Masks and Wines in Lisbon

We love stumbling upon the unexpected. In fact, that is the story of our life. Our best friends were for the most part all made this way, and our best memories have been created when things happen to us by chance. Such is the case with today’s podcast/story. Wandering back home after our first day of visiting Lisbon, we ran into an art opening that highlighted the traditions of masks and costumes that are prevalent through out Spain and Portugal. A true Iberian event!

The best part of our happen chance experience, was the unexpected wine tasting from the regions from which they studied the mask culture. Obviously, we couldn’t pass this up, so we paid our 2.50 Euros and not only saw amazing masks, traditional garb and photographs of the festivals themselves, but we also had a chance to try some AMAZING sparkling wines from the producer, Murganheira. We love sparkling wines from all over, but these were something special, and we were fortunate enough to have met the winemaker of Murganheira the following day at Viniportugal.

History of Mascara Iberica
Mascara Iberica (Iberian Mask) exposition will be traveling throughout Iberia until the 5th of November. The goal of the exposition is not only to create more cross cultural dialogue between Spain and Portugal, but also as an effort to preserve and promote the cultural traditions of Iberia as a whole. The exhibit features the mask traditions in both Galicia, Spain and Zamora, a region in northern Portugal showing over 60 photographs from 17 different celebrations, as well as 12 original masks and 4 mannequins in traditional dress. “Mascara Iberica” has also been published as a book by Bernardo Calvo Briones, Antonio Pinelo and Helder Ferreria.

Listen to the podcast below!

Cheers,

Ryan and Gabriella Opaz

Catavino - Spanish wine, Portuguese wine, and a whole lot more