Queima das Fitas
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The Queima das Fitas (
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
for ''Ribbon Burning'') is a traditional festivity of the students of some
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
universities, organized originally by the students of the
University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...
.


History

The first ''Queima das Fitas'' was organized by the students of the University of Coimbra, which is the oldest university of the country, and for many centuries the only one in Portugal.


Coimbra

Coimbra's Queima das Fitas, the oldest and most famous, is organized by a students' commission formed by members of the students' union
Associação Académica de Coimbra The Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) is the students' union of the University of Coimbra (UC). Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal. It is also the biggest Portuguese students' union belongi ...
. Celebrating the end of graduation courses, symbolized by the ritual burning of the ribbons representing each faculty of the
University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...
(UC), it takes place at the second semester (starts on the first Friday of May at 00:00), being among the biggest student festivities in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. It lasts for 8 days, one for each UC's Faculty: Humanities, Law, Medicine, Sciences and Technology, Pharmacy, Economics, Psychology and Education Sciences and Sports Sciences and Physical Education. During this period, a series of concerts and performances are held, turning Coimbra in a lively and vibrant city. It also includes a parade of the university students, sport activities, gala ball, and many other public events and traditions, such as the historical nighttime student fado serenade (Serenata Monumental) which happens in the stairs of the
Old Cathedral of Coimbra The Old Cathedral of Coimbra ( pt, Sé Velha de Coimbra) is a Romanesque architecture, Romanesque Roman Catholic building in Portugal. Construction of the Sé Velha began some time after the Battle of Ourique (1139), when Prince Afonso Henriques ...
for a crowd of thousands of students, tourists and other spectators. The Ribbon Burning festivities are the big yearly celebration for the students and townspeople as well. The festivities run for a full week in May beginning with the traditional nighttime
fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...
serenade in the square of the
Old Cathedral of Coimbra The Old Cathedral of Coimbra ( pt, Sé Velha de Coimbra) is a Romanesque architecture, Romanesque Roman Catholic building in Portugal. Construction of the Sé Velha began some time after the Battle of Ourique (1139), when Prince Afonso Henriques ...
. The square is packed with students in their black capes and according to the ritual, studies are forgotten for a week of joy and all-night revelry. The high point of the festivities is the ''Cortejo'', a parade beginning in ''Alta'' (upper Coimbra, the university historic centre and home to the Rector's Office and the famous University tower) with the graduating students burning their ''grelo''. The parade progresses down the hills of the ''Alta'' towards the ''Baixa'' (downtown Coimbra, near the river) with dozens of elaborately decorated floats, each in the color of their respective faculties, carrying placards with ironic criticisms alluding to certain teachers, the educational system, national events and leaders. The parade is made up of thousands of "newly liberated" students set apart by their top hats and walking sticks. After the outbreak in 1969 (April 17) of a crisis opposing the students to the dictatorial government of
Marcelo Caetano Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano (; 17 August 1906 – 26 October 1980) was a Portuguese politician and scholar. He was the second and last leader of the Estado Novo after succeeding António Salazar. He served as prime minister from 196 ...
, the festivities, as well as all other manifestations of the academic traditions, were suspended by the students as an act of protest (decided on May 8, 1969). This was known as the ''luto académico'' (Portuguese for academic mourning). However, between 1945 and 1974, there were three generations of militants of the radical right at the
University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...
and other universities, guided by a revolutionary nationalism partly influenced by the political sub-culture of European neofascism. The core of these radical students' struggle lay in an uncompromising defence of the
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...
in the days of the authoritarian regime. The restarting of the celebrations took place in 1980, in the middle of an intense political controversy between left-wing students who opposed the celebration, and conservative students, who wanted to resume the practice. Such struggle took some time to heal, but the "Queima das Fitas" is now only contested by a small fringe of the more radical left-wing student movements. Nowadays the beer industry has become an important sponsor of Coimbra's Queima das Fitas, which has given still a wider projection to the festival, quite popular among young people from all around the country and even from
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. During the festival's week groups of students from other universities, such as
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
or
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, among thousands of other visitors, come to enjoy it. This growth in popularity has involved significant change to the festival, ever more professionalized, moving it a great distance away from its origins at the end of the 19th century. Students of more traditionalist or leftist sensibilities have occasionally decried this as an increased commercialization and commodification of their "mystique" and traditions.


