic value, was restored to its heirs in a ceremony presided by the director of the Wiesbaden Museum, Voker Rattenmeyer.

For more information: http://www.mnarteantiga-ipmuseus.pt/pt-PT/destaques/ContentDetail.aspx?id=492

Nancy Guzman

‘Family Portrait’ is a beautiful Dutch baroque which is well worth seeing to realise what a great painter de Grebber was. So, if you’ve thought about renting apartments in Lisbon come to the National Museum of Ancient Art and enjoy the painting.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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The institution of matrimony is immemorial. We could say that the union of possession/submission of male-female is from before the generation of language or writing, subject to the biological necessities of survival for the human race. That’s what it is, there’s no bigger reason in copulation than reproduction of the species. That’s why our genitals were created, so we could transcend into another dimension, that one of life, that little has to do with transcendental beliefs, parallel worlds, promised paradises or Mickey Mouse: we’re flesh, bone and fluids all together who look for flesh, bones and fluids to live, in a hostile atmosphere that asks us to continue life, because all of us are directed towards death from the moment that we became. It sounds tragic but it’s true.

Homosexuality is just as immemorial. The sexual practices among same sex are registered in all cultures, in all eras, from vases to fabrics, hieroglyphics… stone, metal, wood… Many years have passed in order that today, in a fully blown post-modern time, we assume that homosexuality is just as human as humans, which is our responsability, that little has it to do with the typical options of ‘choice’, ‘genetics’ or ‘cultural’: homosexuality is an unquestionable part of the species. The main problem of homosexuality is that, in today’s capitalist order and in the ancient regimes of pre-state, it was rejected and, therefore, stigmatized and marginalized from culture, without noticing its importance for the development of societies.

Today, the possibility of marriage between same-sex couples constitutes a great achievement in the fight for the rights of the LGBT community. Mainly because of the drastic political change that this represents and for the establishment, inside the system, of the homosexual condition which is no longer distanced from the heterosexual one, but just as a space in which the couple can access the same legal rights, health rights and property rights as a heterosexual couple. These changes have been coming slowly, and now we’ll have to wait a few decades to understand the impact on our daily culture of what’s coming, such as the blossoming of new couple ties inside the establishment, which will therefore generate new images, products, reality conditions, subjectivities and, eventually, better economic models which are applicable to all citizens. The Revolution has already started, but late. At least we’re on our way. If you belong to the LGBT community, investigate your rights and possibilities of marriage in Spain, and confirm with assertiveness which benefits in terms of social and state services you can receive. It’s never late to milk the system.

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Lisbon one of the most open cities towards the LGBT community in Europe, where there’s also a lot of activism, cultural life and exchange of ideas. Participate in the change being the change yourself.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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The Berardo Museum of Contemporary Art of Portugal has exhibited the work A Hundred Times Nguyen by the Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar. The facility, which will be open until the 28th of August, was made by Jaar in 1994 when he travelled to a refugee camp in Hong Kong.

Jean François Chougnet, commissioner of the exhibition, explains that the work of Jaar is presented for the first time in Portugal and was chosen for being representative of the permanent interpellation that Jaar gives us in his works, taking uncomfortable aspects about a complex world, full of contradictions.

The work A Hundred Times Nguyen is a facility conceived as a memoir album of his visit to a Vietnamese refugee camp in 1991, where he met little Nguyen Thi Thuy. His view on the inhumanity that condemns children to live traumatic experiences brought him to take 1378 photos with the aim of performing an artistic work as a tribute to those children who were born and grew up in a refugee camp. From that collection of photographs he chose to copy the same one 100 times, the one of Nguyen.

The naivety in the image of Nguyen is moving. Her childlike and near-happy face contains the drama of thousands of children that had to run away with their parents from conflict or hunger areas to live the tragedy of being a displaced person. This is the meaning that this facility has, visualizing the thousands of invisibles on earth, whose grief are denaturalized by the media.

