"Rui Moreira was the only Mayor to have set out Culture as a priority in the country"
Article
Miguel Nogueira
"Rui Moreira was the only Mayor to have set out Culture as a priority in the country". This statement by Helena Teixeira da Silva, author of the book to honour former councillor for Culture of Porto City Hall, Paulo Cunha e Silva, embodies what the Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, has set himself to doing after the sudden passing away of Paulo Cunha e Silva, in November 2015.
In the past two years, Helena Teixeira da Silva has carried out a detailed and consistent work to pay tribute to the life and work of Paulo Cunha e Silva while he was in office as councillor for Culture at Porto City Hall - 751 days exactly.
And the title of the book is inspired by the time Paulo Cunha e Silva was in charge of Culture in Porto. "751 Dias - O Tempo Não Consome a Eternidade" [751 Days - Time does not Wear out Eternity (free translation)].
The author thanked the Mayor, Rui Moreira, "for culture, for the city, for Paulo and for the privilege of having written the book".
The also journalist, Helena Teixeira da Silva, further stated that Rui Moreira has been the only Mayor in the country to have prioritised culture, and that the fact that she has written this book, which she has chosen to refer to as "object" (because it encompasses the human dimension of the person mentioned in the book), is proof that the Mayor truly honoured the memory of former councillor for culture.
The author concluded by saying that "this is not a usual thing. It happened here, in Porto. No matter what people say, this happened with Rui Moreira. And, if culture has made us happier, if culture has unified us, if culture has praised us, then we shouldn't thwart that".