The Chaves Municipal Library hosted, on October 16th, the presentation of the book “A Armadilha da Casa Vermelha”, authored by Afonso Tomás Garcia, a young resident of Chaves and a 12th-grade student at Agrupamento de Escolas Dr. Júlio Martins. The work blends history, fiction, and reflection on the human condition.
The event was attended by the Mayor of Chaves, Nuno Vaz, the President of Agrupamento de Escolas Dr. Júlio Martins, Gil Alvar, and Professor Olívia Dias. The book presentation was led by Catarina Santos Botelho, a lecturer from the Faculty of Law at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. The event also included a musical performance by students from the Chaves Academy of Arts, bringing together family, educational community representatives, and many friends.
Nuno Vaz congratulated the young author for his courage, maturity, and creative capacity, emphasizing the importance of literature as a space for reflection on fundamental societal issues such as ethics, humanism, and respect for others. The mayor highlighted Garcia's maturity and the crucial role of family and school in shaping conscious citizens committed to the common good.
The novel transports the reader to the summer of 1876, following Ega Cabral in a narrative marked by passions, adventures, secrets, revenge, and dilemmas between duty and desire. Afonso Tomás Garcia, who has long been interested in History, Science, and Philosophy, expresses his curiosity and creativity through this historical novel, which he defines as “a journey of discovery, an adventure story, almost cinematic in dimension”.