Jaar is considered one of the most important contemporary artists but, curiously, in his home country, he’s barely known for his work with political connotations. The use of photographs, file documents or books by thinkers give his facilities meaning and content.

Alfredo Jaar was born in Santiago de Chile in 1956. His childhood was spent in Martinique and he went back to his country to study architecture and film. In 1981 he moved to New York where he began his international career. He’s been an invited artist to the Venice Biennale (1986), Documentan 8 (1987), Kassel, Sao Paulo and Sydney Bienal among others.

Jaar, consequent with his work and his clear sense of reality and creation has had controversial answers to the question of his academic formation and his work based on a socio-political critique. “I don’t know if it’s because of my formation, but I’ve been unable to create a single work of art that’s not an answer to a real fact. I don’t know how to do it. I’m not a workshop artist, I’m a project artist.”

The important thing is that nobody is indifferent to a facility by Jaar. He always gathers us to think about the actioning of powers, like in A Hundred Times Nguyen, where a face will refers us to thousands of innocent children’s faces due to the politics of their states that decide their luck for them.

For more information: http://www.museuberardo.pt/Files/MCB_AlfredoJaar_2011.pdf

Nancy Guzman

All of this will make you reflect through the sweet gaze of Nguyen Thi Thuy and you can go back and rest in apartments in Lisbon obviously not without previously having gone for a trip around the Portuguese culinary world.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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When Lisbon gets unbearably hot there is always a way out: Surfing is one of them. And just less than 30 minutes from the city  you have some of the best beaches on the west coast of Europe to ride the sea.

To make it easier to get to the right places it is always appropriate to have some form of private transport, so renting a car is not a bad idea. However, you can reach most of the beaches described below by public transport.

Before starting, always remember that the Portuguese beaches are part of the Atlantic Ocean, which means cold water very windy. So there are cool evenings even in the middle of summer. A  wetsuit and dry clothes are advisable

Costa de Caparica

This great beach is just across the Tagus River, crossing the April 25 Bridge. It can be reached by bus from Lisbon, specifically from Campo Grande where you can catch number 75 or 153 in Praça de Espanha or 161 in Praça Areeiro. If you drive you can find parking right in front of the coast. Once on the beach it is advisable to find a good spot with few people and slip into the Atlantic Ocean.

The waves are consistent with many peaks. With good winds in all directions. It is ideal for surfers of any kind of experience, from beginners to experts, although the latter may prefer other more aggressive beaches

It is a good choice all year round. It is estimated that at least half the year there are good waves there.

Praia do Guincho

One of the most popular beaches for lisboners,  only is 45 minutes by car. In fact, very few people will tell you that they do not know it. It is also internationally recognized for its fast winds, and has a very good atmosphere, with many surfers and windsurfers during the weekends, but a little more relaxed during the weekdays. It has a stunning landscape with a giant canyon and the Mountain of Sintra in sight.
To get there reach Cascais by train from Lisbon, and from there take a bus to the beach. Although you can also bike ride on the bike path that connects with O Guincho Cascais.
Waves can become very powerful, making it a perfect for a day of exciting experiences in  the ocean. We must be careful with the rocks, as its bottom is sandy and rocky.

It has a campground close by if you want to access it.

Bafureira

Bafureira  is closer to Lisbon than the previous two beaches, and it is in the area of ​​Estoril (before Cascais and only 20 minutes by train from the center of the city). Furthermore, last year it held the Billabong Girls Surf final, and is considered by many to be one of the best beaches nearby, it is the ideal getaway for those who work and want to return to the office energized. Given its proximity to the city, you may find it pretty crowded most of the time

There are many exposed sea rocks,  so it is best to ride 1 meter waves, otherwise, prepare for a major wipe-out, therefore, medium or high tide is what we consider as a good waves, and of course, as with the rest of the Portuguese beaches it has waves is almost all year round!

