CCC's Street Art Contest #298 "Memories of the Invasion" - Mariana Duarte Santos - Bairro 2 de Maio, Lisboa – Portugal

Good afternoon, friends!

Welcome to another post in the Street Art community!

Just a few days ago, Portugal celebrated Freedom Day. This day, April 25, 1975, marked a revolution that brought an end to the dictatorship in the country.

Today, in connection with this anniversary and in celebration of 52 years of democracy in Portugal, I’d like to share this fantastic work by Mariana Duarte Santos.

This work is located in a building very close to the one piece shared here, two weeks ago, in this community by the same artist.

The neighborhood where this building is located has an important connection to the anniversary I mentioned, and is therefore closely tied to history. Allegedly, around April 1974, this very neighborhood was under construction, possibly with the intention of housing members of the secret police linked to the regime. The houses, which at that time had only their internal structure, floors, windows, or walls, were occupied shortly thereafter, on May 2 of that same year, by people who were then living in shacks or who were homeless or in need of shelter.

These same people completed the necessary construction work to finish the project within that timeframe, which required great sacrifice, as they were working under precarious conditions. Today, this same neighborhood has become a larger social housing complex, with additional buildings added to the existing housing stock; these were constructed using public funds but intended for different residents.

The woman depicted in this mural painted by Mariana Duarte Santos is one of the original residents of this neighborhood; she was photographed a few years ago, along with newspaper clippings from that time. This neighborhood was then named “2 de Maio” in honor of the revolution that began at that time, leaving a permanent mark on this parish.

This work, which I’m sharing here today, was inspired by an original painting by Veloso Salgado from 1913 titled “Sufrágio.”

I’m sharing the painting that served as its inspiration here, similar to the previous work I shared here two weeks ago.

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^{source: https://museudelisboa.pt/pt/collection/assets/4708-cidade-lisboa-elege-primeira-vereacao-sufragio/}
This painting was originally titled “The City of Lisbon Elects Its First City Council.” It depicts what is believed to have been the Republican Party’s first victory in the Lisbon City Council elections.

In this painting, we see Praça do Município, filled with a crowd, with flags and banners, with the female figure as its central and dominant theme. This woman holds in her left hand a scroll bearing the following inscription: “Vote for the Republican list of 1908.” There is thus a clear call to vote directed at the crowd.