We are diving into the fourth edition of Passagens Festival!
If you don’t know the festival yet, you can check our pages where we go through the previous editions. It is a weekend of education, discussion and celebration of migration in Portugal.
Where? Os Penicheiros, Barreiro
When? 17th and 18th of May 2025
Free entry.
Save the date and stay tuned for the lineup, that will be announced in the upcoming months in our social media.
Music
Prétu
Prétu Is an afronaut who travels in a sonic and visual journey through his sampledelic cosmo, docking in space stations where he looks for travellers willing to run away from the predictable and supervised imperial metaverse.
He uses the sampler as an anachronizer to dissolve the Master’s Clock. Time is shrunk, stretched, sped up, slowed down, run in different directions, overlapped, looped, spiralized, warped. The speedometer of this Unidentified Sonic Object, U.S.O. displays various BPMs. Samples are the ignition. Acustic and electronic polyrhythms accelarate particles and synthesizers, mixed with delays, reverbs and distortions, open cracks between genres and create portals that cross dimensions. There’s no gravity. Those who need ground do not board. Fragments of electronic, dub, morna, batuku or colaboi, collide, collapse, and from stars dust, from cosmic rain, music borns.
There’s no map. Navigation is at sight through ancestral african technology, looking for the prophetized “Black Star”. Sometimes accompanied by co-pilots, other times by himself. Yet, there is an entity, that materialized itself randomly in the cockpit, using body and movement as oracle. Available messages of the afrogalactic archive are intuited, downloaded, re-translated and oralized in multiple flows and languages. Rebroadcast aiming to reach the guerrilla fighters from other quadrants in the struggle against colonialism and the empire that, after having colonized the land and the bodies now colonizes consciousness with algorhythm. In pretu’s multiverse “A Luta Continua”.
Sana Cissokho
Sana Cissokho is a Senegalese musician who, since childhood, was raised in the art of storytelling and playing the traditional stringed instrument kora. Having descended from a lineage of legendary masters such as Toumani Diabaté, Ballaké Sissoko and Sona Jobarteh (the first female kora player to receive international recognition), Cissokho follows in the ancestral footsteps of this musical tradition, keeping its rich cultural heritage alive. His repertoire combines it with a contemporary approach, and has already taken him on stages at festivals such as Sauti Za Busara, in Tanzania, or World Music Week, in Portugal.
Follow Sana at @sanacissokho on Instagram and Tiktok.
Muvuka
Muvuka is a musical project that translates into movement, connection and cultural fusion. Taking its name from the Bantu term “Mvuka” — which evokes the energy of a vibrant, bustling crowd — the band embodies this feeling by blending Brazilian rhythms with the rich sounds of Algerian music (a blend of Latin and Arabic influences), imbued with the multicultural energy of Lisbon, where the band was born. On stage, boundaries dissolve: instruments, voices and the energy of the audience collide, transforming the entire space into a single, pulsating “muvuca”.
Like a bridge across the Atlantic, Muvuka’s sound invites listeners on a journey where continents meet, traditions intertwine and people come together through dance and celebration. With irresistible rhythms and intercultural dialogues at their core, each performance opens space for cultural dialogue— proving that music is the universal language par excellence.
Samy Zeghmati – Samy.zegh / Singer/ guitar player
Di Grecco – digrecco_ / Singer / guitar player
Alexandre Caetano – alexandrecaetano / Percussionist
Vasco Sousa – vaaco_sousa_96 / Bass player
Samy Zeghmati Trio – Paths we cross
In ancient times, the sea was the road connecting, mixing but also exploiting peoples from around the globe. The sea has always been a road, both a way forward and a crossroads. The story of humankind is a story of migration and music has always been the expression of people’s need to communicate their feelings and share them with others. In Paths we cross, a journey starts. A journey of individual stories of different aspects of migration: forced migration, wanted migration, longing, hope, cultural shock, learning through diversity, challenges, and opportunities. Paths we cross is step 1 of a longer project that aims to address topics around the theme of migration, from different angles, always starting from an individual perspective.
Samy Zeghmati – Samy.zegh / Singer/ guitar player
Andre Velho Morais – Senesmusic / Lead guitar player
Alexandre Caetano – alexandrecaetano / Percussionist
Gabby Da Glock
Brazilian trans who, with courage and determination, crossed the ocean directly from Goiânia to Portugal more than seven years ago. Since then, Gabby has played a fundamental role in strengthening and supporting the queer community in Portugal, tirelessly dedicating herself to social causes that promote inclusion and acceptance. At the head of Casa T, the first shelter for trans immigrants in Portugal, Gabby has been a true driving force in the fight for the rights and well-being of this population. As President of Casa T, she provides not only a safe place, but also hope and dignity to those who need it most. Her work is not limited to Casa T. For more than three years, Gabby has also been part of the GAT Intendente team, an institution where she contributes to the health and well-being of the queer community and sex workers. Her strong presence is also felt in Lisbon’s nightlife, where she is dedicated to making the city’s best parties more inclusive and safe for queer people, ensuring an environment of respect and diversity. Now, Gabby reveals another of her many facets: Gabby da Glock. Ready to set the dance floors on fire, she arrives with a unique sound proposal, mixing the best of Brazilian funk with techno beats, offering an innovative and irresistible sound experience. With every step, Gabby reaffirms her identity, her commitment to community, and her multifaceted talent. Whether in social activism or music, their presence is transformative and inspiring, making Portugal a more inclusive and vibrant place for everyone.
