A day that celebrates transgender people, as well as their contributions to society and raises awareness of the discrimination faced by the transgender community worldwide. Dozens of protesters gather in a peaceful protest to mark International Transgender Day of Visibility in Porto on March 31, 2022. In 2021 was the year in which, in Portugal, more people changed gender and name in the civil register. According to the Diário de Notícias newspaper, this is an increase of 71.4% compared to 2020

International Women’s Day 2022, Porto

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Porto on Tuesday evening, 8th March 2022, as part of International Women’s Day.

Gathering in Praça dos Poveiros, in the centre of Porto, activists prepared signs to illustrate the social and political issues they were marching for. Starting at 6:30pm, more activists joined the march. A police escort made way for the march, as it passed through busy commercial centre Rua de Santa Catarina and continued on to Praça de Dom João I. 

​Born out of socialism, protest and a fight for labour rights, International Women’s Day emphasises the women’s rights movement, highlighting and campaigning against several social issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. Nowadays both an uplifting global celebration of the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women, and a human rights protest, International Women’s Day is an event commemorated in many main cities across the globe. International Women’s Day 2022 in Porto focused on issues including intersectional feminism, domestic violence and xenophobia on a wider scale, as participants also chanted “Our battle is every day, against sexism, racism and homophobia”. ​

Supporters of the LGBTQ+ community and anti-fascist activists also joined the march, taking the opportunity to protest against xenophobia and other gender-related social issues. Ukrainian flags also featured in the march, which was attended by hundreds of activists, showing solidarity with Ukrainian people during the current invasion of Ukraine. 

Signs held high by protestors read: “Hysterical? No. Historical”, “The revolution will not be silent” and “Well-behaved women never make history”, quoting Eleanor Roosevelt. Other homemade banners brought gendered and domestic violence issues to light, reading “Violence is not love” and “Stop raping us”.
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As they marched, activists shouted,“Our battle is every day, we are women and not commodities”, thunderous chants which reverberated off the streets of Porto city centre. Individuals from many walks of live stood shoulder to shoulder, campaigning to bring about political and social change. The energy of the march was explosive, and one message was certainly made clear: “We won’t stay silent. We won’t shut up”. 

Photos: Diogo Baptista
​TXT: Katie Giles Lawrance

Os Suspeitos presented British post-punk indie pop band, Jetstream Pony, on Saturday 5th March at Hard Club, Porto. Playing their very first gig in Portugal, the schrammelig post punk and indie-pop played a 13 song set, Supported by Portuguese band, the OZ Projekt, who started the night, powerful vocals on tracks “The Day I Come Back” and “Fire” and closed their set with an explosive cover of Echo & the Bunnymen’s Lips Like Sugar. 

Jetstream Pony are based in Brighton and Croydon and its members hail from the UK, the USA and Germany. The group comprises Beth Arzy on vocals, (also in The Luxembourg Signal and Lightning in the Twilight Hour), Shaun Charman on guitar (also in Wedding Present), Kerry Boettcher on bass and new Hannes Mueller on drums. 

The band, which lifts its name from a retired greyhound racing dog, played to a full house at Hard Club. Initially planned for April 2021 but postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Saturday’s gig in Porto was not only their first ever gig in Portugal but also marked a reunion for the band. Before that night, the group hadn’t played together live for 2 years.

The post punk quartet began their set with fantastic fuzzy guitar pop tracks “Seven Days”,  and “Courses for Obstacles” from their November 2021 EP: Misplaced Words. Cool yet aloof front woman Beth Arzy’s vocals are dreamy and nostalgic and, together with her aloof demeanour and dry humour between songs, seem effortless. When switching between tambourine and maracas, she told the crowd at Hard Club that  “Porto is a beautiful, brilliant city… but what’s with all the hills?!” Going on to play “It’s Fine”, a track that boasts a killer guitar riff and bittersweet vocals on the lyrics “we’ll find our way (your way again)/what can I say (your way again)/ don’t you think you’ve said enough?, the band treated Hard Club to killer guitar riffs and melody-driven power pop. Jetstream Pony’s style is reminiscent of mid-80s post-punk and indie pop, a timeless sound that does not date. It’s dreamy psychedelia at its very best. 
After raising the energy with “If Not Now, When?”, a fabulous bass line, the group went on to play the popular “Self-Destruct Reality”, featuring lyrics “leave the world outside/inside it’s my self-destruct reality” over fuzzy guitar and danceable bass and drums. An encore heard the band’s first 7″ single “Like You Less” / “Had Enough”, originally recorded on an iPad in Shaun’s bedroom, and which later got played on BBC 6 Music. 

For true indie souls who enjoy killer guitar riffs, nostalgic, bittersweet female vocals and bass you can dance to, Jetstream Pony will not disappoint. The band’s new mini-LP, “Misplaced Words”, is out now. Let Jetstream Pony’s fuzzy bass and dreamy, effortless female vocals be the soundtrack to wistful days.

TXT: KGL
Photo: Diogo Baptista