800+
local performers
Sobrado · Valongo · near Porto
A village. A legend. A tradition like no other.
Bugiada e Mouriscada — June 24
Every year, on June 24
A village becomes a stage
Hundreds of locals recreate an ancient legend.
Two peoples, one legend
Bugios versus Mourisqueiros
Masks, music, devotion and street theatre, all day long.
A living tradition
Bugiada e Mouriscada, part of the Saint John of Sobrado festival, is a genuine tradition held every year in the village of Sobrado, Valongo. It recreates a legend of ancient battles between Moors and Christians — masks, sounds, colours and costumes of striking beauty — recognised as “one of the most remarkable rituals surviving in modern Europe”.
June 24When
Sobrado, ValongoWhere
800+Performers
17 kmFrom Porto
24
of June, every year
2
peoples: Bugios & Mourisqueiros
Bugios vs Mourisqueiros
Bugios
Joy, excess and glorious disorder. Men, women and children of Sobrado in bright, dazzling costumes. Around 600 take to the streets, led by the Velho da Bugiada.
The Velho da Bugiada
Mourisqueiros
Discipline and military rigour. Around forty young, single men of Sobrado, ordered in pairs and ranks, led by the Reimoeiro to the beat of the Caixa drum.
The Reimoeiro
00
days
00
hours
00
minutes
00
seconds
It happens on June 24 — every year.
Can't stay all day? Don't miss these moments.
12:45 Entrance Dance
13:30 Entrajadas — social satire
15:00 Collection of the Rights
18:30 Capture of the Velho
19:50 Release of the Serpe
20:00 Dance of the Saint
Indicative times, confirmed yearly by the ASJS.
Beyond June 24, the Saint John of Sobrado festival runs for several days with concerts, street parties, food and entertainment. Its beating heart, though, remains the Bugiada e Mouriscada on Saint John’s day.