A Manifesto of Light, City, and Gratitude

The city lights up.
Not only in bulbs, colours, or decorations
but in life, in memory, in belonging.

From Praça do Povo, where the Christmas tree rises in glowing splendour,
Funchal reveals itself as an amphitheatre of light climbing the hillsides,
like hand-drawn constellations.
Avenida do Mar unfolds in motion,
a living line stitching together the beating heart of the city.

Here, everything converges:
the Funchal Cathedral, keeper of time;
Largo do Colégio, where thought and culture flourish;
City Hall, the face of our shared history;
the Market, daily pulse of those who live and create.
A centre that is not merely geographical
but emotional, communal, profoundly human.

In the distance, the João Gomes bridge glows with the island’s flag,
reminding us who we are and where we come from.
Roads spiral along the mountains,
golden threads connecting neighbourhoods, lives, stories.
The entire city breathes as one.

This is December:
a collective embrace,
a celebration of unity,
a moment where past and future meet
under the same lights that watched us grow.

The year ends here,
in the brightness we share,
in the colour that binds us,
in the certainty that — even in the night
we remain illuminated.

Welcome to December.
And thank you.
For being here.
For being part of this place.
For being part of one another.

Welcome on this journey.