Yesterday, 830 senior citizens attended the celebrations for St. Martin’s Day, organized by the Ponta Delgada City Council. The event, held this year at the São Vicente Ferreira sports pavilion, was attended by people from the 24 parishes of the municipality of Ponta Delgada.

The celebration of St. Martin’s Day is an annual event organized by the Ponta Delgada City Council. In this year’s edition, Councilwoman Cristina Canto Tavares was present yesterday in São Vicente Ferreira to celebrate St. Martin’s Day with more than 800 seniors, 830 to be exact, from the 24 parishes of the municipality of Ponta Delgada, in a lively gathering that is already part of the municipality’s annual activities. The gathering took place in the afternoon at the sports pavilion.

As in previous years, the São Martinho celebration was held with seniors who attend social centers, day centers of the municipality of Ponta Delgada, and institutions such as Lar Luís Soares de Sousa, Casa de Saúde Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Ponta Delgada, Casa de Saúde de São Miguel, and Lar Residência Segura.

Cristina Canto Tavares, in statements to the media, said that “we have the privilege of bringing together here around 830 of our elders, as I like to say. Instead of calling them seniors, they are people who have wisdom and life experience and who, always with the same joy and enthusiasm, take part in this activity organized by the Ponta Delgada City Council.”

According to the councilwoman, there were “24 parishes represented, 5 IPSS (Private Social Solidarity Institutions) that work daily with the elderly population of the municipality of Ponta Delgada. This year, in addition to the social gathering, chestnuts, and gastronomy, we launched the challenge of assigning a canvas to each parish to represent, in a graphic and creative way, what São Martinho means to them.“

”This is a calendar that we never fail to celebrate. It is a festival that naturally involves socializing around chestnuts and around a tradition that is the celebration of São Martinho, which our elders, our seniors, the people who have been celebrating this festive date since they were very young, never fail to attend and, naturally, never fail to invest in this challenge,” said Cristina Canto Tavares.

The celebration of these events is part of the Ponta Delgada City Council’s active aging plan. “As part of our active aging plan, which has been in place since 2023, we have an annual calendar of festivities such as Carnival, Christmas, São Martinho, and all the religious festivities associated with the Christian community. These celebrations are a way for them to socialize and have a different routine, which is in line with their previous experiences, naturally from their childhood, but which is present in this routine that is so important and brings life to the parishes,” said the councilwoman.

This event takes place in a different location every year and relies on the collaboration of the various parish councils. “I would like to note that this year we are in São Vicente Ferreira, and we have the very helpful collaboration of the Parish Council of São Vicente Ferreira and the Casa do Povo de São Vicente Ferreira, which, in collaboration with the other 24 parish councils, make this great celebration possible. We always do it in a decentralized way. last year the event took place in Livramento and this year we are here on the North Coast. It is with a great spirit of communion and sharing that we have managed to bring together, in this pavilion, more than 800 people who deserve our utmost respect and who, naturally, have the collaboration of the Social Development team of the Municipality of Ponta Delgada,” concluded Councilwoman Cristina do Canto Tavares.

The initiative was promoted by the Ponta Delgada City Council, through the Department of Social Development, in close cooperation with the municipality’s parish councils. It featured a painting contest on the theme of São Martinho created by those present and a show by comedian Helfimed, who brought smiles and moments of good cheer.

Frederico Figueiredo is a journalist for Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros-director.

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