There are professions that are our heritage. They inspire fascination and admiration in others. They can make time go back, or immerse us in the past lives of others and other stories. Many have vanished, lost to time, but they have left an indisputable mark on others and on the very land itself.
In Madeira, the levadas are one of the greatest legacies of the region and, since 2017, are on the Portuguese Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage status. Inseparable from the history of these structures is the work of the levadeiros, responsible not only for their maintenance but also for bringing water to the local populations and communities.
In this issue of Portuguese Soul, we set out to discover this legacy. Who are these men who, with compass and conch shell in hand, are part of a story that remains to be told?