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.

Impressions on the movie "O Delfim"

Portugal in late 60's. And a small place frozen in time.

A lagoon, that slowly swallows everything: the land, the people and time itself.

In such a scenery we see a beautiful woman locked up by her husband amond dogs and servants. Maria das Merces, a prisoner of her love to a patriarchal man, Tomas. Though suggested time implies the era of sexual revolution and the rise of feminism, the lagoon and its prince are exeptions.

The dauphin tends to appropriate everything: the village, the waters, his wife, even his servant, Domingos. Tomas imprisons everyone and everything. This creates an atmosphere similar to Kafka's nightmares. An inescapable labyrinth.

The drama that occurs in that secluded village seems strange and inexplicable. Two victims of love and imprisonment: Maria das Merces and Domingos. The prince missing. And the only one who can explain everything is the hunter, a friend of Tomas and Merces. But he doesn't explain everything. He does not reveal the whole secret. Instead he keeps it away from strangers' eyes (thus, from viewers, too). One can master the ending himself/herself.

A film, full of secret meanings; the colours: red, green, blue. Each one of them is a symbol. Each one of them represents some character. And dogs. Dogs, dogs, dogs... A psichological drama that, perhaps, needed more mysticism. Or the director didn't reveal it. All in all, a movie, worth seeing: catchy, poetic and definitely not "pop".

Conclusion: one more novel to put into a must-read list: "José Cardoso Pires, O Delfim".

Um filme muito bem e interessante, mas não é o mais melhor eu vi.

praia de matosinhos (memories)

PORTUGAL - 4 BÉLGICA - 0

.... relato de um locutor brasileiro ;)

A Marta e a casa

A Marta mora numa casa muito bonita. Ela tem cinco anos, mas pode ler e escrever. A casa dela tem duas janelas. A Marta gosta muito de olhar pelas janelas porque pode ver o lago azul onde o pai dela pesca todos os dias. Ela também vê quando o irmão dela volta para casa e anda pelo camino cinzento.
A Marta pensa que é melhor jogar na rua que estar em casa. Ela sempre sorri quando vê as árvores e o sol no céu.
A Marta é uma rapariga muito boa que quer saber muitas coisas da vida.

Português - Curso de Verão

A International House Lisbon irá organizar mais um curso de Português para alunos estrangeiros.
O curso, além das aulas de língua, incluirá uma componente cultural da qual fazem parte alguns dos aspectos mais característicos da nossa cultura: Fado, Arraias, Sardinhadas, etc.
Este curso terá lugar numa típica aldeia portuguesa, a escassos 40 km de Lisboa.

Para mais informações é favor consultar:

http://s21.quicksharing.com/v/2075244/port_course_Aldeiamatapequena.pdf.html

CINEMA: O Delfim

The Dauphin
A film by Fernando Lopes

Synopsis
Portugal, late sixties. Tomás Palma Bravo, the Dauphin, is the heir to a world in decay. He is the master of the Lagoon, of Maria das Mercês, his barren wife, of Domingos, his black, one-armed manservant, of a mastiff and of an E-type Jaguar, which takes him to Lisbon and to the prostitutes.
A hunter, who is a detective and the narrator, returns to the lagoon every year to hunt ducks. A year later he discovers that Domingos has been found dead in bed in the house belonging to the Palma Bravo couple, and that Maria das Mercês was found floating in the Lagoon. Tomás Palma Bravo and his mastiff are said to have disappeared without trace. And mysterious barking sounds can now be heard coming from the mist over the Lagoon.

Cast

ROGÉRIO SAMORA - Palma Bravo
ALEXANDRA LENCASTRE - Maria das Mercês
RUI MORISSON - hunter
with the special participation of ISABEL RUTH - Aninhas
MILTON LOPES - Domingos
MIGUEL GUILHERME - the priest
RITA LOUREIRO - Young Woman
JOSÉ PINTOlottery - ticket seller
CrewDirector:

FERNANDO LOPES
Based on a novel byJOSÉ CARDOSO PIRES
Screenplay:VASCO PULIDO VALENTE
with

MARIA JOÃO SEIXAS

FERNANDO LOPES
Image:

EDUARDO SERRA (AIP)
Art Director:

MARIA JOSÉ BRANCO
Sound:

PHILIPE MORELGÉRARD ROUSSEAU
Editing:

JACQUES WITTA
Produced by:

PAULO BRANCO

A co-production MADRAGOA FILMES, GEMINI FILMS, RTP - Radiotelevisão Portuguesa
With the support of ICAM - Instituto de Cinema, Audiovisual e MultimédiaInstituto Camões

TORANJA - Carta

...por sugestão da Milda!