Porto

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
's Queima das Fitas traces its origins to the beginning of the 1940s, and is a major event in the first week of May, before the beginning of the study period preceding the school year's last exams. The week comprehends 12 events, starting with the Monumental Serenata on Sunday, reaching its peak with the Cortejo Académico on Tuesday, when students from the universities and other higher education institutions of the city march through the downtown streets till they reach the city hall, where they're greeted (and greet back) by the Mayor. During every night of the week a series of concerts takes place on the Queimódromo, next to the city's park; here it's also a tradition for the students in the second last year to erect small tents where alcoholic beverages are sold in order to finance the trip that takes place during the last year of their course. During the parade through the city, different year students wear and play different parts: - the graduates (the last year students) wear a top-hat and a walking-cane, both the colour of their Faculty; - the sophomores wear the traditional costume with their capes fully crossed; - the freshmen (who after being greeted by the Mayor become sophomores) wear funny/silly outfits (usually with carnival props related to baby-costumes) the same colour as their Faculty, sing songs as loud as they can, do some sort of group dances, usually get hazed a little bit, and when they get to the Town Hall have to crawl on their hands and feet to walk by the Mayor. Porto's Queima was the first to reborn after the 1974 revolution. In 1978 there was a first try with a Mini-Queima, with only a few faculties involved and having to stand fierce hostility. In 1979 a "Traditional Queima" was put up by an almost clandestine organising committee, gathering students from most of the public faculties: Engineering, Medicine, Economics, Pharmacy, Letters, Science. This team managed to frustrate the boycott efforts of left-wing students that opposed the celebration, and offered to the academy and the city the full traditional range of activities, that started with a Saturday to Sunday late night Serenade (starting at 00:01h), with traditional Coimbra Fado songs, in the courtyard of Porto's Cathedral. The programme included the blessing of the students' briefcases, decorated with ribbons ("Fitas") of the colour of each faculty, a Charity Day where all revenue from the selling of small cardboard briefcases with poems (some original and cheerfully offered by poet Pedro Homem de Mello) was given to a charity institution, several balls, rallye-paper, Garraiada (mock-up bullfight with small calves) and, specially, a huge parade that attracted an assistance of more than 150,000 that blocked Porto's downtown for several hours, cheering the students and showing that the Queima had its place in the city's celebrations.


Murder of Marlon Correia

In early May 2013, Marlon Correia who was 24 and a student of the Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto was murdered in Queimódromo. This happened as a gang who were heavily armed tried to rob the money from ticket office and eventually killed Marlon. This did not prevent the festival from happening that year and Marlon was honored in the so-called "Bênção das Pastas". The crime expires in 2035, and according to the order of the Public Ministry and over eight years, the authorities investigated violent groups, including the 'Grupo de Coimbrões' and the 'Grupo da Cruz de Pau-Matosinhos' and even constituted six people as defendants.


See also

*
Festa das Latas The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...
*
University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...
*
Associação Académica de Coimbra The Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) is the students' union of the University of Coimbra (UC). Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal. It is also the biggest Portuguese students' union belongi ...
*
Rádio Universidade de Coimbra Coimbra University Radio (Portuguese: Rádio Universidade de Coimbra - RUC) is a university radio station of the Coimbra Academic Association (students' union) of the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal. It broadcasts on 107.9 FM (also broa ...
(RUC) *
Praxe The Portuguese term praxe ( from the Greek πρᾶξις, ''praxis'') describes the whole of student traditions in universities or, more often, to the initiation rituals freshmen are subjected to in some Portuguese universities. Praxe is repli ...
*
Academic Crisis The Academic Crisis ( pt, Crise académica) is the name given to a Portugal, Portuguese governmental policy instigated in 1962 by the ''Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo'' entailing the boycott and closure of several student associations and organ ...
*
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
*
Queima das Fitas The Queima das Fitas (Portuguese for ''Ribbon Burning'') is a traditional festivity of the students of some Portuguese universities, organized originally by the students of the University of Coimbra. History The first ''Queima das Fitas'' was or ...


References


External links


About Queima das Fitas
from
Associação Académica de Coimbra The Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) is the students' union of the University of Coimbra (UC). Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal. It is also the biggest Portuguese students' union belongi ...
's webpage.
Universidade de Coimbra

Associação Académica de Coimbra

Coimbra's Municipality

Rádio Universidade de Coimbra (radio channel)

Queima das Fitas history

FAP - Federação Académica do Porto

Queima das Fitas do Porto - FAP

Informação sobre todas as semanas académicas de Portugal


{{DEFAULTSORT:Queima Das Fitas University of Coimbra Events in Coimbra Education in Portugal Rites of passage Portuguese traditions School traditions