Arts Manifesto: Sintra

Sintra is a harmonious melody. It is the main voice in a wave of sounds and silences. Sintra is an adagio, but also an allegretto and a vivacissimo, in a challenging and original combination of rhythms, keys, wind, strings and percussion. It's the score, the baton, the symphony, the entire orchestra!

Sintra is a scenic art of movement. A magical Nutcracker and simultaneously a dramatic Swan Lake. But also the heat of Salsa, the boldness of Tango, the audacity of Flamenco, the softness of Samba and the seduction of Belly Dance. It's the lightness of Hip-hop and the joy of Funk. It's the whirl of the Ballroom Dances, the Cuban rhythm of Bolero and the expression of the African roots of jazz. It is the vibration of tap dancing and the body awareness of contemporary dance.

Sintra is a game of pigments that manifest themselves on a natural canvas. It is a purely abstract line and at the same time a graphic representation in impressionist brushstrokes. Sintra is a visual art full of colour and expressionism in whose shadows and depth of emotion are revealed. It is in itself a self-portrait, a charcoal drawing, a faded watercolour and an intense oil painting. Sintra is a complete gallery of Renaissance artists, the height of realism, the three-dimensionality of Cubism.

Sintra is, in every corner, a texture carved in volumetric games. Sintra transforms blocks into busts of biblical heroes and statues full of symbolism. It is the Renaissance in marble and Neoclassicism in bronze, the monumental Gothic in stone, the exacerbated Baroque in ebony, the geometric forms of Cubism, the lines of Futurism, the reduction of Minimalism, the contemporaneity of Installations and the irreverence of Pop Art.
Sintra is a building, a temple that nature designed and that Man shaped the ruler and square set. It is the adornment of divine creation and the sensory effect that results from space art.

Sintra is a book of poems, an epic narrative, a fairy tale, an illustrated album, a travel guide, a memoir, a literary essay… and it will always be Afonso da Maia's eternal tragic novel. Sintra is, in itself, an encyclopaedia that fits all literary genres, even those that have not yet been invented.

Sintra is also the revelation of the seventh art and the perfect setting that doesn't need any special effects. Sintra is the best director, the best artistic direction, the best script, the best soundtrack, the best photography, the best actor and actress. Sintra is the best movie.

But Sintra has other arts. In a place full of revivalism and charm that the palaces, mansions, parks and gardens that beckon us to explore, Comur’s doors open in Praça da República, in a shop full of details and where preserves are testament to the art of flavour, of manual labour, and to the history and uniqueness of the Portuguese sea.

Sintra is a work of art, an afterthought, an artistic manifestation, a slash of nature and a crescendo of inspiration. Sintra lends itself to a lengthy tasting of the best preserves, sealed with soul in every can that leaves Comur.

Even when the wind turns the clouds and the sun says goodbye to the horizon, Sintra always maintains a special charm, right down to the last ray of light. Because Sintra is art.