PORTUGAL NA LTV - FÁTIMA

Ekspresas LT visited Fatima town in Portugal. It is said, that 90 years go in this town The Saint Maria appeared for three shepherds children. Since that time, Fatima became one of the most visited saint places.
Starting in 21:40 minute
http://www.lrt.lt/ekspresas/news.php?strid=16742&id=17082

(Thanks Jolita for collaboration)

PORTUGAL NA LTV - FADO

This theme – heart breaking fado songs of Portugal. Although lithuanians are sure that southern people’s music is temperamental and more joyful, this reportage not about such kind of music. Fado – national Portuguese music – it reminds singing poetry or romances. These songs are about continues life stories, nostalgia, missing, and love curves.
Starting in 39:17 minute
http://www.lrt.lt/ekspresas/news.php?strid=16742&id=17033#


(Thanks Jolita for collaboration...)

Portuguese people

Numbers, Origins and Characteristics

According to the 2001 census there are about ten million people living in Portugal. Almost two-thirds of them live in the coastal fourth of the country, with the capital city, Lisbon, and its surrounding metropolitan area having the largest population with around two million people. Oporto (Porto), the next largest city, has a metropolitan population of about one million.

Most of the current Portuguese population grew from the mixture of all the peoples who have inhabited and traded in the region over the centuries. The first to settle were the Iberians, and over the years Celts, Romans, Germanic tribes, Moors, Jews, and others migrated into the area and combined to develop a people with unique physical characteristics.

Features

Most Portuguese have typical Mediterranean features like brown eyes, dark hair, and a height of less than 6 feet. Evidence of the Germanic tribes can still be seen in the north of the country, where taller, light-haired and light-eyed people are occasionally encountered, and in the south, traces of the Moorish period are seen in both the physical type and the way of life.

Religion and beliefs

In the course of millennia this mingling between people, combined with the country's isolation from Spain and the rest of Europe, gave rise to a population structure that was homogeneous and distinctively Portuguese, both ethnically and culturally. About 97% of the Portuguese population identify themselves as Roman Catholic, but other religions enjoy freedom of worship. Protestants constitute 1% of the populace, and various other groups make up the remaining 2%. Although church and state are separated in the constitution, the country's holidays, its moral and legal codes, health and educational systems, are intertwined with its Catholic heritage.

While only about one third of the population attends church regularly, almost all Portuguese are baptized and married in church. The Portuguese (mainly those in rural areas) are a deeply superstitious people whose formal Catholicism is profoundly intertwined with pre-Christian beliefs.

Popular superstitions involve the phases of the moon and the evil eye, which is feared in a number of situations. Older rural women are expected to dress in black after the death of their husbands for about seven years, and many wear it for the rest of their lives. Western-style clothing is the norm, and people in the cities dress well.

However, vestiges of traditional garb such as berets for men and black shawls for women may still be seen in some rural areas. Defining a national character is never easy, but it can be said that most Portuguese are easy-going, welcoming, and friendly. Although some at first may appear sullen and morose to foreigners, they're generally known to be willing to go out of their way to help. Those in the northern part of the country are more formal and conservative, while attitudes in the south are generally more casual and relaxed.

Differencies

As in all countries, there are differences between rural and urban people, with those from rural areas able to sustain themselves by their harvests, and generally distrusting Lisbon and other big cities for all they stand for: social turmoil and bureaucracy. They take festivals (usually in honor of a patron saint) very seriously, especially in the Minho province and the Azores Islands where they can last for days, with solemn processions, dances and fireworks. The lifestyle of the urban population is like that of their counterparts in other European countries (smartly dressed and with cellular phones clamped to the ear), but in both rural and urban areas manners tend to be elaborate, especially in forms of address. When the Portuguese greet each other, they generally expect to be kissed on both cheeks, or exchange handshakes.

Another cultural activity in both the city and small towns is spending hours at cafes, usually gossiping over coffee. As in most "Mediterranean" countries, older men also tend to gather in the cobbled squares watching the world go by, while women also have their own tête-à-têtes.

Education and work

All children must attend school at least until the age of fourteen, and most finish high school. Beyond this level, admission to colleges and universities is limited by quotas set each year for each subject and school.

