It is with great pleasure that Gouveia hosts, for the first time, the International Song Festival of Serra da Estrela (FICSE). This event provides a unique opportunity for performers of different ages to share their musical talent, while also promoting the encounter between cultures, experiences and styles from various parts of the country and the world.
The arrival of FICSE in Gouveia further enriches the vast cultural offerings of our city.
In addition to providing a platform for creativity and artistic expression, this Festival also benefits the local economy by attracting visitors – participants, companions and the public – who contribute to boosting the city’s commerce, food and tourism.
I extend an invitation to all Gouveia residents to get involved in this Festival and share with us the emotion and talent that, over these days, will fill with life the stage of the Teatro Cine de Gouveia.
Luís Tadeu
Mayor of Gouveia
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It is with great pride and enthusiasm that, as President of the Gouveia School of Music – Associação Cultural do Centro, I address everyone who will be part of this historic moment: the eighth edition of the International Song Festival of Serra da Estrela (FICSE).
This event represents much more than just a music festival. It is the materialization of a collective dream, born in the heart of the Serra da Estrela mountains, for the first time in Gouveia, a land of traditions, culture and talent. In a country where the big stages are concentrated mainly in metropolitan areas, bringing an international festival to the interior of Portugal is an act of courage, but also of justice.
It is an opportunity to show the world that culture and music have no borders and that, even in regions far from the large urban centers, beat creative hearts and excellent projects.
Our Association, with large experience in organizing music festivals and promoting the arts, embraced this challenge with the conviction that FICSE will be a milestone in the promotion of our region. Serra da Estrela, with its stunning landscape and rich heritage, also deserves to be celebrated through music. And what better way to do this than by bringing together voices and compositions from different parts of the world, in an intercultural dialogue that enriches everyone?
In addition, this festival will be a fundamental platform for the projection of new talents. We know, by our own experience, how many emerging artists need a stage to be discovered. Therefore, it is with special joy that we will see our Children's Choir – Vozes da Estrela participate in this event, symbolizing the continuity of a work that invests in future generations.
The Serra da Estrela International Song Festival is not just a concert, it is not just a competition – it is a celebration of music, diversity and the identity of a region that has so much to offer. To all participants, spectators and partners, my deepest gratitude for believing in this project. May this be the first of many encounters, where music unites voices and hearts at the top of our mountain range.
Jorge Rodrigues
President of Escola de Música de Gouveia – Associação Cultural do Centro
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This edition of FICSE marks a turning point in the history of this Festival, after an initial period of ten years during which it held seven in-person editions and two online. The year 2025 marks two fundamental points in the life of FICSE:
1 – the change of stage, from Seia to Gouveia (neighboring municipalities, both under the protective mantle of Serra da Estrela);
2 – the establishment of a partnership with one of the oldest and most prestigious cultural institutions in the city: the Escola de Música de Gouveia – Associação Cultural do Centro (Gouveia School of Music), an academy sustained by the generational bond of its founders and successors, in a transmission of values that focuses on a superior way of teaching music. Over the years, dozens and dozens of students have left this school trained for music and for life.
At this time of changes, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all the entities in Seia that, from 2015 to 2024, hosted and helped to carry out this event. A word of thanks that extends – and particularly – to all those who, inside and outside the municipality of Seia, in one way or another participated in the creation of FICSE.
A new page is now opening at the Festival, without however changing its brand and style, which simultaneously brings it closer to and distinguishes it from other similar festivals that take place in Europe.
Our sincere thanks to the Gouveia City Council, as well as to the other institutional entities that support us: Turismo do Centro de Portugal and Junta de Freguesia de Gouveia. Our thanks also go to the private companies in the region that also wanted to associate their brands with this event.
In a year that is both a debut and a continuation (a debut in the city of Gouveia and a continuation of a model that has already been proven), the Festival will once again focus on interaction with the population. Hence the street parade under the rhythm of drums and concertinas, hence the informal musical meetings on terraces in the city center... May this healthy and fraternal conviviality be a hymn to joy in a world in turmoil...
Nuno Figueira
Director do Festival
