Stop, Porto’s “underground” jewel hanging by a thread

bonfim It is one of the few neighborhoods in Porto that still reveals its own desire for expression. On one of its borders, old shopping center It functioned daily as a vital organ for his creativity, but early Tuesday morning, police stationed themselves at the entrance to seal off 105 of the 126 shops. Little by little, hundreds of musicians who used them as rehearsal and concert halls crowded in front of the doors, not understanding anything. At the entrance, Helena Fernandes from the group Batucada Radikal recounts how “the musicians arrived suddenly, without telling the tenants anything.” Here is the source of our work and our life. I don’t know what we can do, I’m in favor juice». Even those whose spaces were not sealed rushed to remove their materials and instruments. “We are in concert season and we can’t risk running out of all this,” explains João, with large bags on his back.

Built in the 1980s, the building was never licensed and over time it was rented out by local musicians through the manager. “We have been here for 12 years,” says Helena. we paid the rent, the community and everything, everything according to the contract. Since then, almost 600 artists like her have developed here every day, configuring an ecosystem “unique in Europe”, according to João. “A community cultural center was created exclusively, in which we invested thousands of euros to keep culture alive; there is no other central place where you can make noise at any time,” he laments.

complaints and fires

So, the first part of the problem: since 2005, noise complaints from neighbors have been piling up. However, in addition to that, two fires occurred in the past years, after which the firefighters issued a report warning of the great danger of the building. In late 2022, another study warned of “serious security flaws.” And already this Wednesday at the press conference, the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, explained that there is a “risk of criminal negligence” in allowing unlicensed use. They opted for a firm hand and it closed, surprising the owners, management and tenants.

In order to solve the licensing problem, a six million euro reform plan was approved, which neither the tenants nor the owners could finance. For its part, the City Council could not intervene in a private space with hundreds of owners who in many cases were emigrants “more or less inaccessible” according to Moreira. “We proposed other alternatives to the manager and the musicians, but they rejected them because, understandably, they didn’t want to change their work,” the mayor continued.

Renowned artist Pedro Abrunhosa shared with local musicians the feeling that “this is another problem of speculation”. “There is a lot of interest, and they just want to build hotels,” said Helena Fernandes angrily. “But it’s not like that,” Abrunhosa corrects. “The only reason is security; I just talked to Moreira, I’m listening to both sides, and it had to be closed,” ditch. “Getting to this radical point, with evictions and protests, forces the musicians to protest and the City Council to look for new solutions.” And it was like that. This Wednesday, both parties met to agree on the conversion of 30 classrooms of a nearby school into studios, which are planned to be closed.

“The real Casa da Música”

Portuguese musician Pedro Abrunhosa explains the importance of the place by phone: «In this poor area, Stop functions as a collective laboratory of around 570 artists, musicians, producers… Big projects are created. Any city would be proud of this informal art academy that grew organically. There are other cultural institutions in Porto, but popular culture here is hip-hop, rock, jazz, local music. It is very important to keep this informality together. It would be like having a hospital and sending doctors, each to his own side,” he explains. It is not only artistically, but also sociologically crucial: «I attended urban destruction as a sociological structure. Everything disappeared, the street became deserted during the real estate crisis, but this cultural pillar revived it. It is of artistic as well as urban importance,” Abrunhosa dismissed. “This was a real house of music,” says Helena Fernandes, “I think it’s something unique at the European level, with such a healthy coexistence of musical genres.”