The gardens of Casino Estoril were the place chosen to bid farewell to the Cascais World Youth Day. After a day of intense heat, the night invited the celebration of a week that is far from over in the hearts of all those who participated: pilgrims, volunteers, host families and the entire Cascais community that responded in a unique way to this great challenge.
When the first chords of Orquestra Maré do Amanhã were heard, it was already known that this was going to be an intense night because emotions were still on the surface. Created in August 2010, the Orquestra Maré do Amanhã Project teaches classical music to children and teenagers from one of the most violent favelas in Rio de Janeiro, transforming lives through music. Around 3,500 children, teenagers and young people have already been helped and inspired by the Orquestra Maré do Amanhã project. It is with dedication and willingness to make a difference internally and externally that OMA treads a successful path, showing that music can transform lives.
OMA completes 13 years and this participation in the JMJ Cascais Festival, in the week of its anniversary, turned out to be a very special celebration. The Orchestra immediately captivated the audience and loud applause was heard throughout the performance of these talented young people from Maré, showing how love, converted into music, is one of the most powerful instruments of transformation.
An equally intense and emotional moment followed, with the ascension to the stage of the newly formed group of young Ukrainian dancers. With the name "Homeless Happiness", the group with dancers from 5 to 18 years old made their debut tonight at the WYD farewell party, in Cascais. It was a wake-up call for the plight of millions of Ukrainian children who lost their homes and families during the conflict. It is the voice of these children that Homeless Happiness wants to represent through art and dance.
Then it was the infectious energy of the D.A.M.A. which made jumping and dancing many who were waiting for the performance of one of the most popular bands in the country. Recently, in 2022, the band celebrated 10 years of career and showed why hits such as "Luísa", "Balada do Desajeitado", "At times", or more recently, "Não Dá", "Oquelávai" never cease to delight fans of all ages. And the acronym that gave rise to the name of the band "Deixa-me Aclarar-te a Mente Amigo", could not be more in tune with the spirit that flooded Cascais in this WYD 2023.
Francisco Pereira, better known as Kasha, Miguel Coimbra and Miguel Cristovinho like to take risks and, to celebrate 10 years of career, they mixed the traditional (cante Alentejano) with their own modern sound. Portuguese culture was, in fact, a constant feature of the JMJ Cascais Festival, which brought people from all over the world together through music sung in Portuguese. This farewell could not have been different.
