As Cidades e as Trocas, Luísa Homem & Pedro Pinho, Portugal, 2014, 138’
In 2008, the growing tourism industry of Cape Verde was frozen. The building of many hotels and resorts by foreigner companies had to be stopped due to a shortage of sand. The sand industry, primary resource for the production of concrete, had reached a dramatic level, endangering the beaches. This event caused a huge euphoria among the businessmen of Mauritania. A great number of trucks started to flow to the Nouakchott port, where many boats sail out to feed the tourist constructions in Cape Verde. Trading Cities starts in Lisbon on a cargo ship. We will undertake an Atlantic route that re-enacts these daily travels, in order to highlight the physical and social transformations in the landscape that these exchanges produce.
In 2008, the growing tourism industry of Cape Verde was frozen. The building of many hotels and resorts by foreigner companies had to be stopped due to a shortage of sand. The sand industry, primary resource for the production of concrete, had reached a dramatic level, endangering the beaches.