More than a hundred musicians and shopkeepers demonstrated this Monday in Porto against the closure of 105 shops in the Stop mall, a space where for more than 20 years different factions have been used as rehearsal rooms or studios.
“At this stage of the championship, it would be more fair to call Stop a cultural center. Our goal was to show everyone the importance of this center. We are many artists, musicians and shop owners,” said Bruno Costa from the Alma-Stop Association.
The demonstration took place on the same day that a meeting was called between the municipality and members of the administration of the mall. For now, only musicians and shop owners have to accept the agreement.
Bruno Costa clarified that they are looking for “a consensus between the two associations and other shop owners” on the proposal received from the chamber. When asked if they were going to offer an extension of the schedule, he replied: “Possibly, but not only.”
“I hope there will be an answer this week,” only he said.
Among the many holding signs, João Alves, the organizer of the concert, told Luza: “There are several interests, from several people and therefore [encontrar uma solução] it’s complicated”.
“The stop has a lot of administrators, and there are people on the board who don’t understand each other,” he accused before explaining his logic: “I organize concerts, and if there are no bands, there are no gigs, but if the bands have nowhere to rehearse, they cannot play concerts.”
Francisca Oliveira, the granddaughter of the “shop owner at Stop,” interrupted a conversation between the three to say that she discovered the mall “when she was very young” and that she had always enjoyed “going there to listen to music.”
“I find it unacceptable how musicians and workers are treated because there are also shopkeepers there, and this way of evicting people is unworthy, especially people who contribute to the culture of our city,” he added.
João Kandal argued that “everyone who worked at the mall knew that the security conditions were not ideal.”
“The protest is not about that, but about the way the council has managed things. If you knew that the room has been in such conditions for decades, and you recognize that this is a valuable space, why didn’t you find a solution sooner?” the young man asked.
In the same vein, he stated that “Stop is not an isolated incident” but “an expression of everything that has happened lately.” [no Porto]either with the garden of Boavista, or with a march [LGBT+) e com o matadouro, que afinal já não vai ser um espaço artístico”.
“Recorrentemente a câmara está a secundarizar a Cultura para dar espaço ao crescimento de empresas de imobiliário”, acusou.
Depois do encerramento de mais das lojas anunciado na terça-feira passada, quase 500 artistas e lojistas ficaram sem ter para onde ir.
Author: Ana Inês Baptista e Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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