MARGAO: Speaking for the first time since his release from jail, former PWD minister Churchill Alemao praised the contribution of tiatr to Goa during the golden jubilee show of Menino de Bandar’s tiatr ‘Soccorina’ at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.
Against the backdrop of calls by Nuvem MLA Francisco Mickky Pacheco for a mechanism to regulate tiatr and the incident that took place at the same hall, Alemao’s presence and timing of his speech is seen as an indirect dig at Pacheco.
Alemao spoke about how tiatrists and tiatr lovers, among others, were the ones who had prayed for him and he expressed his gratitude to them.
He went on to speak about how tiatr is an important part of Goan society and how it has to be supported as they are the only ones, along with priests, who keep Roman Konkani alive. He also told the crowd that he was always available and would always be there for them.
Alemao was joined by Mario Menezes, Tragedy King and others, who were effusive in their praise of Menino’s record-breaking show.
In his speech, Mario criticised the government for not making halls available to tiatrists, especially in Panjim, and complained about how they have to make do with the halls they managed to get. His criticism is significant given the recent attempts by the government to control and push for censorship of tiatrists. It is to be noted that Benaulim MLA Caitu Silva had also called for censorship in the Assembly.