Flavinho

If you are coming to Lisbon for surfing we recommend you stay in one of the apartments in Lisbon ready for tourists.

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Translated by: Marc
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According to the official story, when the Second World War broke out, the British citizen of Armenian origin Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, one of the richest men in the world due to his pioneering and shady work in the oil business that developed in the Middle East (he had five percent of some of the biggest companies in the sector due to his participation in the transfer of goods of the Turkish Oil Company after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire) and at the same time member of the Persian diplomatic delegation, he carried on being a member of it in the French collaborationist government of Vichy, which allowed the government of his adoptive country to declare him an enemy of the state.

This drastic decision had, among others, two consequences. On one hand, and in it we should maybe find its main cause, all the shares that Gulbenkian had in the Iraq Oil Company were confiscated effective immediately. On the other, despite that before the war the negotiations between him and the British Museum were very advanced, when the conflict ended, the magnate of Cappadocian origin chose to exclude London as the depositary of the fabulous legacy for which he’s remembered today. It has more than 6000 works of an impressive private art collection and archeological objects – his greatest passion in life which started at 14 years of age with the acquisition of some ancient coins at a bazaar – which include important Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamic, Persian, Armenian, Islamic and Oriental works, as well as valuable bibliographical jewels and a healthy representation of European art where, together with the famous marble sculpture of Diana by Houdon from 1776 that belonged to Catherine of Russia (Gulbenkian bought it off the Hermitage Museum in 1930), and we can highlight works by famous masters of art such as Van de Weyden, Carpaccio, Rubens, Van Dyck, Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Guardi, Gainsborough, Fragonard, Corot, Renoir, Manet, Degas and Monet.

They say that having thought about it incessantly during a large part of his 86 years of his long and tumultuous life, Gulbenkian died in 1955 in Lisbon, the city where he had settled in after the war, without having decided which place should hold his legacy. He only had the one but firm conviction, that under no circumstance the destination of his collection was to be the United Kingdom, a country that he felt insulted by.

With this last condition, it was finally Lord Ratcliffe, his lawyer, confident and right-hand man, funnily enough British, who in accordance with the last will of the late Gulbenkian, who had to make the definitive choice on the matter. His choice became Lisbon, where, from 1965, you can find the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum (http://www.museu.gulbenkian.pt/museu.asp?lang=en).

Paul Oilzum

Located since 1969 in a magnificent modern building by Ruy Jervis d’Athouguia, Pedro Cid and Alberto Pessoa in the Parque de Santa Gertrudes in Palhavã, it is, despite not being very well-known, one of the greatest museums in Europe. Don’t miss out on visiting it when you rent apartments in Lisbon

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Of all the cities in Europe, none could hope to steal the crown of the capital of melancholy from Lisbon, a sad city to rival all others which appears to confront the end of the world on a daily basis with its disturbing, quiet beauty. These days it is somewhat difficult to talk about melancholy. According to some dictionaries, it is to do with a kind of hazy, deep, and endless sadness which means that the sufferer is unable to find pleasure or enjoyment in anything. Or an obsession with all things to do with sadness, as confirmed by the laconic styles of the bewitching, disappearing language employed by Robert Burton, who spoke of it during the first half of the 17th century, emotionally crippled as the the victim of what modern medicine has come to term as clinical depression.

Burton was a modest professor, and librarian at Christ College in Oxford, who passed his sedentary, silent and solitary life of books, devoted to the study of magic, medicine, theology, mathematics, astrology and literature. Like a considerable number of his contemporaries, he suffered from “melancholy“, which according to the theories of physics (according to whom, each natural humour corresponded with the ascendance of a mysterious planet), was attributed to a predominance of black bile, ruled by Saturn. Burton proposed various different types of melancholy, each one expressing itself and manifesting in different ways. His causes were also diverse – from religion, to love, and much more besides; like desire, spells, charms; an overactive imagination, the movement and position of the stars, loneliness, indolence, work, lack of or too much sleep, too much studying, vanity, the death of a loved one, or bad diet.

