Latest news with #PaulaRego
Irish Times
24-05-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Who was the real Mary of Nazareth and how did Christians come to believe she was a virgin?
Attempting to extricate the historical, human personality of Mary of Nazareth from the iconic persona built around her from the early Church down to the 21st century is a daunting challenge. Some contemporary artists, such as Irish writer Colm Tóibín and Portuguese artist Paula Rego, have taken up this challenge. In The Testament of Mary, Tóibín, in novel and drama form, portrayed the humanity of Mary. Rego painted Mary within a human context on eight canvasses. However, the humanity of Mary was not a priority for early Christians. The earliest New Testament mention of Jesus's mother was in Paul's letter to the Galatians (4.47)‚ written around 10 years after Jesus's death, when he wrote: 'When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman.' READ MORE This 'woman' remains anonymous, with no mention of her virginity. The obsession with Mary's virginity began much later when, in his gospel, Matthew, quoted Isaiah 7:14: 'Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.' According to Matthew, this prophecy was fulfilled in Mary. Luke's gospel follows Matthew when in chapter 2.27 he names Mary as a virgin. However, controversy surrounds the translation of this phrase from the original Hebrew Bible into the Greek Septuagint. The word used by Isaiah was 'almah' which referred to a young girl. When it was translated into Greek, Christian authors used the word 'parthenon', meaning a virgin. It was accepted by the early church that the Genesis account of the original sin of Adam and Eve in Eden was a historical fact and its consequences were transmitted by sexual intercourse to all ensuing generations. But, according to theologians, Jesus as Son of God could not be tainted by sin, whether actual or original. It was considered anathema by them that, in his incarnation, Jesus would inherit the sin of Adam and Eve brought about by his mother conceiving him by sexual intercourse with her husband. According to this reasoning, Jesus had to be miraculously conceived by a woman who bypassed the normal human process of procreation. So it became Christian belief that Mary had to be a virgin when she conceived Jesus and remained a virgin not alone during his birth, but remained physically a virgin, hymen intact, for perpetuity. The common prayer addressed to Mary expresses this belief – 'Blessed Mary, ever virgin'. This theological dehumanisation of Mary continued unabated even into this century, where she has become an iconic abstraction rather than a female human being. She even became exempt from the pain at childbirth, a punishment decreed by God for every woman due to Eve's disobedience of God. So Mary gave birth to Jesus without any discomfort or pain – a miraculous non-vaginal C section. This quasi-divinisation of Mary continued. In 1854, she was declared by papal decree, without biblical evidence, to be the only woman in history to be conceived without original sin and she became personified for Catholics as the 'Immaculate Conception'. The gospel of James went further by stating that Mary's mother, Anna, was also immaculately conceived. Joseph, Jesus's foster father, should also – according to this theology – have been immaculately conceived, but Joseph's enigmatic existence still remains in the realms of mystery. Then, just under 100 years later in 1950 – again by papal decree and again without biblical evidence – the 'Assumption of Our Lady' became another Catholic dogma. This is the teaching that Mary's body after death, unlike every other human being, did not corrupt in the grave but was assumed to Heaven. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (1962 to 1965), while declaring that Jesus's birth 'enhanced Mary's virginity', put a brake on this growing Marian dogmatic movement. In preparation for the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Curia had prepared a document on Mary which was rejected by the majority of the bishops. [ Mary McAleese is right to call out Catholic Church over its exclusion of women from ordination Opens in new window ] [ Rite and Reason: Sitting on the fence during conflict is a form of taking sides Opens in new window ] The outcome was that Mary was included only within the framework of the document of the church. The document Lumen Gentium declared that Mary was not above nor beyond the church, but an integral part of the people of God. The challenge today is to try to extricate the historical, fully human Mary from the theological baggage heaped upon her over the centuries which has made her a dehumanised icon, separating her from the normal experiences of women. As Christians, we need to reclaim both Jesus and Mary away from the possession of morbid theologians. Over the centuries, such morbid theologians have preached that normal human life was too sinful for the likes of Jesus and Mary to be born into and so, they re-created them as beings apart from normal humanity. Jesus and Mary wore their humanity on their sleeves and in today's world they remain examples of how human beings, women and men, ought to live. Brendan Butler is a theologian and author of My Story, by Jesus of Nazareth.
