Scene from the Avante Festival. | Avante
When I was 19 and went to the Woodstock music festival in upstate New York, I thought I was at the ultimate festival—there had never been anything like it and never would be again, I was sure.
Three years ago, however, I attended what had to be the greatest Communist festival in the world, the Avante Festival in Portugal. Woodstock was indeed unique among festivals, but Avante actually was more unique in many ways.
And now, during the celebrations in Portugal of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), my thoughts return to the Avante festival in Amora, the small town outside Lisbon where the event has been held for more than 40 years.