Your neighbour – Seu Vizinho-Celebrating Creativity and Connection – Open Mic Night

Update: Many of you may have heard Tela Leão who co-ordinated the Alvaro de Campos Birthday Party each year in Tavira and supported me in organising the English side of the Open Mic Night passed away last Saturday 8 November. I visited Tela on Wednesday 5 November and she was pleased the Open Mic night was still coming together with local artists performing and reading. We will pay tribute to Tela at the event with words and music. The event starts at 18:00 at Casa Alvaro de Campos on Thursday 20 November 2025.

More information – written before Tela passed.
Every year, as the nights darken and the air cools in Tavira, a special event during the Festa dos anos de Álvaro de Campos brings the community together for the Open Mic Night, dedicated to celebrating poetry, music, and storytelling. It’s an evening where voices are heard in both Portuguese and English, and where neighbours touch shoulders amid shared words, poetry and song.

On Thursday, 20 November, at Casa Álvaro de Campos, we will gather once again to celebrate the birthday of Fernando Pessoa’s enigmatic heteronym, Álvaro de Campos, and to embrace and discover the creativity that runs through our town and region.

But what exactly is a heteronym? If you’re unfamiliar, it’s worth knowing that Fernando Pessoa, one of Portugal’s greatest writers, created several alternate voices, each with their own unique style, biography, and worldview. 

Pessoa didn’t just write as himself. He invented multiple identities, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

Álvaro de Campos is perhaps the most exuberant and passionate of these alter egos.
Richard Zenith notes:
“The liveliest, most opinionated, and most prolific of the heteronyms, Álvaro de Campos emerged in 1914 some three months after ALBERTO CAEIRO. Born on October 15, 1890, in Tavira, the town in the Algarve where Pessoa’s paternal relatives were concentrated, Campos studied engineering in Scotland, journeyed to the Far East, lived for a time in London, worked as a naval engineer in northern England, and eventually settled in Lisbon. He was sexually attracted to men as well as women, and complained that no matter how much he saw, felt, and tasted, he needed to see, feel, and taste still more. Besides poetry, he wrote and published provocative prose texts in which he sometimes took issue with the views of Fernando Pessoa.”

Zenith, Richard. Pessoa: An Experimental Life (p. viii). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.

Pessoa’s heteronyms allowed him to explore different literary styles and ideas, making his work rich and complex.

Over the years, the Open Mic event in Tavira has become a homage to Pessoa’s layered creativity, a space where local poets and performers can channel that same boldness and expressiveness.

This year, we will also honour the life of Teresa Rita Lopes, the Portuguese writer and scholar who passed away in June. Teresa was a dedicated advocate and student of Pessoa’s work and knew the power of words to inspire change and reflection.

Whether you’re an experienced poet, writer, singer or musician or a first-time participant, this night is about celebrating our collective creativity and the connections we forge through art.

If you’re inspired to read a poem, share a short story, or perform a song — in either language, let us know. In the past we have translated all materials before the event. We will try and do that again this year.

So, mark your calendars for Thursday 20th of November at 18:00. Join us at Casa Álvaro de Campos, (on the steps going up to the museum from the main Square) and let’s make this Open Mic Night another memorable evening of poetry, music, and community.

See you there!
Contact me if you want to perform and check out the full Birthday Party programme here.
Sue

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