More than 50 people are challenging the transfer of remains from Esa to Lisbon

More than 50 people from Santa Cruz do Douro in Baiao, where Eça de Queiroz is buried, demonstrated this Sunday against the transfer of the writer’s remains to the National Pantheon in Lisbon.

Residents of Santa Cruz do Douro, focused on access to the Esa de Queiroz Foundation, assured that they will fight to ensure that Esa de Queiroz does not leave the Bayan in the Porto area, because “Esa is the Bayan, and Bayan is Esa,” therefore, “Esa’s Pantheon is in Bayao.”

“We are sure that he himself would not accept [a trasladação]“, said into the microphone the former president of the parish council of Santa Cruz do Douro, António Fonseca (PSD), who is currently part of a group of citizens opposing the transfer to Lisbon.

Stating that “Esa means a lot to Bayan”, António Fonseca considered that the transfer “causes serious” harm to the municipality and in particular to the parish of Santa Cruz do Douro, being an “irreparable loss”.

The former mayor who led the concentration said the transfer was nothing more than a “vanity parade”, stressing that Lisbon “instead of bringing something to the interior, it still wants to take away what little there is inside “

When asked “when will they leave Esa alone,” António Fonseca assured that the citizens “will not give up their weapons,” but rather “fight to the end.”

The transfer of Es de Queiroz’s remains to the National Pantheon, planned for Wednesday, is aimed at honoring the writer’s memory, said the president of the foundation that bears his name, although the move has been compromised by opposition from some family members.

Speaking against the relocation of the remains, unanimously approved by the Assembly of the Republic on January 15, 2021, Benwinda Cardoso, who has a house near the access to the foundation, told Lusa that he gives tourists daily instructions on where the foundation is located and where the foundation is located. cemetery.

“Many people come here from outside because of Esa, now this is very important for Santa Cruz do Douro,” he emphasized.

Therefore, he added, if Esa de Queiroz were moved to Lisbon, the parish would “lose a lot.”

Saying that Esa was “the best Portuguese writer”, Benvinda Cardoso said that “he always belonged to Santa Cruz do Douro and that is where he should stay.”

“Esa has been here for a long time, so he doesn’t need to leave his place,” said Rosa Pereira, sitting next to four other neighbors.

In the shadows, after listening to a speech by the former junta president, Rosa Pereira told Lusa that when she has appointments in Porto and the doctors ask her where she is from and she says she comes from Bayan, they immediately tell her “oh yes, from the land of Esa.”

In this way, he said, Esa brings “great prestige to Baiau” and to tourists.

Manuel Nogueira, originally from Bayan but living in Cascais, took advantage of the weekend to join the protest, arguing that the writer should remain buried where he is, with his family.

At the entrance to the cemetery where the writer’s remains are located, there is a banner with the inscription: “Esa belongs to the nation. Santa Cruz do Douro is her Pantheon.”