You have been the mayor of Castelo Branco since 2013. What difficulties
did you encounter when you took office?
I already knew the council
because I had been a councillor and deputy mayor. Promoting development
strategies in a region with these characteristics is not exactly easy, but we
have followed a very particular strategy for Castelo Branco that has produced
results.
Have you managed to give Castelo Branco what you set out to give it?
Fortunately the council
has made a series of important investments. Today we have unique
infrastructures and we have pushed job creation. We have earmarked a number of
sectors as important for our strategy and today we are a modern municipality
with modern infrastructures, which we are proud to have succeeded in doing.
What goals have been set to be achieved in 2019?
We have considerable
investments, such as, for example, renovation work to the Quinta do Moinho
Velho, or the Fábrica da Criatividade. We also have a series of works for the
actual development of the city. There’s a lot to do.
Are the people of Castelo Branco welcoming?
They’re welcoming, they
like to welcome people and they know how to do it very well. That is also one
of the advantages we have. We have a safe municipality, we are a genuine people
in our way of being and we focus on culture, which has allowed us to be more
attractive.
«The people of Castelo Branco are welcoming, they like to welcome people and they know how to do it very well»
Apart from the beautiful scenery, what are the strengths of Castelo
Branco?
We define our tourism
promotion strategy on three levels. Nature, first and foremost. On one side we
have the international Tagus and on the other the Serra da Gardunha. We are in
the middle of these two worlds of beautiful landscapes that allow a series of
activities. The next level is flavours, many of them still made in the
traditional way, especially cheese, cured sausages, olive oil, etc. People can
still watch the making of these products today. The third is culture. In this
respect, we value our traditions, as is the case of romaria religious festivals. We also value what are two important heritages:
Castelo Branco embroidery, which we have certified, and the viola beiroa stringed instrument, which
was slowly disappearing and which we have recovered and certified. Also within
this cultural strategy, we have our network of museums, which is an effective
catalyst for tourism, and our built heritage, in particular the Jardim do Paço
garden, the cathedral, among many others.
How has the fact that Castelo Branco is a municipality in the interior
of the country been addressed?
We had and we have
something here. In recent years, what we have done is to showcase this to make
it appealing. Now we are in the second phase, which is tourism promotion. Over
time, we have been holding a series of events; we are also building a go-kart
track, among many other actions. The path we are taking has everything it needs
to be successful.
What are your hopes and how do you imagine Castelo Branco in the future?
I would like it to be an
increasingly appealing, developed and above all else modern municipality, where
innovation and modernity prevail.
