Portuguese Communist Party

The Portuguese Communist Party (Portuguese: Partido Comunista Português or PCP) is a major left-wing political party in Portugal, founded in 1921 as the Portuguese section of Communist International (Comintern).

Avante! Festival

Every year, in the first weekend of September (since 1976) there is a gigantic festival, the Avante! Festival (Portuguese: Festa do Avante!) named after the Party's official newspaper. After taking part in different locations around Lisbon, like the FIL Park, Ajuda or Loures, it is now carried out in Amora, a town near Seixal in a ground bought by the Party after a massive fundraising campaign in the early 90s. The campaign was considered by the Party as a the only way to avoid the boycott organised by the owners of the previous festivals grounds, that culminated in 1987 with the festival not being carried out after eleven editions. The festival is usually visited and participated in by hundreds of thousands of people, making the outside of the ground seem a gigantic camping park. The party itself consists of a three day festival of music, with the participation of hundreds of Portuguese and international bands and artists in five different stages, ethnography, gastronomy, debates, a book & music fair, theatre (Avanteatro) and sporting events. Several foreign communist parties also participate.

Related Topics:
Avante! Festival - Lisbon - FIL - Ajuda - Loures - Seixal

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In 27 editions, the Festival counted with the presence of several famous artists, either Portuguese or foreign, like Chico Buarque, Zeca Afonso, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Holly Near, the Soviet Circus Company, the Kuban Cossacks Choir, Adriano Correia de Oliveira, Manoel de Oliveira and others.

Related Topics:
Chico Buarque - Zeca Afonso - Buffy Sainte-Marie - Holly Near - Kuban Cossacks - Adriano Correia de Oliveira - Manoel de Oliveira

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The preparation of the party begins right after the end of the previous party. Hundreds of the party's members and friends, mostly young people, volunteer for the hard work of building a small town in a few months.

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• Avante! Festival main website
• List of the artists present in the 27 editions of the Festival