“In addition to the economic dynamics that we want to create in the municipality, we want to preserve our history, our tradition, our culture, and our identity”, the president of the Chamber of Boticas, Fernando Queiroga, told Lusa.

The objective of the first edition of the event “Historical Recreation – French Invasions”, according to the mayor, is to “foster tourism, the local economy and simultaneously publicise the municipality” in the north of the Vila Real district.

In addition to the historical recreation that marks the date of the French invasions, which took place over 200 years ago, the town will also be the stage for various activities, such as street entertainment, workshops and crafts of the time, exotic animals, music and period balls, fire shows, comedy shows and a 19th-century market, with the sale of endogenous products.

The event features around 45 historical recreators, from various national groups, who will organise historical demonstrations from the Napoleonic era with recreations of battles and clashes between the Portuguese, French, and English.

Fernando Queiroga said that the initiative aims to publicise existing heritage throughout the municipality, preserve history and at the same time pay homage to ancestors, as well as promote culture and value the “unique traditions of the municipality”, such as wine from the dead.

Wine of the Dead

In 1808, during the second invasion of Napoleon Bonaparte's troops, commanded by General Soult, the population of the territory that is today the municipality of Boticas hid their goods to avoid looting, burying their wine under the floors of their cellars.

Later, when they went to recover their possessions, they discovered that the wine had acquired new properties, like some natural gas, and they named it, because it had been buried, “wine of the dead”.

It became a symbol of the resistance of the people of this territory and is currently a regional Trás-os-Montes wine, of controlled origin, produced by Nuno Pereira's family, who maintain the tradition of burying the bottles under the cellar floor.

Between 1807 and 1810, Portugal was invaded three times at the behest of Napoleon, who sought to transform France into an empire.

The event program includes a military parade and the historical recreation of a confrontation between the Portuguese, French, and English.

According to the municipality, the initiative involves the participation of the local community and recreational associations as participants in historical recreations.