On 25 April 1974, Portugal changed. The Carnation Revolution I mentioned here. As you may have noticed, today is 25 April and I am here and I can really feel the importance of it all so I can't resist telling you about it once more in case you want to read it. Or find out more about it. How we managed a peaceful revolution. How Grândola Vila Morena* played on the radio took the Portuguese army to the streets starting the revolution and ending the dictatorship. How the people joined them. How listening to it is still solemn. Grândola Vila Morena is still sung today for its poem, for its musicality, for what it represents.
25 de Abril é o dia da Liberdade.
*lyrics translation here; it's a song by Zeca Afonso, a brilliant man.
Little note: photo not by Little Miss Joey, found online but could not find the author.
A peaceful revolution...quite an achievement looking at Libya, Syria etc.
ReplyDeleteI guess it must have been party time in Portugal today then? I was in London on St George's Day on Saturday. There was a concert in Trafalgar Square which was half-full and lashed by the rain. A few folks were walking around with flags, but most people didn't seem to realise it was our national day, apart from the racist chavs I saw abusing passing Asians for not looking 'English' enough :(
Not so much party time, more celebration time. And interesting TV documentaries about different aspects of it. I'm not able to say how the rest of the people lived this year's 25 April, I am quite sheltered by the sun and ocean to see... but it is something we mark and celebrate. Bare in mind this only happened yesterday, my parents generation lived through the regime and so this is still very much present in their memories and what they tell us while growing up.
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