Women (most of whom have gone outside the home, excelling as university professors, doctors, and writers) account for more than half of all persons enrolled in higher education and almost half of the country's physicians. Yet their role in the household is still considered of primary importance.

Portuguese workers are known for being adaptable, hard working, and frugal. Industry employs over a third of the country's labor force, while nearly half work in service jobs. Employment varies by region, with the main occupations being heavy industry around the capital, tourism in Algarve, and agriculture in the Azores and Madeira Islands. Salaries, although rising, are still below the European Union average.

Patriotism

To the Portuguese, their nation is a place they truly love. Those in Lisbon can't believe there is a city more lovely than theirs, the citizens of Porto are truly fond of their city on the banks of the Douro River, and those from about everywhere else believe no other place compares to their terra, or homeland. The Portuguese who went to live abroad usually visit their terra every year, and many return to live their last days after retiring.

Portuguese people around the world

There are about four million Portuguese citizens living abroad, most of whom immigrated in the early and mid-20th century. They settled mainly in France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, United States, Canada, Brazil, and Venezuela. In the United States most Portuguese settled in the states of Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. The majority of the Portuguese population in the United States is from the Azores islands, as are the Portuguese who settled in Canada.

Source:
http://www.golisbon.com/culture/people.html

PORTUGAL NA LTV - LISBOA E O ELÉCTRICO 28

Ekspresas LT creation group this time travels with unique tram, which line passes through Lisbon center and famous places of interest. This tram goes in narrow Portugal capital streets, which reminds history days of the country and town.
Starting in 03:00 minute
http://www.lrt.lt/ekspresas/news.php?strid=16742&id=17054

(Thanks Jolita for collaboration...)

PORTUGAL NA LTV - PESCADORES

Ekspresas LT invites you to fishing together with Portuguese fish men. Portuguese people cannot imagine their life without sea and Atlantic ocean. Lots of fishes, tourism and the most famous geographical discoveries - for this Portuguese are thankful to Atlantic ocean.
Starting in 32:56 minute
http://www.lrt.lt/ekspresas/news.php?strid=16742&id=17056#

(Thanks Jolita for collaboration...)

FADO / TANGO !!!

Poema: Fernando Pessoa

Fadista: Camané

Bailarinos: Juan Capriotti e Graciana Romeo

REVOLUÇÃO DOS CRAVOS

The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese, Revolução dos Cravos) was an almost bloodless, leftist, military-led coup d'état, started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a liberal democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC (Processo Revolucionário Em Curso), characterized by social turmoil and power dispute between left and right wing political forces. Although government forces killed four people before surrendering, the revolution was unusual in that the revolutionaries did not use direct violence to achieve their goals. The population, holding red carnations (cravos in Portuguese), convinced the regime soldiers not to resist. The soldiers readily swapped their bullets for flowers. It was the end of the Estado Novo, the longest authoritarian regime in Western Europe (but not the last to end; Francisco Franco ruled Spain until his death in 1975). The revolution is often simply referred to, as its celebratory holiday, o dia vinte e cinco de Abril (the 25th of April).

Freedom Day on April 25 is a national holiday in Portugal, with official and some popular commemorations, though some right-wing sectors of the population still regard the developments after the coup d'état as pernicious for the country. On the other hand, some of the military leaders lament that the leftist inspiration of the uprising has since been abandoned.

CONTEXT:

