In her speech, the Queen of the 2024 edition of the Sanjoaninas, Amélia Costa, recalled Angra as the stage for significant events in Portuguese history.
“Twice the capital of the kingdom, a bastion of liberalism, a champion of freedom of thought, Angra was the center of world trade and the anchorage of the Portuguese discoveries, and it was here that the rectilinear street layout was built that would later be replicated in Lisbon and São Salvador da Baía. In its midst there were blows and struggles, conquests and resistance, feats of bravery and courage of its people,” said Amélia Costa.
At the inauguration of “one of the biggest festivals in the Azores,” the queen recalled the torture of political prisoners who “were exiled for their ideas considered subversive” but also affirmed the city as a place of hope which, like the rest of the country, also fulfilled the “spirit of April.”
“Freedom swept the island and entered the city with the impetus of novelty. This freedom meant that people no longer had to whisper or submit, they could disagree and dare to disobey. Angra was, once again, the place where freedom was fulfilled,” he said.

The commemorative theme of the festivities, which are also celebrating their fiftieth anniversary this year, is the 50th anniversary of April 25 (the Carnation Revolution that brought democracy to Portugal).
Amélia Costa characterized Angra do Heroísmo as a “city permeable to change, which only freedom of thought invokes and sustains.”
She praised “its progressive trade unionism, the demonstrations in Relvão, it is plural and independent journalism.”
She considered the city an “Angra of tolerance towards difference, of openness to novelty, of a gregarious sense at the table, masterfully blurring social divides” and an “Angra of freedom exalted by poets.”
According to the queen of the Sanjoaninas, “It’s up to us to proudly represent it and project it into the future.”
She ended her speech by asking everyone to “show tremendous pride in the city, which is unique and vibrant.”

News item from Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director

Photos from Diário Insuar and Fernando Pavão

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.