One of the most significant traditions of São João, the Collective Cascade is on show at Bolhão Temporary Market

Rui Moreira, the Mayor of Porto inaugurated the collective Cascade at the Bolhão Temporary Market today to follow one of the main traditions of São João in Porto, the Patron Saint of the city, and to appreciate the result of the work by 300 participants, children and adults, national and foreign. The Cascade is on display at the Bolhão Temporary Market till 30 June. Entrance is free.

The starting point to building the cascade was the materialization of a memoir on the houses of the city. It took 250 kilos of clay to shape the cascade that tells tales of a much present landscape of the city of Porto in our imagery, as well as something that crafts the beauty of Porto in the eyes of the beholder.

For the Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, "the Cascade is beautiful, fantastic, and it is a very interesting project. This is the third consecutive year that we [City Hall] do this. It has involved 12 workshops and circa 300 people, of which 200 children. It started to be built on Children's Day and it continued to grow. We hope it will continue to grow next year."

"We feast the São João with a close link to tradition in town, with modernity, naturally, but holding to the good traditions in Porto".

"Nowadays the balloons of São João are not allowed, but there are other traditions that we want to keep and the cascade is surely a tradition that everyone remembers. We still have the "rusgas" [raides], the folkloric ranches, the music and folk entertainment. São João is all about the people of Porto", Rui Moreira added.

The City Hall is just trying to keep some traditions alive, especially for the younger ones, as they are the ones who will perpetuate traditions", Mayor Rui Moreira enthuses.

Inspired in the ancient traditions of St. John's Feast, this cascade is the result of the contribution of residents from all the city parishes, traders, schools, families and even tourists, who have taken up the challenge and participated in the pottery workshops that were held across town in the past 12 weeks.

The fact that the Cascade is on display at Bolhão Temporary Market "shows the great effort that Porto City Hall puts into boosting the Temporary Bolhão as it is clear that this venue is not as busy as the Bolhão Market, [which is undergoing renovation works], but it is still linked to the city's traditions", Rui Moreira added.

It is fair to say that this Collective Cascade outlines basic structure geometry with a sense of balance: in this cascade, as in real life, the city belongs to everyone, the portrait of a city that takes pride in its own traditions.

The initiative is organised by Porto City Hall in the framework of the São João celebrations.