In the beginning of the 1970s, the authoritarian regime of the Estado Novo continued to weigh heavily on the country, after a half-century of rule under President of the Council of Ministers António de Oliveira Salazar. After the military coup of May 28, 1926, Portugal implemented an authoritarian regime of social-Catholic and Integralist inspiration. In 1933, the regime was recast and renamed Estado Novo ("New State"), and Oliveira Salazar was named as President of the Council of Ministers until 1968, when he suffered a stroke following a domestic accident. He was replaced by Marcelo Caetano in September who served as President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) until he was deposed on April 25, 1974.
Under the Estado Novo, Portugal was not considered a democracy, whether by the opposition, by foreign observers, or even by the regime leaders themselves. There were formal elections but they were rarely contested - with the opposition using the limited political freedoms allowed during the brief election period to openly protest against the regime, before withdrawing their candidates before the election so as not to provide the regime with any legitimacy. In 1958, General Humberto Delgado - a former member of the regime - stood against the regime's presidential candidate, Americo Tomaz, and refused to allow his name to be withdrawn from the competition. Tomaz won the election, but only amidst claims of widespread electoral fraud that denied Delgado of his 'legitimate' victory. Immediately after this election, Salazar's government abandoned the practice of popularly electing the president, with that task being given thereafter to the regime-loyal National Assembly. During Caetano's time in office, his attempts at minor political reform were obstructed by the important Salazarist elements within the regime (known as the Bunker). The Estado Novo's political police — the PIDE (Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado), later to become DGS (Direcção Geral de Segurança), and originally the PVDE (Polícia de Vigilância e Defesa do Estado) — persecuted opponents of the regime.
The International context was not favourable to the Portuguese regime. The Cold War was near its peak, and both Capitalist and Communist-bloc nations were supporting the guerrillas in the Portuguese colonies, attempting to bring these under, respectively, American and Soviet influence (see Portuguese Colonial War). The intransigence of the regime and the desire of many colonial residents to remain under Portuguese rule led to a delayed decolonisation process, in the case of Angola and Mozambique, nearly 20 years.
Unlike other European colonial powers, Portugal had long-standing and close ties to its African colonies. In the view of many Portuguese, a colonial empire was necessary to continued national power and influence. In contrast to Britain and France, Portuguese colonial settlers had extensively inter-married and assimilated within the colony over a period of 400 years. Despite objections in world forums such as the United Nations, Portugal had long maintained that its African colonies were an integral part of Portugal, and felt obliged to militarily defend them against Communist-inspired armed groups, particularly after India's unilateral and forcible annexation of Portuguese enclaves Goa, Daman and Diu, in 1961.
Independence movements in the African colonies — Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Cape Verde — all eventually manifested some form of armed guerilla resistance. Except in Portuguese Guinea, these armed guerilla forces were easily contained by Portuguese counterinsurgency forces and home defense militia, despite various arms embargoes against Portugal. Nevertheless, the various conflicts forced the Salazar and subsequent Caetano regimes to spend more of the country's budget on colonial administration and military expenditures, and Portugal soon found itself increasingly isolated from the rest of the world. After Caetano succeeded to the presidency, colonial troubles became a major cause of dissent and a focus for anti-government forces in Portuguese society.
Economically, the regime maintained a policy of corporatism that resulted in the placement of a big part of the Portuguese economy in the hands of a few industrial groups. However, the economy was growing strongly, especially after the late 1950s, and Portugal co-founded EFTA, the OECD and NATO. The administration of its African colonies was costing the Portuguese state an increasing percentage of its annual budget, and this contributed to the impoverishment of the Portuguese economy, as money was diverted from infrastructural investments in the home country. Until the 1960s the country remained relatively poor, which stimulated emigration after WWII to fast-growing, labour scarce west European countries. To many outsiders, the Portuguese government was ageing, seemingly unresponsive to a world that was undergoing great cultural and intellectual change.

EVENTS:

In February 1974, Caetano determined to remove General António Spínola in the face of increasing dissent by Spinola over the promotion of military officers and the direction of Portuguese colonial policy. At this point, several left-wing military officers who opposed the war formed a conspiracy - the Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA, "Armed Forces Movement"), to overthrow the government by military coup. The MFA was headed by Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho and joined by Salgueiro Maia. The movement was significantly aided by other officers in the Portuguese army who supported Spinola and democratic civil and military reform. Some observers have speculated that Francisco da Costa Gomes actually led the revolution.There were two secret signals in the revolution: first the airing of the song E depois do adeus by Paulo de Carvalho, Portugal's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, which alerted the rebel captains and soldiers to begin the coup. Next, on April 25, 1974 at 12:15 am, the national radio broadcast Grândola, Vila Morena, a song by Zeca Afonso, a progressive folk singer not usually heard on Portuguese radio at the time. This was the signal that the MFA gave to take over strategic points of power in the country and "announced" that the revolution had started and nothing would stop it except "the possibility of a regime's repression".
Six hours later, the Caetano regime relented. Despite repeated appeals from the "captains of April" (of the MFA) on the radio inciting the population to stay at home, thousands of Portuguese descended on the streets, mixing themselves with the military insurgents. One of the central points of those gathering was the Lisbon flower market, then richly stocked with carnations, which were in season. Some military insurgents would put these flowers in their gun-barrels, an image which was shown on television around the world. This would be the origin of the name of this "Carnation revolution".
Caetano found refuge in the main Lisbon military police station at the Largo do Carmo. This building was surrounded by the MFA, which pressured him to cede power to General Spínola. Both Caetano (the prime minister) and Américo Thomaz (the President) fled to Brazil. Caetano spent the rest of his life in Brazil, while Thomaz returned to Portugal a few years later.
The revolution was closely watched from neighbouring Spain, where the government and opposition were planning for the succession of Francisco Franco, who died a year later, in 1975.

