‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’ gathers outstanding participating groups
The ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’ in celebration of the 17th anniversary of Macao’s Handover to China, will be held on 4 December. This year the Parade takes the classic Chinese text Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing) as its background. “VIVA’s Adventures through Shan Hai” comprise 60 local and foreign participating groups in a total of nearly 1,200 participants. Local groups responded actively to the call for participation in the Parade, with performances featuring Cantonese opera, theatre, music, martial arts, folk and traditional and oriental dance. The Parade will also feature a number of outstanding foreign participating groups, from Latin-speaking countries and other foreign regions, including French group Plasticiens Volants which again will bring huge balloons that add colour to the event’s visual impact; Rome Majorettes from Italy, specialized in the classic discipline of majorettes and cheerleading to generate excitement and festive joy; Ballet Afro Tuga from Portugal which presents a big show based on African traditional percussion and rhythms featured in festive celebrations and religious rituals; and renowned Spanish troupe Robots composed by coloured space robots using special jumping stilts. The Parade also features other extraordinary participating groups, such as Revista de Montevideo from Uruguay, Comparsa de Badajoz from Spain, Tambourin Dance of the Liannan Yao Autonomous County of Guangdong Province from Mainland China, inscribed in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage, Dragon-fish Dance of Sha Chong Cun of Panyu District of Guangzhou City from Mainland China, Make Friends With Puppets from Hong Kong and the Latin Overseas Chinese Group, presenting wonderful performances. This year, the route of the Parade includes installations based on the mythological characters of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, enhancing the festive atmosphere. Relevant installations are found in different sites, such as the Mottled flying-fish, found at Freguesia de Santo António, a fish that can fly and swim underwater and which arrival brings abundant harvests; the Qiyu-bird, found at Santa Casa da Misericórdia Albergue and Tap Siac, which has three heads and six tails and can drive away nightmares as well as get rid of terrible evils; the Hairy people who have their bodies covered with thick hair; and the Tiny people who have a very short stature. The Torch-Dragon, a deity which can manipulate rains and winds, is also found at Senado Square. The members of public participating in the Parade can have the chance to witness these creative installations. For more information about the Parade, please visit the Parade webpage at www.icm.gov.mo/macaoparade and the Parade page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/macaoparade.