Burton scrutinized all of these causes in one of the most lively, memorable books ever written. Anatomy of Melancholy, is a wonderfully chaotic, incoherent masterpiece, which challenges all of the conventional genders, being at once a critical book and a literary creation; a book about medicine, and philosophy, about theology, and mythology – as well as a seductive, fascinating compendium of ancient knowledge, which through various digressions, brilliantly draws in the reader to each page, each paragraph and each line.

It is perhaps also, above all – like all good books – a self-help book. Burton himself confessed that he wrote it hoping to find a cure for what had tortured him so relentlessly throughout his life (“I write about melancholy so as to try and avoid melancholy“) – and Samuel Johnson, compiler of the enormously influential dictionary of the English language which appeared in 1755, and sufferer of a depression which he had inherited from his father, declared that the book was an incomparable source of consolation – and the only book capable of getting him out of bed two hours earlier than usual.

Paul Oilzum

You’ll find few books such a perfect travel companion when you rent Lisbon accommodation It’s deep melancholy is like that of the Portuguese capital. Both inspire, confound, and paradoxically, cure.

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Translated by: Poppy
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Between the 14^th, 15^th and 16^th July the Super Bock Super Rock festival will be held on in Herdade do Cabeco de Flauta, next to Praia do Meco in Sesimbra, on the coast surrounding Lisbon. The feast of rock and heavy metal is an event that has been calling for music lovers since 1994, when it was organized by the beer brand that bears its name.

Summer and music festival is one only thing, that’s why Super Bock Super Rock has not a special concept, it’s just a meeting where dancing and summer debauchery and rock in all its forms, are central elements to gather fans for three days. In this seventeenth version of the festival, it will meet with its proposal: to bring the best rock bands of the moment.

The lineup is leaded by British band of indie rock, Arctic Monkeys. This band was born in 2002 in the suburb of Scheffield and is formed by Alex Turner, lead guitarist and vocalist, Jamie Cook, guitar, Matt Helders, drummer and Nick O’Malley who performs on bass. While their career has been meteoric in the pop punk revival scene, their beginning was through the web and using direct marketing formulas. Today, their appearances on television and the nominations for the Brit Awards has positioned them as one of the most popular bands, till the point of being mentioned by more than a politician to show their empathy with alternative rock.

The Kooks is another high point of the festival. The English rock band that takes its name from the title track by David Bowie, was formed in 2004 in Brighton and is composed of Luke Pritchard, lead singer and guitar, Hugh Harris, second voice and guitar, Paul Garred, drummer, and Peter Denton performing the bass. This band that mixes sounds of The Police, The Beatles and other great stars of English rock, will perform the best songs from their albums.

No doubt, the band that will take the fans to the festival will be The Walkman. Born in New York, it’s a post-punk band that excelled in the international scene for their interesting dub and American funk sounds. Now they bring their new album Lisboa, which was launched a year ago as a tribute to the city and the charm they found in their penultimate tour.

In addition to these bands, there will be about 32 groups of different expressions of indie and rock bands including major Portuguese bands such as Sean Riley & The Slowriders, Glockenwise, X-Wife and B Fachada, among several other bands that are ready to conquer the international stage.

As in any festival that is respected, there will be free camping areas for those with tickets that cover all three days. They will have access to all the services and special waste places, including bars and Internet. It also has parking areas for those traveling by car.

For further info: http://www.superbocksuperrock.pt/pt/sbsr/17-sbsr-meco.aspx

Nancy Guzman

If independent rock is your thing, make sure you head down to Praia Do Meco in Sesimbra if you are renting apartments in Lisbon You’ll find not only some of the best bands, but a beautiful beach surrounded by pine trees.

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Translated by: Poppy
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This is the second celebration of the Portuguese Gothic festival and this time, not two, but three days of great music in the beautiful castle of Leiria is awaiting you. The new event is scheduled for the 29th, 30th and 31st of July  and the bands … well, I will share that information later.