CONSEQUENCES:

The revolution in Portugal initiated the process which political scientist Samuel P. Huntington called the "third wave of democratisation;" a process of democratisation which then spread to Greece, Spain and Latin America. Soon after the 25th, all of the hundreds of political prisoners were liberated from prison. Exiled opposition political leaders, like Álvaro Cunhal and Mário Soares returned to the country in the following days and were received in apotheosis. One week later, May 1st was legally celebrated in the streets for the first time in many years. In Lisbon, about 1,000,000 people from all the country joined this occasion and listened to the speeches of Cunhal and Soares.
Portugal went through a turbulent period, commonly called the Continuing Revolutionary Process (Portuguese: Processo Revolucionário em Curso, or PREC) that lasted until November 25, 1975, marked by constant friction between liberal democratic forces and communist ones. After a year, the first free election was carried out on April 25, 1975 in order to write a new Constitution that would replace the Constitution of 1933 that ruled the country for the reign of the Estado Novo. In 1976, another election was carried out and the first Constitutional government, led by Mário Soares, entered office. Meanwhile, the colonial war ended and the African colonies gained independence. The colony of East Timor also proclaimed its independence, but was invaded by Indonesia in 1975.
The decolonisation process, whose guidelines were approved with the Alvor Agreement, was generally marked by the handover of power, without free elections, to liberation movements (some supported by the Soviet Union) and by the general disregard for the interests and property of the Portuguese-born or Portuguese-origin population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnation_Revolution#Context

TRÁFICO - UMA COMÉDIA PORTUGUESA

Synopsis:
It all begins when an average family (slightly chilly because they're forced to take their vacation out of season) is struck by good fortune.
Jesus the couple's young son, finds a hidden and forbidden treasure in the sands of a deserted beach: the wealth of the hearth.
The same day, and not so far away, two priests decide to close the doors to their church due to lack of a congregation, and auction off the images of their beloved saints.
Between the wealth of the heavens and the spirit of matter they embark on an adventure. A banker with auditory hallucinations when he talks about money.
The replies of a minister with visual hallucinations when influences are concerned.
An elegant, suave and mysterious woman, with a beautiful wig and splendid colours, excites everything wherever she goes.
A general dealing with arms trafficking and his little wife dealing with arts, Olympuses and ridiculous hair.
A crazy cast of numerous characters... and even more adventures.
Tráfico is a tangled tale about how the true and old rich people have fun, how the new and false rich people encounter difficulties and how everything ends up well...
"Be factious for redress of all these grieves"

Cast:
JOAQUIM OLIVEIRA: Jesus / RITA BLANCO: Jesus's mother / ADRIANO LUZ: Hélio, Jesus's father / BRANCA CAMARGO: Red-head / JOÃO PERRY: Banker / ALEXANDRA LENCASTRE: Banker's Mistress / MARIA EMÍLIA CORREIA: D. Amélia, the General's Wife / CANTO E CASTRO: Father Hipólito / PAULO BRAGANÇA: Father Lino / MÁRIO JACQUES: General Rezende / MARIA JOÃO LUÍS: Suzette Almeida / DALILA CARMO: Suzette's maid / SÃO JOSÉ LAPA: The Actress Clara d' Aveiro / ANDRÉ GOMES: Minister / ISABEL DE CASTRO: Casca in "Julius Cesar" and High Society Lady / LAURA SOVERAL: Cassius in "Júlio César and High Society Lady / SUZANA BORGES: Cícero in "Julius César" / NUNO MELO Gigolo / IO APOLLONI Owner of Hairdresser's / ROSA LOBATO FARIA: Countess Furgel / ROGÉRIO VIEIRA: Comendator / SOFIA LEITE: Decorator

