The village of Luso, in the municipality of Mealhada, received on Sunday, October 6, the first edition of the Living Statues Festival, which brought together 18 artists at different locations in the town and at Lake Garden. The initiative took place along a route connecting the urban area of Luso to the surroundings of the lake and featured Portuguese artists distinguished in national and international competitions.
Among the participants was António Santos, known as Staticman, regarded as one of the pioneers of the performative art of living statues. Holder of six world records related to stillness and balance, he appeared for nine years in the Guinness Book of Records.
The first edition of the festival was inspired by various old professions, some related to the history and life of the municipality, seeking to recover characters and memories of other times. The performances are based on costumes and makeup, creating the illusion of motionless figures that interact occasionally with the audience through gestures and movements.
Filomena Pinheiro, vice-president of the Mealhada Town Hall, with the Culture and Tourism portfolios, considered it to be "a debut that greatly excites us, for the opportunity to bring to Luso and the municipality an artistic manifestation that is different, accessible to all and with an enormous capacity to surprise." The Mealhada-Luso Living Statues Festival took place between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm and between 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm, with free admission.
