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The 'Festa dos Compadres', this year taking place on the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 8th of February in the municipality of Santana, northern Madeira Island, marks the beginning of the Carnival celebrations.
And the long-awaited Festa dos Compadres in the municipality of Santana began on Thursday, February 1st, with the welcoming of the "compadres" by the local municipality. The high point of the event that opens the Madeira carnival season will be next Sunday, with the "judgement of the compadres" and the ethnographic parade. But there are other highlights on the programme, such as the various musical shows that will take place.
On Saturday, February 3rd, various national and regional artists will be invited to perform from 6.30pm. In the city centre, a stage has already been set up and a giant tent (in case of rain) so that the public can watch in comfort.
On Sunday the 4th, from 11am, several musical groups will be at Paços do Concelho with their "old wives' songs" to liven up the atmosphere. On the other hand, the eagerly-awaited Ethnographic and Folk Parade will start at 2.30pm. And finally, the famous "Judgement of the Compadres" begins at 4pm. This theatrical play consists of a "confrontation between puppets (the compadre and the comadre) that accuse each other and reveal each other's faults and sins" and, "in the end, both are burnt as punishment, thus relieving social tensions and preparing the community for a new cycle". A moment lived with a lot of comedy, as the "crimes" that are part of the judgement and of that tradition, are "bilhardice" (a Madeiran term to define talking about other people's lives) and adultery, in a very amusing social satire that is absolutely unmissable.
Remember that this festivity is part of the old rituals of passage from winter to spring and became popular in the 60s of the 20th century. Nowadays, as we have already mentioned, it is a tourist attraction for the municipality of Santana, attracting thousands of people to watch the entire programme of entertainment provided by the town hall.