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Heat review – Paula Rego's dog women inhabit Becky Namgauds' frisky, feral dance-theatre
Among the eclectic entries on Becky Namgauds' CV are dancing for Harry Styles and Vivienne Westwood, and rolling around in mud in her outdoor festival piece Rodadoras. The Heat is something different again, a long way from Harry's House – although the house bit is right, as it's entirely set in one living room. But in this one a naked woman is crouched on all fours on the arm of the sofa, looking like things might go feral. Namgauds is clearly a choreographer with vision, and this is dance-theatre that's by turns unsettling, comic and mildly erotic. She is one of five female performers, of varying ages, inhabiting this domestic setting – sofa, coffee table, lamp, pot plant – where the ordinariness swerves into the surreal. Suddenly one woman is smooshing a tomato into her face. Another's head becomes disjointed from her body in an amusing bit of optical illusion. There's a blankness about these women, but also a hunger. The Heat is inspired by Paula Rego's Dog Woman paintings, depicting women behaving like dogs, with animalistic poses and bared teeth. It's an unpretty side of womanhood, but powerful too. Namgauds has also definitely watched some Pina Bausch (just look at all that long hair swishing luxuriously!) with these absurdist set pieces, only it's a more suburban version: admonishing a sofa cushion, feeling frisky while vacuuming and so on. The pivotal scene begins when one woman puts a fuchsia-pink vibrator on a table; switched on, it starts to do a little dance of its own. Across the room, a different woman suddenly starts vibrating. Then it's catching, soon they're all quaking: pure instinct, pure sensation-seeking, desperate for friction. Poor Henry the Hoover is all I will say. This is an unapologetic depiction of female instincts and what's suppressed beneath the surface. Namgauds has got something, for sure. But is there enough of it in this piece? It feels like a strong 40 minutes stretched to 60. Still, she's one to watch. At Sadler's Wells, London, until 23 May, then at the Lowry, Salford, on 3 June
The Guardian
12-04-2025
- The Guardian
What's new in Portugal? 10 reasons to visit in 2025
The hilltop town about 40 minutes' drive from Lisbon is celebrating 30 years of Unesco world heritage status. Sintra was the first European site listed as a cultural landscape, thanks to its fairytale architecture set among lush parks and gardens. There are 30 events taking place throughout the year, especially aimed at young people, culminating in the Sintra PH30 festival in December. Initiatives include outdoor activities such as geocaching, orienteering, mountain biking, hiking and running; escape rooms, murder mysteries and ghost experiences in and around the town's historic buildings; behind-the-scenes visits to restoration sites and conservation projects; and live music and The Macam modern art gallery opened last month in an enormous 18th-century former palace close to the 25 April Bridge on the north bank of the River Tagus. The gallery displays one of the best private art collections in Portugal – the collector, Armando Martins, bought his first original piece in 1974 and now has more than 600 Portuguese and international artworks from the 19th century onwards, by artists including Paula Rego, Marina Abramović and Olafur Eliasson. The complex also comprises a 64-room, art-filled hotel with library, plus a modern extension, as well as a restaurant, cafe and shop. And the former chapel is a live performance space and from £5, free entry on the first Sunday of the month, The Costa Verde in north-west Portugal, between Porto and the Spanish border, is being tipped as an emerging holiday destination. More operators are offering walking and cycling trips to the region, and the villa rental company Solmar Villas, which has more than 2,000 villas across 30 destinations, launched 22 properties there last year and is expanding. The area is less touristy and more tranquil than the Algarve, great for active travellers and easily reached from Porto. It boasts quiet beaches and surf spots along the Emerald Coast, while inland there are pine forests, rivers and hills, and vineyards producing vinho verde. Solmar recommends the towns of Vieira do Minho and Esposende as good bases for hiking and surfing/watersports information