Maria Emanuel Albergaria tells the story of Rita, a girl who spends an afternoon at the Gorreana tea factory when reality and dreams intertwine, and characters from different times and places appear to talk about tea in the world and on the island of São Miguel, its origins, and how it is produced. All this is intertwined with the history of the factory itself. My illustrations complement and expand on the text, enriching it and paving the way for dreams and a journey that goes beyond formal knowledge.
To carry out this project, I spent a week in an artistic residence in São Miguel, in the Azores, which allowed me to take over a thousand photographs and make many drawings on site. I saw the entire tea production process, interviewed people and met several times with the author of the text, which greatly enriched the experience of creating the illustrations for this book.
To carry out this project, I spent a week in an artistic residence in São Miguel, in the Azores, which allowed me to take over a thousand photographs and make many drawings on site. I saw the entire tea production process, interviewed people and met several times with the author of the text, which greatly enriched the experience of creating the illustrations for this book.