The Musgueira neighbourhood was founded in the 1960s in an old olive grove, near Lumiar, in Lisbon. It was built in the mud, without water, electricity or sewage, and was hand-built by people displaced by the Salazar bridge, Portela airport, the floods of 1967, and other places where it was no longer possible to live. It was a temporary neighbourhood, but time passed and the inhabitants of Musgueira improved their wooden and corrugated iron houses until many were made of stone and lime.
In the 1990s, they were told they had to leave. They would no longer live in single-story houses but in eight-story buildings. Suddenly, the population of Musgueira saw their neighborhood disappear in front of the bulldozers. It was the “new city” that was arriving. It was a commitment to social integration, mixing housing for relocation and apartments for the middle/upper class. The old Musgueira gave way to Alta de Lisboa.
These were radical changes in everyone's lives. In addition to missing the street life they lost, a whole new range of difficulties were added. Meanwhile, new residents are arriving, unlikely neighbors, who share the same streets. But does living in the same neighborhood make these people true neighbors?
The documentary “Vizinhos” was financed by GEBALIS – EM, within the scope of the Cooperation and Partnership Agreements signed in 2008.
