SENTINELA

Sentinela pays tribute to António Ribeiro (1922–2006), the lifeguard known as Tarzan da Caparica. Born into a poor fishing family in Costa da Caparica, he never went to primary school, helping his father at sea from an early age. He first worked on the beaches as a banheiro, the attendant who set up awnings and watched over bathers, and after winning a swimming race he was hired as a lifeguard at the FNAT holiday camp, today INATEL. From 1939 he kept watch alone over São João beach. His courage and the speed of his swimming earned him the nickname Tarzan.

Over four decades, António Ribeiro rescued more than 300 people from the sea, as many as 16 in a single day, at a time when lifeguards worked with little more than a large buoy and their own strength. He retired in 1990, having received the Gold Medal of Merit and Dedication from the City of Almada and the White Cross from the Campo de Ourique Volunteer Firefighters. He died in 2006, at the age of 84.

Alexandre Farto aka VHILS carved his portrait into the façade of a building on the route to the beaches, using the bas-relief wall carving technique that has become one of the hallmarks of his practice. Vhils worked from a 1964 photograph taken when the lifeguard was 42. Completed in April 2026, the work faces the stretch of coast António Ribeiro watched over for most of his life, returning a figure of local memory to the place where he is still remembered.