When a child is born in Alentejo, they already have a traditional chair waiting for them. The Alentejo chairs are painted in yellow, blue, or red and decorated with flowers. They are known for their ancestral functions: seamstress, shoemaker, and kitchen chairs. Joaquim Boavida has been making chairs since he was a child. He learned by watching. At 19, he married Cristina, and since then, they have formed a team. As soon as Joaquim finishes assembling the chair, he passes it to his wife. Standing, always listening to music, Cristina paints it with a firm hand, without hesitation. Many decades of flower painting make it seem easy, but it’s an art full of skill and ingenuity. At Octant ÉVORA, the traditional chairs bring the comfort for which they were designed when we sit, but they also bring the colors and designs that tell us where we are.
The son of a gardener from Redondo, he started going to the carpentry workshop during school holidays. At first, he swept the workshop, cleaning up the wood shavings. He learned how to make this piece of furniture by watching.
In addition to the pine wood used for the chair’s frame, another traditional material is used for the seat. A straw called buinho, gathered in May from the riverbeds. Before the Alqueva Dam, Joaquim could collect buinho from the Guadiana River more easily. With the filling of the lake, the buinho has disappeared, and it is now collected further upstream, near Fronteira. In Spain, its collection is prohibited. The buinho is cut underwater in a dangerous task, and after it is dried, it is skillfully handled and intertwined by Joaquim’s hands, forming a seat that is as beautiful as it is comfortable. And durable.
In the homes of true Alentejans or in the trendy new commercial spaces, the traditional chairs and furniture are an identity mark of the craftsmanship and creative capacity of the people of this region.
