Structure will be set up for the Smuggling Festival, which runs from March 24th to 26th in Alcoutim and Sanlúcar de Guadiana.
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The Smuggling Festival – Traffic in Arts in Guadiana is back to its original format and will take place on the 24th, 25th and 26th of March. And it brings back a very sui generis pedestrian bridge.
With an eclectic program, it includes presentations and artistic interventions, spread over three days of cultural content that will invade and stir the towns of Alcoutim and Sanlúcar de Guadiana.
As we mentioned, what will also be back is the floating pedestrian bridge that will once again connect the Algarve town to Sanlúcar de Guadiana, in the Spanish province of Huelva. A unique opportunity to cross the Guadiana River on foot between the two banks, in the case of one country to the other.
In addition to the floating pedestrian bridge, the Festival do Contrabando includes an arts festival, with a seasonal market, street entertainment, exhibitions, gastronomy, handicrafts and old crafts.
But being in those parts, you can also cross the border by air, more specifically on the first cross-border zip line in the world. It is a structure 720 meters long and whoever uses it can reach up to 80 kilometers per hour before landing in Alcoutim. However, the crossing only reopens on March 29. Therefore, it can be on the agenda now.
Pedestrian bridge and various spectacles
Over three days, between March 24th and 26th, the two villages will be an open-air stage for shows and cultural interventions by companies from various countries.
O poster defines the temporal passage, between the portrayed period and the present, and through this duality the potentiality of the future.
In a new dawn, the hands move again and time begins to count, presenting sounds, lights, colors, aromas, the frenzy, the hustle and the friendship that prevails on the border are experienced and celebrated again.
What else to see in Alcoutim
As you travel through the municipality of Alcoutim, you will find a series of testimonies of an ancient experience, but which still clearly mark the local traditions and customs. You will also get to know a superb landscape, namely the Serra do Caldeirão.
Thus, throughout the region, do not miss the blacksmith’s housea small museum nucleus where you can witness the memories and objects of one of the crafts that marked the work and traditional experiences. Also don’t miss the Saint Mark’s Churchdating from the 16th century.
In the village of Alcoutim, admire the riverside area, made up of new wharf and old wharf and garden areas. Take a moment to see the fisherman statues next to Chapel of Saint Anthonyof Smuggleron the old wharf, and on the Tax Guardon the terrace of the kiosk, which offers views over the Guadiana and over the Spanish village of Sanlúcar de Guadiana.
towering castle
Continue the visit by heading to the village castle, monument ex-libris of Alcoutim, and take a stroll through its gardens and walls. Imagine here the struggles and battles of the Christian reconquest or the defense of the border against Castile and later Spain, with the restoration of Portugal for example.
In addition to the fabulous views that you can enjoy, it has the Archeology Museum Nucleus to visit, with its two exhibitions “Timeless Games. Boards and Game Stones from the Old Castle of Alcoutim” It is “The Archaeological Heritage of Alcoutim”.
In the castle garden you can see another work from the event Traffic of Arts in the Guadiana of 2020. It’s about the “Smuggling Tunnel”artistic installation created by VOLTES Architecture Cooperativefrom Spain, and which was the result of a work workshop around sugarcane.
Take the opportunity now to go up the village a little, towards the Hermitage of Our Lady of Conception and observe carefully the two essential points of the heritage on its exterior, the baroque staircase facing the village and the manueline door.
There will be much more to see, such as a set of 31 tile murals by artist Carlos LuzThe Church of Mercy Or the Lontra, from the Big Trash Animals collectionby the Portuguese artist Bordalo IIwho has been living on the Portuguese bank of the Guadiana since November 2020.
Don’t miss a visit to Alcoutim to miss out on the Contrabando Festival, cross the pedestrian bridge between the two banks of the Guadiana and, above all, spend a lively weekend.
