Purpose of the Project

In order to fulfil the purpose of the project, that of helping to maintain all these customs and traditions, it is necessary to listen to local people.

If we can preserve some heritage that represents them and with which they identify in this close relationship with the sea, that represents all this ancestral Fishing Community, all the better. 

Thus, Alves Da Mota and John Kavanagh, through their project “Old Town of Funchal – The Community and its Sea” aims to accomplish, a series of actions that aim to gather a set of photographic and video material as well as other of interest for the preservation of historical heritage. The purpose of the project will be to display all the work of collection and expose them to the public in the June 2023.

To this end, the following programme will be carried out: 

1. Collect old photographs and video of the Old Quarter.

2. Carry out video interviews with the local population.

3. Reconstruction in Largo do Corpo Santo (Zona Velha) of a traditional Madeiran canoe (“Vadia”) which is very popular among the whole Community.

4. To show in Municipal Theatre Baltazar Dias a video in the form of a short documentary summarising all the work done in the previous points.

5. To pay homage to the great local craftsmen and master boat builder, Humberto Da Mota (“Cigarrinha”).