“The identity of the country is made by people”

“ O love is above anything.” These were the first words of João Catarré to describe “Santo António – O Casamenteiro de Lisboa”, the film of Ruben Alves who arrived at the cinemas on September 10th. This feature film is starring Rita Blanco and Joaquim Monchique.

In this story, João Catarré gives life to Antonio. His character is detained and gets a ‘quick’ out of prison to marry Fatima, the role of Jacqueline Corado, in the marriages of Saint Anthony. This is the beginning of a role that then has some ‘adventures’ – and even half carious.

In conversation with News to Minutes, the actor said that giving life to this Antonio was good. “ When Ruben began to describe what the film was and this approach to globalization, to come and buy Lisbon and Portuguese traditions, it has aroused some curiosity. When he started showing the script, I was very surprised and willing to do it. When he started showing the character... that was the very top”you remember.

“I felt like doing this character, discovering it, creating it together with RubenAnd I felt like telling this story. I was always surprised at a growing enthusiasm and willingness to create this magic that this film has,” he added.

In addition to speaking about the tradition that marks the festivals of popular saints, “Santo António – The Casamenteiro de Lisboa” addresses other issues such as the arrival of tourism. “I grew up on the Sintra line and when I came to Lisbon it was by train, and they were few times – when I was very young. I have a memory of Baixa, Avenida da Liberdade, Chiado, all Lisbon very different from the reality that exists today. And yes, this is all the result of the coming of tourism, globalisation“, he commented when making the transition from the big screen to reality.

“ As a citizen, I am sorry that many of the traditions that existed in Lisbon have been lost, some, but it is all part of the advancement of life, of countries, of globalisation. Of course, many things remain in memory – many of them because they no longer exist today. For example, Ginjinha herself is already a very rare thing here. Even so, we continue to have every year the Marches of Lisbon and the weddings of Santo António – we continue to preserve this”, he added.

“ This entanglement of tourists with Lisbon and this deconstruction in which everything that was typical now has another type of packaging to sell to the tourist, in a way makes me sad. But as a citizen there is some understanding, because when we go to other cities abroad we realize that it is not only in Lisbon that this is happening,” he said.

Asked whether it is possible to maintain the identity of the country and evolve, or if the identity always gets lost a little bit, the actor shared: “The identity of the country is for people. And as long as we are Portuguese proud of our country and our city, the Lisboners proud to be Lisboners, no matter how much there are changes in products, campaigns and events, will not be able to break or uncharacterize Portuguese itself and Portugal as a country – and Lisbon as a city.”

João Catarré has been very present in cinema and national television these past few times. In addition to “Santo António – O Casamenteiro de Lisboa”, he also joined the cast of the film “Protejo Global”, which premiered on April 23. On the small screen was more recently present in the novel “A Promessa” and “Terra Forte”. 

Speaking of project reconciliation, the actor recognized that “it is a challenge to manage different characters and stories”. But it's still positive.

“Of course it’s much better when we’re only dedicated to one project, there’s another kind of introspection, dedication to character and history. But one thing doesn't invalidate the other. And sometimes it's even challenging because being on tv and a movie at the same time doesn't let us rest and relax. Therefore, the nervous system is always acting and the mind always wants to create in different ways, consequently the context and the project where it is inserted ", completed.