Entroido de Cobres took centre stage at the institutional International Women’s Day (8M) event in Vilaboa, where the Town Council recognised the women whose dedication, commitment and often unseen work over the years have made possible the continuity of the municipality’s most representative tradition. A total of 22 women linked to Entroido de Cobres received the Vilaboa 8M Award 2026 during an emotional ceremony held at the Casa da Cultura de Riomaior.
The recognition highlighted three key pillars of Entroido de Cobres: the dressmakers, the Entroido Veterans, the women musicians of Aires de Cobres, as well as the women of the board of the Cultural Association Cobres, all of whom play an essential role in preserving this centuries-old celebration through daily work, oral transmission, organisation and heritage conservation.
Among those honoured were representatives of the dressmakers who painstakingly create the elaborate costumes and hats of the Entroido; members of the Entroido Veterans group, founded fourteen years ago to recover a tradition many women had not been able to experience in their youth; musicians from Aires de Cobres, responsible for keeping the sound of tradition alive; and members of the Cultural Association Cobres, in charge of coordination, organisation and documentary preservation of the festival.
The ceremony, organised by the Equality Department of Vilaboa Town Council, featured a performance by Pandereteiras Tudoten de Soutomaior, the screening of a video produced by Nuria Morgade capturing the voices and emotions of the honourees, and the presentation of a sculptural piece created by artist Irene Silva Xiráldez, part of the Muller das Salinas collection.
Speaking on behalf of the award recipients, Lidia Peleteiro stressed that those honoured were “only a representation of those who came before and those who will come after”, highlighting the fundamental role of women in preserving a tradition that forms part of Vilaboa’s identity. Meanwhile, mayor César Poza and Equality Councillor Carmen Gallego underlined the immeasurable cultural legacy these women help preserve generation after generation.
Entroido de Cobres would like to express its gratitude for this collective recognition, which highlights the work of so many women who, from different roles and often quietly, have made and continue to make it possible for Entroido to remain alive and be passed on from generation to generation.
