Life is an apparently irreversible succession of events, organized by what we commonly define as time. Time has been an object of fixation to humans, to some more than to others. To me, time is like an executioner, sitting there, waiting. Time is unforgiving.
For 10 years, Macau CLOSER has been reporting on the changes this city has been going through – in its society as a whole, in the Arts, in its services and the hospitality industry. The last decade was a very intense one for Macau, with economic ups and downs, with impressive achievements and missed opportunities, with signs of overdevelopment and an increasing population, with talented people popping up in different fields of work, and also with talent being wasted.
To celebrate a decade of CLOSER is of course to celebrate the people of this city. In this our 10th anniversary issue, instead of looking back, we aim to look forward and go on a quest to identify 10 talented young Macau citizens who we believe will continue to make their mark in the coming decade. From visual arts to sports, from hospitality to cinema, from marketing to environmental issues, the young women and men featured by CLOSER this month, offer a ray of hope for Macau’s future. In their words, you can feel endless energy, a strong desire to live and work freely, to think and live globally, while still cherishing our roots.
To celebrate this 10th anniversary is also to congratulate the people who dared to launch this magazine a decade ago, especially Ricardo Pinto, the founder and publisher of Macau CLOSER; but also Mark Phillips, who has been with CLOSER almost from day one; former editor-in-chief Nuno Mendonça, who played a fundamental role in the history of this publication, and everyone else who has contributed to these pages over the years and until today – writers, illustrators, designers, photographers, translators and more. Also marketing and office staff, interns, partners, sponsors and, of course, you, our readers.
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If 10 years is a significant milestone for a magazine, seven years is a long time in the life of a 32-year-old man like me. For seven years I’ve been living in this city. I’ve learned to call Macau my home and I have been fortunate enough to spend the large majority of these years working within this media group.
Time goes by so fast, as we always say – and it actually feels like that to me, when I look back to January 2010, when a ferry brought me here for the first time to the shores of Macau. After working with our sister publication Ponto Final, and after being the editor-in-chief of Macau CLOSER for almost four years, it is now time to end this chapter of my life and open another one.
In this my last Editor’s Note, I can’t help thanking Ricardo Pinto, my friend above all other things or titles. Thanking him for all the opportunities he has given me over these years in Macau. Thanking him for trusting me, for believing in my dreams and making me believe in his dreams. It has been a tough but beautiful journey that we’ve walked together, and it won’t finish here.
The final words go to CLOSER’s team, a hardworking, devoted and generous small group of people who make this publication possible every month. May all of you and your careers flourish together with this magazine. I’ll surely miss you all, for a long time.