Portugal

Portugal Journal

Portugal National Football Team

After being in Portugal for the past couple of days, we have learned that football is the most popular sport among hundreds of other sports that are played in the country. Some of the most noted footballers from Portugal that we have heard of include Cristiano Ronaldo and Eusébio. One of the noteworthy managers, Fernando Santos, is a former player and current manager of the Portugal national team. During Euro 2016, Portugal even won its’ first major trophy defeating France 1-0. From local people, we learned about a traditional sport named Jogo do pau, which can be roughly translated to “game of the stick.” Jogo do pau originates from civil techniques of combat used most often during war by foot soldiers who could not afford better weapons. It was developed in Galicia and isolated mountain region of Portugal; however, some believe that it was influenced by southern Indian dance. When we heard of this sport, we could not believe how long it has been able to be played by people until this day! Within these limited days, we have already noticed what an important role sports play in Portuguese culture.

Arroz Doce

The food in Portugal is delicious and greatly influenced by Mediterranean cuisine. Piri piri, cinnamon, and saffron are some of the many spices used in Portuguese cuisine. One of the bases of Portugal’s dishes is olive oil; furthermore, garlic and herbs are also widely used. Something special about their dining schedule is that dinner is served around 8 o’clock, which may seem late to some people. In the last couple of days, we have tried many different kinds of Portuguese dishes. One traditional dish we tried is called Caldo verde, a kind of soup that contains potatoes, collard greens, olive oil, and sometimes chouriço (pork sausages). As simple as it may seem, this soup is definitely tasty. Being big fans of fish, we enjoyed bacalhau, which is salted cod. Apparently in Portugal alone, there are over hundreds of recipes for this dish! One of our favorite dishes is arroz doce, a dessert that is basically rice pudding with lemon peel and cinnamon. Overall, the food was one of the greatest enjoyments of this trip. Although we enjoyed the food very much, we still had to stop by at a fast food restaurant for once.

Conimbriga

During our visit to Portugal, we visited several different monuments, and we realized that Portuguese architecture was actually very interesting. Though older architecture that dated back to the Romans and Romanesques were mostly destroyed, monuments such as the Templo de Diana in Évora or the biggest Roman ruins, Conimbriga, survived. Additionally, it was only around the 11th century during the Alfonsine Dynasty, that Portugal really started to have their own style in architectures and it’s own statement in art. Portuguese architecture is heavily influenced by France, but was adapted and made it’s own. Different building reflect different times. For example, the cathedral, aka Sé, is a great representation of the building during the  Alfonsine Dynasty, or House of Burgundy. All in all, each of these building made a very different statement, and I was lucky to be able to see them.

Source #1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal_national_football_team

Source #2: http://www.consul.com.br/blog-receitas-de-festa-junina-com-kitchen-e-consul-arroz-doce-de-micro-ondas/

Source #3: http://www.wikiwand.com/fr/Conimbriga

Portugal Newspaper

Mário Soares Dies at 92; Guided Portugal’s Shift to Democracy

7 January 2017

Mário Soares

Mário Soares, the Socialist leader who guided Portugal to transition from dictatorship to democracy in the 1970s, died at age 92 on January 7th in Lisbon. Mr. Soares was admitted into the Red Cross hospital in December and had been showing signs of improvement until he fell into a coma. However, the exact cause of his death had not been revealed by the hospital. In the past, Mr. Soares had suffered both imprisonment and exile during the course of his career. After the 1974 Carnation Revolution, Mário Soares played an important role, a military coup who led Portugal out of the rule of Salazar. In 1986, Mr. Soares was elected president and was reelected in 1991 with almost over 70% of the votes and remained one of the country’s most influential politician even after he left the presidency. Mr. Soares, at age 82, ran for president again in 2006 but he finished in third. From the words of current President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, "President Mário Soares was born and graduated to be a fighter, to have a cause to fight - freedom, Mário Soares never gave up on a free Portugal, a free Europe, a free world and what was decisive... he was always victorious."

Can a whole country run on renewable resources?

1 September 2016

During May of 2016, the whole nation ran on sun, wind, and rain power for four and a half days with the help of 83 hydroelectric dams. Coopérnico, Portugal’s first renewable energy cooperative, started at the end of 2013 has recently set up their seventh photovoltaic facility. This photovoltaic facility is located on the south coast of Portugal, on top of the roof of the Irene Rolo foundation. Coopérnico has raised 55,750 euros for their seventh photovoltaic facility within a week. Susana Fonseca, a Coopérnico board member says, "There were members who wanted to invest and they didn't get there in time, so the investment was already closed. [...] People are investing in something they consider sustainable, it's the opposite to putting your money in the bank and never knowing what they are doing with it. So here, people know where their money is going.” Coopérnico has big plans for the future, including expanding their electrical supplies and selling clean energy to their members exclusively.

Portugal Detains Former C.I.A. Officer Sought by Italy

21 February 2017

Sabrina De Sousa

Sabrina De Sousa, a former undercover C.I.A, was a participant in the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric. She was detained by the Portuguese authorities on February 19th, 2017.  Sought after by the Italian authorities for her participation in this case, she participated in this as part of a secret US rendition program ordered during president George W. Bush’s presidency after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. It captured suspects illegally, transported them to other countries, and then forcefully interrogated them. According to Abu Omar, a victim of this program, he was taken to a military base before being moved to Egypt, where he was tortured. Thankfully, this program was ended under Barack Obama’s presidency. Ms. De Sousa was part of this program and she was one of the 26 Americans sentenced to 4 years in prison for the abduction of Abu Omar. De Sousa's case, though one of many, caused authorities to question related programs, and her case and many such cases, were able to be brought to trial.
Source #1: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38542535

Source #2: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/world/europe/portugal-cia-sabrina-de-sousa.html?_r=0

Portugal Postcard

Dear Alex,

We have arrived in Portugal and we went to visit the Belém Tower today. The Belém Tower or the Tower of St. Vincent is located in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and it was built as a fortress to guard the entrance to Lisbon's harbor. The Belém Tower was not only the starting point of voyages but also the last sight of their homeland seen by sailors. It is a monument to Portugal's Age of Discovery and it is now a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage sight! This tower is truly beautiful, and the tour guide said it is one of the most representative examples of Manueline, or Portuguese late Gothic, architecture. The tower was influenced by Moroccan architecture because the architect who built this tower previously supervised various constructions of fortresses in Morocco. Don't miss us too much! See you soon!

Evelyn and Cassie
Source: http://www.timetravelturtle.com/2013/01/belem-tower-lisbon-portugal/