In 2010, the debut of Entremuralhas took the city by surprise and the truth is that it came as a very positive shocker to the dark & gothic followers, not only because of the bands performing, which was outstanding in all aspects, but also because of the excellent organization and the place chosen for its celebration, the Leiria castle, a magical and historical place in Portugal, due to its location and perfectly adapted atmosphere making it  the ideal place for a festival of this kin. The result of this first  two-day festival received great reviews by attendees. The bands played on the 27 and 28th of August, were: Project Pitchfork, Covenant, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Ataraxia, Collection O ‘Arnell Andrea and Ashram.

The excellent organization of the festival is all work of Fade in, a cultural action association that work hard to keep the gothic scene alive and active with an array of concerts and festivals throughout the year. recently Swans and Diamanda Galas perfromed with huge success but now it’s time for Entremuralhas.

Daily shows of the festival programming is as follows: Friday 29th July: Nitzer ebb, Sol Invictus and Irfan. Saturday 30th: Suicide Commando, Rosa Crvx and Sieben. Sunday 31st: Diary of Dreams, Love Is Colder Than Death and the Spanish formation Trobar de Morte. The price for three days is 60 €, if you are a member of Fade In you get a 10% discount and pay € 50. The price per day is 25 €  for the general public and fade in members pay  € 20.

Waste no more time and  book tickets for  the number of attendees per day is 700 and it sells out fast.. Tickets are on sale now!.

More Info: http://www.fadeinfestival.com

Luz Obscura

Reserve your ticket and your Lisbon accommodation for the Entremuralhas 2011, remember that tickets are limited. Put on your coolest Gothic clothing’s and everything needed to enjoy these three days in one of the most beautiful castles in Portugal!.

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Translated by: Marc
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For Tantra, sex does not necessarily involve only the physical part but also the mental one, thus ensuring that the experience reaches a  larger extent of satisfaction for the couple. And to get mind and body involved in sexual life despite the many distractions and problems we face in everyday life, Tantrism proposes a series of exercises that will help us very much. One exercise is called “twisted eroticism”, an excellent way to start having sex.

To  begin  the twisted erotic exercise, it is necessary that the couple dress in loose clothings, preferably transparent, pink for women and blue for men. For starters, the couple should sit cross-legged, facing each other, with eyes closed and breathing quietly, not touching. This first stage of tantric practice is to idealize the partner, imagine how he/she is the best lover, imagining his touch, his kisses, the positions they enjoy, remembering  the times that sex together has been fantastic.

Then he should join hands, eye contact and breath at the same rhythm: six seconds to inhale, hold breath for eight and four to  exhale.  This should be repeated nine times. Then she will place  her legs on his  and continue for another nine repetitions.

Then, it’s time to undress and lovers to come closer, still sitting face to face, the genitals should be touch but there must not be penetration. The couple could be embraced and must have their lips together and visualizing each other having sex together. Then she will lay on her  back on the bed and he will caress her and kiss her slowly. The caresses she should pay attention to her spine

Finally, he should penetrate her but both parties will remain motionless, concentrating all the attention on the genitals and the erotic and emotional charge that has been generated, the stored energy begins to flow between both of them, the desire they have to start with rhythm of penetration increases. The more time you spend wishing for intercourse, the intensity of sex will be higher.

For Tantra this exercise of twisted eroticism ends without having intercourse, orgasm is sought without the stimulation of the genitals However, you can continue the exercise as you and your partner wish, for many, the best way to end this exercise is a slow but intense erotic sex session privileging the emotions rather than physical aspect. But each couple should find the best pleasant way to end.

Remember you do not need all the Tantric philosophy to revitalize sex.

Miruton

If your sex life needs a new impulse, get Lisbon accommodation and give yourself a passionate vacation with your spouse, bohemian Lisbon and its splendid views can be very stimulating for both.

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Translated by: Marc
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