Performances
Ginginha Poética
Ginginha Poética is an event created in 2019 and presented by Maria Giulia Pinheiro and Irma Estopiñà, and which is currently part of the FALA association. It is a poetry circle with the best of bohemianism, designed as a poetic space for fraternization and dialogue between the different Portuguese languages, and other languages that migrate throughout the territory; a way of bringing migrants and local people closer together. The poems are recited in 4 or 5 rounds, where each recitation is accompanied by a toast with ginginha or another non-alcoholic option, as a symbolic way of celebrating the poetry.
Photos: Mário Martins
Instagram: @ginginhapoetica; @fala.pt; @mariagiuliapinheiro; @irma_est
Short-Films
Júlia Vilhena, NEYA
Júlia Vilhena is a director and researcher. Brazilian, from Rio de Janeiro, has lived in Portugal for four years. Graduated in Anthropology and Film Directing, she developed a master’s thesis on the essay film of women directors from the Global South in dialogue with Cultural Studies. “NEYA” is one of the creative works developed during her PhD in Film Studies at the University of Coimbra, in which she researched the affective, aesthetic and political dimensions of deterritorialization movements in contemporary cinema. She is a director/screenwriter of short films; she worked as assistant director, executive producer, curator, and is currently a collaborating researcher at the Center for Communication and Society Studies (CECS) at the University of Minho.
Nicolàs Isasi, Landscapes for Freedom
Nicolàs is an Argentine film director graduated from FUC (University of Cinema) and Opera Regié graduated from ISATC (Colón Higher Institute of Theater Art). He has worked on more than 80 audiovisual and operatic productions as director, producer, art director, assistant director, costume designer and set designer. For more than a decade he has worked as an Adjunct Professor and JTP of Art Direction and in the Scenography Workshop at the Universidad del Cine in the chairs of Argentine set and costume designers Ponchi Morpurgo and Eduardo Lerchundi. In 2019 he reached the semi-finals of the NANO-OPERA International Competition, organized by the Helikon Theater in Moscow, becoming one of the ten best young opera directors in the world. His film OUT OF MIND, about the pandemic, has been screened at over 30 international film festivals and received the Best Experimental Film award at the Indie Online Film Fest, the Special Jury Prize for Best Actor at the Europa Film Festival, and two Honorable Mentions at the Bloomington Indiana Film Festival and the Festival del Cinema di Cefalù. In 2023 he made his debut as a director in Europe with the opera “As Damas Trocadas” by Marcos Portugal at the Teatro Vila Real for the Palácio de Mateus. In 2024, he was one of the artists selected to participate in PQ 2024: Technologies in Theatre, Performance and Exhibition Design organized by the Prague Quadrennial of Performance and Space Design. He currently works as a teacher, writes and prepares new projects.
Landscapes for Freedom is a message of peace and hope for the world, paying tribute to and involving 3 Ukrainians with different life experiences who do not know each other, but whom I have met over the years: one who is on the front lines, another who continues to create works of art there and one who is away due to the current context the country is going through. It shows some of the change in nature as a result of war. The color and animation work is based on the triptych “Diving into the Earth” by Ukrainian artist Olena Morkhovska, with music by Italian composer Matteo Ramon Arevalos and poetry by Ukrainian writer Iván Frankó.
Workshops
Workshop “Desenhos Migratórios” with Bárbara Barreto
Based on the idea of being migratory, in this activity we have a character and a journey that unfolds through a book created by the participants. The character can migrate, transform and adapt to new environments and experiences. What journey and what story are these? We are the ones who will outline this visual narrative.
Bárbara Barreto was born in Lisbon (1997), but it was in Torres Vedras where she spent most of her childhood. She trained in the area of Product Design, but since she was little she has been amazed and excited by other worlds, especially those of art, education and knowledge. While studying, she worked as a monitor in the school’s wood workshop, was a mentor and coordinator of curricular enrichment activities in elementary school and belonged to a scenography team. She currently dedicates part of her day to Espaço MyMachine, in Óbidos, where she manages this studio, the project associated with it and runs workshops for schools and families based on the project methodology and educational approaches such as Reggio Emilia and Montessori. In her spare time, she dedicates herself to looking at the world, (trying to) sing it and other creative activities, keeping in touch with nature whenever possible.
Bárbara Barreto
https://www.instagram.com/barbarante/;
Target audience: Children aged 5 and over
Participants: Children + 1 accompanying adult/child, must speak portuguese
Duration: 1h30min
Registration here until April 30th, until the limit of vacancies.
Workshop “Eu, Pessoa Migrante” with Romina & Eduarda
This workshop was specially designed for people who, like Romina & Eduarda, have left their countries and are now spread across the world. A space is created for reflection on your stories, built with challenges, lessons and changes, seeking to create roots wherever you are.
Through creative dynamics, sharing and artistic expression, you will explore migratory experiences and take another step in the adventure of finding yourselves, wherever your destination may be.
Target audience: Migrants
Duration: 1h
In Portuguese.
Registration here until April 30th, until the limit of vacancies.
Romina Marzoratti
Argentina, Clinical psychologist specializing in community work and refugee protection. Yoga teacher. @roma_marzoratti_yoga
Eduarda Estrella
Brazilian, immigrant, Art Psychotherapist and Montessori Educator. @artistic_experiences