Flamengos

The chapel of São João, in the foothills of Flamengos is the focus of annual festivals on 24 June

The first settlers that arrived in the area that became known as the Vale dos Flamengos (English: Flemish Valley, or literally, Valley of the Flemish people), were seeking a sheltered area that provided access to potable water. Their original beachhead, on the Lomba dos Frades, in the Praia do Almoxarife valley was a disaster for the first Captain-Donatário Josse van Huerter (in 1465. His return in 1466-67 began a new phase in the island's history; discovering the fertile and sheltered geomorphology of the interior valley allowed the group of Flemish settlers to establish a foothold on the island (1468).[3] These early colonizers cultivated small parcels of land along the river, taking advantage of the springs and fertile volcanic soils, cultivating oranges, corn, legumes, as well as servicing the town and other parishes on the island.[3]

The community's primitive church (dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Luz) was constructed shortly after the first settlers established their homes, and was a large three-nave over five pillars, sturdy and well constructed (as the historian Gaspar Frutuoso recounted in his Saudades da Terra).

In 1597, Flamengos was raided by English privateers, who remained in the valley for days, pillaging and destroying homes. In 1606 the village of Flamengos had been restored, through the assistance of Jerónimo de Utra Corte Real, and later expanded in 1736, through the initiatives of Manuel Brum da Silveira.

Raul Brandão, in his As Ilhas Desconhecidas (1926), described the parish in these terms: "This use to be more animated and rich. Everything around Horta and Flamengos was houses, orchards full of oranges, plants and flowers, the Estate of São Lourenço, the Estate of the Silveiras, the Estate of the Dabneys...".[3] Brandão was referring to a period when the wealthy, rich property owners and farmers had their summer homes and estates within the valley: by 1926, the area was less important for the upwardly mobile, who concentrated in their salons in Horta.[3]

On 31 December 1936, a violent earthquake destroyed most of the buildings and homes in the parish. Unfortunately, a similar event occurred on 23 November 1973 and later on 9 June 1998, which permanently destroyed the church of Nossa Senhora da Luz (English: Our Lady of the Light). The church was rebuilt and inaugurated on 3 April 2016.[4]

The valley of Flamengos, in the foothills of the central caldera, as seen from Monte Carneiro

The Ribeira dos Flamengos, a constant water source for early settlers

Flamengos is located about 5 minutes (and 5 kilometers) from the centre of Horta, via several ancillary roadways along the eastern and southern margins of the Atlantic Ocean. The Flamengos valley is an "amphitheater"-shaped area, relatively planar and intersected by ravines that extend from the slopes of the Cabeço do Fogo.

Farmlands dominate the eastern areas and the Flamengos valley, although the flanks of the mountain are used as pastureland and forests. Much of the population is employed in agriculture business, primarily dairy production.

The agricultural characteristics of the parish are well known and in cases represent the characteristics of Beiras and Beiras e Trás-os-Montes. The chimneys represent the typical characteristics of southern Portugal.

Traditionally, Flamengos has been the centre of annual São João da Caldeira celebrations (or simply Festas de São João) on the island, held on 23–24 June. These festivals, which have occurred popularly since the 15th-16th century, included pilgrimages from around the island that journeyed to the central caldera, where they would play music, danced and jumped bonfires during the quasi-religious festivities.[6] While the religious pilgrimages were discontinued, the annual festivities continued as a social event with popular marches, food kiosks, picnicking, dances and the community Fogueira de São João (bonfire) highlighting the celebration around midnight.[6] Meanwhile, the following day (24 June) is a municipal holiday (island-wide), that includes a mid-day eucharistic celebration at the hermitage of São João (along the intersection of the Estrada Regional E.R.1-2ª and Rua da Caldeira, midway towards the summit of the caldera).[6] A community lunch, that includes sardines, musical groups, popular marches, exhibitions, traditional folklore dances are held within the shadow of the small chapel, and rounds out the celebrations.[6]

The Sociedade Filarmónica Nova Artista Flamenguese (English: Philharmonic Society New Flemish Artists), founded on 23 January 1881, was the first band established in Flamengos. Between 1899 and 1912, its musical director was Maestro Francisco Xavier Simaria, but today Mário Francisco Leal Abreu is currently conducting the brass band. Besides this, there is the Tuna e Grupo Folclórico Juvenil dos Flamengos (English: Flamengos Chorus and Youth Folklore Group) was founded in 1978 by António da Luz Rodrigues, who served as its director, which recently (1 March 1999) established an ancillary group, the Grupo de Cantares Sons do Vale (English: Singing Group Sons of the Valley).

Notes

Sources

• Daniel, Luís; Soares, Natacha, eds. (2003). Faial, Açores: Guia do Património Cultural [Faial, Azores: Guide to the Cultural Heritage] (in Portuguese). Horta (Azores), Portugal: Atlantic View - Actividades Turísticos, Lda.