Readers and Cast of "Les Malheurs de Sophie" and men in rubbish dump:
JOSÉ PINTO / JOSÉ EDUARDO

CrewDirection, Screenplay and Dialogues:
JOÃO BOTELHO

Image:
OLIVIER GUENEAU

Music:
MODEST MUSSORGSKIJ / NOEL COWARDCOLE PORTER / PEDRO CRISTO / A. VITORINO DE ALMEIDA / EURICO CARRAPATOSO / AMADEU DO VALELEROY VAN DYKE / TAMMY WYNETTE / UFO / PAULO BRAGANÇA / JOSÉ ALFREDO DOS SANTOS MOREIRA / NORBERTO MOREIRA DE ARAÚJO

Editing:
RODOLFO WEDELES

Costumes:
SILVIA GRABWOSKI

Assistant Director:
JOÃO FONSECA / JOSÉ MARIA VAZ DA SILVA


Producer:
PAULO BRANCO

Production:
MADRAGOA FILMES (Portugal)
GEMINI FILMS (France)
ZENTROPA PRODUCTIONS (Denmark)

With the support of:
IPACA - INSTITUTO PORTIGUÊS DA ARTE CINEMATOGRÁFICA E AUDOVISUAL
RTP - RADIOTELEVISÃO PORTUGUESA
EURIMAGES

PAULO GONZO - Sei-te de cor

sei de cor
cada traço do teu rosto, do teu olhar
cada sombra da tua voz e cada silêncio,
cada gesto que tu faças,
meu amor sei-te de cor

sei cada capricho teu e o que não dizes
ou preferes calar, deixa-me adivinhar
não digas que o louco sou eu
se for tanto melhor
amor sei-te de cor

sei porque becos te escondes,
sei ao pormenor o teu melhor e o pior
sei de ti mais do que queria
numa palavra diria
sei-te de cor

sei cada capricho teu e o que não dizes
ou preferes calar deixa-me adivinhar
não digas que o louco sou eu
se for tanto melhor
amor sei-te de cor

sei de cor cada traço do teu rosto, do teu olhar
cada sombra da tua voz e cada silêncio,
cada gesto que tu faças
meu amor sei-te de cor

(lyrics send by Jolita P.)

EASTER IN PORTUGAL

Easter is the annual party celebrated by the Jews in memory of the exit from Egipto. The religion prescribes that, for a week from 14 to 21 of the month of Nissan (begining of Spring) the followers should refrain from any fermented food (alcohol, cereals, dry vegetables, etc.); on Easter day, the meal includes roasted lamb immolated according to the Jewish uses.
This party is also celebrated by the Christian religion, that on that day celebrates Jesus Christ's Resurrection. Easter day on the first Sunday after the first moon that followes to the equinox of the Spring, relapses between 22 of March and April 22. It is the time of the full renewal of Nature and as Easter it happens naturally to the abstinence of the Lent, numerous culinary traditions mark that party.
On the whole side, hard eggs, natural or coloured are typical. The habit of offering coloured eggs or decorations starts in Portugal, in the XVth century . The Easter omelette done with eggs «Requests» or put on Holy Friday, is garnished with bacon or similar to well mark the end of this period.
Traditionally, on Easter Sunday, we have a meat plate: generally kid goat or lamb, but a lot of times also Pig (roasted pig or ham). In some areas they includes in Easter menu a stuffed pie of several meats and eggs. The bread that was eaten on Easter Sunday was whiter than the bread homemade and a goody was considered.
The desserts of Easter time show an entire variety of special sweet ; the form of baskets with painted eggs of several colours, crowns with eggs, brioches and pies but above all the chocolate eggs and the almonds are the most representative.