April 3, 2006
By Thabang Mokoka
JOBURG'S Portuguese community is once again bringing the delicious tastes, smells, sights and sounds of Portugal to Jozi.
The annual Lusito Land festival takes place from 20 April to 1 May, in aid of the Lusito Association for the Mentally and Physically Handicapped.
Visitors can listen to the moving rhythms of Latino music and watch world champion dancers – both belly dancers and modern dancers – exciting air shows and Portuguese folk singers and dancers.
To make the festival proudly South African too, an additional line-up of local musicians and bands have been added to the bill. They include Coca-Cola Popstars winners Jamali, R&B singer Loyiso, Doctor Victor and the Rasta Rebels, Prime Circle, Amore Vittone, Mean Mr Mustard and many more.
And then there is the ever-popular Portuguese food, from spicey chouriço sausages to grilled peri-peri chicken, prego rolls, chicken livers, giblets and seafood, including prawns and calamari prepared as only the Portuguese know how. For the meat lovers there is, of course, the mouth-watering Espetada a Madeirense.
For afters, those with a sweet tooth can take a heavenly trip into the Portuguese world of sugar and pastries, from the small, but incredibly satisfying pasteis de nata, or custard tartlets, to the ever-popular sugary farturas. Aromatic coffee and traditional cakes are also available.
The Lusito Fête started as a one-day fête in the early 1980s in the grounds of the Portuguese Recreational Centre to raise much-needed funds for the Lusito Association for the Mentally and Physically Handicapped. Its popularity grew quickly, and it soon became too large for the venue.
In the mid-1980s the first Lusito Land festival was held at Pioneer Park in La Rochelle, southern Joburg, taking place over five days. It has grown steadily and today lasts 10 to 12 days.
The association was formed in the early 1980s by a group of parents and volunteers under the auspices of the Mental Health Society of the Witwatersrand. Initially a small day-care centre attended by a handful of children, today it is a fully fledged multiracial school for mentally and physically handicapped children. It is open to parents and children in South Africa and in neighbouring countries.
Lusito Land will be hosted at Wemmer Pan, Pioneer Park, on the corner of Eleventh Street and Turf Road, La Rochelle. It is open from 5pm to 10pm on weekdays and from 10am to 10pm on weekends and public holidays.
Entrance is R40 for adults, R20 for pensioners and children under 12, and R20 for adults on Monday, 24 and Tuesday, 25 April.
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