Yesterday at 6:33 am there was an explosion of joy in Bik. Twenty years later, the typical district of Lisbon was once again celebrating victory in popular marches. Between tears of happiness, hugs, kisses and cries of “Bitsa is beautiful!” people from the neighborhood gave way to happiness. “It was a victory for sadness turned into love for the neighbors,” says Pedro Duarte, who is in charge of the march.
It’s sad to see more and more people forced to leave their homes due to real estate speculation, but the love of Bika speaks louder. “A corner for us” was the theme of the march. “People must return to their neighborhoods,” calls Pedro Duarte, recalling that the Marítimo Lisboa Clube, the community organizing the march, has been evicted from its headquarters. The parade on Avenida da Liberdade was decisive. It was there that the last cards were played.
“It was a strong bet. The demonstrators did their duty,” explains tutor Américo Silva. With this victory in the campaigns, Biki has ten trophies. He made his debut with a victory in 1952 and repeated the triumph in 1955, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1992 and 2003. This year he won again.
Bairro Alto
2nd place
He introduced the theme “You talk, you talk… and I sprinkle myself.” He shared 1st place with Bika in the avenue parade. He was 5th overall last year.
Alfama
3rd place
He introduced the theme “A Sina do Estivador”. He won six of the seven contested prizes, but it wasn’t enough to win the competition.