Flavours & Traditions

The 'Sabores & Tradições' festival takes place in Freixo de Espada à Cinta, in the Jardim da Seda, and celebrates the local culture, music and gastronomy. It is also marked by traditional games, which hold a prominent place in the programme and bring the community closer to its roots. This land in the northeastern Trás-os-Montes region holds a strong religious devotion and a set of traditional celebrations that give it its identity. Among them is the nocturnal procession of the Sete Passos, during Lent, and the Pilgrimage Festival to the Capela de Nossa Senhora dos Montes Ermos, on 15 August, two traditions deeply rooted in the life of the parish. The municipality also stands out for its heritage, with Manueline architecture, medieval walls and a heptagonal tower, testaments to a long history that accompanies these festivities. It is within this framework of culture and tradition that 'Sabores & Tradições' finds its meaning, bringing the inhabitants together around the flavours and customs of the region.

In the far east of Trás-os-Montes, where the sun seems to linger longer than anywhere else in the country, lies the União das Freguesias de Freixo de Espada à Cinta e Mazouco — a borderland of golden light and almond trees that bloom when winter has not yet given up. This is a territory not to be visited in haste: it calls for time, an unhurried gaze and a willingness to taste the freshly harvested almond, the generous wine and the honest, comforting cuisine of Trás-os-Montes. It is here, in the Jardim da Seda, that the Sabores & Tradições festival is celebrated, in a place true to itself, where time has slowed and traditions run deep. The whole land is worth discovering — from the churches that lift the eye to the ancient knowledge still woven in memory.