27/10/2024
New book explores “Algarve experience through foreign eyes” written by Italian Social Media Activist Paolo Funassi and British Author Anna Alcott.
Written by Paolo Funassi and Anna Alcott, The book features interviews with people who lived in the Algarve but hail from 60 different countries
A new book which aims to share the “uncensored experiences” of foreigners living in the Algarve will be launched in November by Italian social media activist Paolo Funassi and British author Anna Alcott.
‘The Algarve Experience: Life Through Foreign Eyes’ is a nearly 300-page book based on around 90 interviews with people from 60 different countries who live in the Algarve.
The interviews were carried out by Paolo, who has lived in the Algarve since 2018 and has become a prominent member of the region’s foreign community, founding the ‘Albufeira Paradise’ group on Facebook, which boasts over 70,000 members.
Having lived in Albufeira for several years, Paolo has actively worked to help his local community. From promoting environmental initiatives to advocating for a twinning project with an Italian city to bring investments to the Algarve, he has sought ways to give back to the region which he now calls home.
He has also become heavily involved in local politics, being named earlier this year as the Algarve coordinator of ADN, a right-wing party formed in 2014, and pitched projects like the construction of a cricket field in Albufeira to cater to the growing number of immigrants from countries where the sport is popular, such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
With this new book, he aims to give a voice to other foreign residents like him, allowing them to share their experiences of living in the Algarve. In other words, he wants to present an uncensored view of the realities faced by foreigners in the region.
“The message is coming from foreigners, directly from their mouths, without censorship,” Paolo told the Resident.
One of the strong points of the book is the diversity of nationalities of the people interviewed, he said. “Europe represents less than half of the respondents,” he explained, stressing that it was important to show that “we have an enormous plurality of people in the Algarve, from all corners of the world.”
To bring the book to life, Paolo partnered with English writer Anna Alcott, who helped shape the interviews into a cohesive narrative.
“Writing has always been my passion, and this project with Paolo is a unique opportunity to delve into the lives of foreign residents living in the Algarve, and understanding their motivations,” said Alcott, an experienced writer with published works in the UK and US.
She was particularly interested in discovering the reasons why so many people leave their home countries to settle in the Algarve. “What makes someone abandon everything they know to start over in a place like the Algarve? What dreams and aspirations drive them? What difficulties do they face? These are the questions I want to explore in this book,” the author explained.
One particular challenge was translating and interpreting the interviews, many of which were conducted in languages she does not speak. “Working with interviews in Spanish and other languages, often poorly translated by online tools, has been a complex task. My goal is to ensure that the interviewees’ voices are conveyed authentically, capturing their emotions and cultural nuances,” Alcott said.
“This book goes beyond a mere collection of life stories; it makes a significant contribution to the global understanding of what it means to be a foreigner in an unfamiliar land. The Algarve, with its unique blend of natural beauty and cultural richness, serves as the ideal backdrop for exploring these narratives,” the author said, adding that she hopes the book will encourage other foreigners to also share their stories.
Despite the hard work that writing the book posed, the project is not intended for financial gain; rather, Paolo Funassi hopes it will lead to future collaborations with public or private institutions, as he envisions a larger, more detailed study of the foreign communities in the Algarve, providing valuable information for policymakers and local organisations.
The physical edition of the book is being launched in English in November, costing €11.99, and will be available for purchase directly from Paolo (+351 963 248 878) or on Amazon (€5.99 for Kindle version). The book will also be translated into Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, with the translated editions due to be launched in the first months of 2025.
https://www.portugalresident.com/new-book-explores-algarve-experience-through-foreign-eyes/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGGFzpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQeRPxuq8jWGjwyXlt_Pp0jA9LUPWV24mxX4Hht30XEKvBh8yZC1gGs5UA_aem_QS0ZrrV6ZGCTTXvw3MJlNQ&sfnsn=wa
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