at The 1930s O Val farmhouse, on a large estate between Estremoz and Monforte in the Alentejo, has been restored and reopened as a holiday rental and retreat venue. There are five double bedrooms and lots of communal spaces, including an outdoor dining room; a garden with fruit trees, flowers and herbs, surrounded by olive groves, cork and holm oak trees; and a pool. The former cattle handling area is now a hilltop studio space for creative workshops and retreats, from textiles to ceramics to cooking. Dates for workshops and retreats will released soon. €830 a night, sleeps 10, The tour operator Responsible Travel has noticed a growing interest in Portugal over the past three years, with cycling the most popular type of trip on the mainland. In response, it has launched two new ebiking trips this year. One is a seven-night self-guided tour through the Douro Valley, including a boat trip and the chance to stop at vineyards for tastings. The other is an eight-night, guided tour around the Atlantic Ring in central Portugal. Participants cycle alongside the Mondego, Dão and Vouga Rivers and the Atlantic coast, stopping at historic cities such as Coimbra, Viseu and €1,490 for eight nights B&B, including guide, luggage transfer and one dinner, Ramble Worldwide has a new self-guided holiday walking the Rota Vicentina, a long-distance coastal path from Santiago do Cacém to the Cape St Vincent in south-west Portugal. Walkers will traverse beaches, coastal trails and clifftops, staying at five towns along the way. The difficulty level is classed as moderate – walks are between 8½ and 14½ miles a day, including some hills, taking about six or seven hours (on some days there is a shortcut option). On day four, there is a change of scene when the route heads inland to Aljezur, a medieval market town with a ruined Moorish £639 for seven nights' B&B, including transfers and luggage transport, from April to November. Portugal's national gastronomy day will be celebrated on 26 July in Albufeira, a resort city in the Algarve. The annual event showcases regional specialities and this year the focus is bivalves, particularly razor clams and cockles, which are central to many regional dishes. Albufeira is perhaps better known for the bars along its strip – but there are also two Michelin-listed restaurants here: Vila Joya (which has two stars) and Al Quimia. For more relaxed spots specialising in seafood, head along the coast to smaller towns such as clam capital Olhão, Tavira and information Portugal is a prime European surfing destination: its long coastline picks up a variety of Atlantic swell, from gentle rollers to giant breaks. Eco Yoga Surf, which has been running Drift retreats in Jersey since 2017, is holding its first retreat in the country this year. Drift Portugal is based at a surf villa in Arrifana, on the south-west coast. The programme includes meditation and energising vinyasa flow every morning, surfing at different spots each day, and relaxing yoga nidra at night, with optional beach hikes and workshops on ocean literacy and ecosystems. The villa has a swimming pool and fire pit, and healthy, plant-based meals are included. Suitable for all levels.£1,195 for six nights, 12-18 October, A Portuguese hotel group inspired by the Japanese philosophy of kodawari, ('the uncompromising and relentless pursuit of perfection') is opening its first property, Kodawari Flores, on 1 May on Porto's Rua das Flores, and promises 'the best sleep ever'. A second hotel is planned in the same city and a third in Lisbon. In its pursuit of sleep perfection, the hotel has beds by Swedish company Hästens, and bedding by Pato Rico and weighted blankets by Blanky, both Portuguese brands. Guests can book guided tours to taste port and a pastel de nata, listen to fado, visit FC Porto and from £141, opens 1 May, New holiday cottages have opened on a 19th-century farm in the Ria Formosa nature reserve in the Algarve. Some of Quinta do Pinheiro's two- and three-bedroom properties have courtyard gardens or roof terraces. They share a pool and garden, with an avocado orchard and vineyard beyond. This summer, Amsterdam-based chef Ben van Geelen will cook for guests. The cottages are between the river and sea, with sandy beaches on one side and marshland, salt pans and small islands on the other – ideal for spotting white storks, flamingoes and other €300 a night for a two-bedroom cottage for four,