BACALHAU

Codfish

Cod is the common name for the genus Gadus of fish, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety of other fishes. Cod is a popular food fish with a mild flavor, low fat content, and a dense white flesh that flakes easily. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of Vitamin A, Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA).In the United Kingdom, Atlantic cod, despite now being an endangered species, is still one of the most common kinds of fish to be found in fish and chips, along with haddock and plaice.It is also well known for being largely consumed in Portugal, where it is considered a treasure of the nation's cuisine.

Bacalhau

Bacalhau means codfish in Portuguese, but the word almost always refers to the dry, salted codfish product called salt cod, as fresh cod is rarely consumed in Portugal. The word bacalhau is however also used when referring to dishes with salt cod.

Use

Bacalhau dishes are common in Portugal and Brazil, but as salt cod is rather expensive it is considered a delicacy and more often than not only eaten on special occasions. It is typically served in homes on Christmas Eve and Holy Week, especially on Good Friday. An inexpensive dish made from it is bolinhos de bacalhau (Brazil) or pastéis de bacalhau (Portugal), found in bars for a reasonable price. These deep-fried balls contain less expensive parts of the clipfish mixed together with potatoes, in the same vein as fishcakes.

Main Ingredient

The essential ingredient, salted dried codfish, usually comes from Norway (Bacalhau da Noruega) or Newfoundland (Bacalhau da Terra Nova). It used to be very affordable, but with the collapse of the cod stocks and dismantling of Portuguese bacalhoeiro fleet, it became more expensive, especially near Christmastime.

History of bacalhau dishes

Salt cod has been produced for at least 500 years, since the time of the European discoveries. Before refrigeration, there was a need to preserve the codfish; drying and salting are ancient techniques to keep many nutrients and the process makes the codfish tastier.The Portuguese tried to use this method of drying and salting several fishes from their waters, but the ideal fish came from much further north. With the "discovery" of Newfoundland in 1497, they started fishing its cod-rich Grand Banks. Thus, bacalhau became a staple of the Portuguese cuisine, nicknamed Fiel amigo (faithful friend).One of the reasons for this popularity in Portugal and other Catholic countries, was because of the many days (Fridays, Lent, and other festivals) on which the Church forbad the eating of meat. Bacalhau dishes were eaten instead.

Bacalhau dishes

There are numerous bacalhau recipe variations, depending on region and tradition. It is said there are more than 365 ways to cook bacalhau, one for every day of the year; others say there are 1001 ways. But it is the main bacalhau recipes that are the most notable, and these have even gained fame in Southeast Asia. Many Asian tourists head to Macau just to eat bacalhau, an area where fresh seafood is also very popular.Bacalhau is often served with potatoes. Green (Vinho Verde) or mature wines (Alentejo Wine, Dão Wine or Douro Wine) are served alongside.There is also the Bolinhos de Bacalhau (name in the North of Portugal and in Brazil) or Pastéis de Bacalhau (name in the South): literally "Codfish cakes", made up of potatoes, eggs, parsley, and some minor ingredients with dry salted codfish. The Bolinhos or Pastéis de Bacalhau are fried and served cold before meals. Another similar delicacies are the "Pataniscas de Bacalhau" and the "Iscas de Bacalhau", which are often only serverd in traditional Tavernas (taberns) in Northern Portugal and often preferred by older people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacalhau

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cod

last week portuguese

labas visiems. noreciau paprasyt, ar negaletu kas papostint santraukele kursu praeitos savaites.. na zodziukus naujus, ar gramatikos ten kokias vingrybes.
negalejau atvykt.. ir nenoriu taip jau atsilikt labai. aciu labai
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ola ola everybody, maybe somebody can help me with the last week courses. if its possible can you post some info: new words, expressions or grammar. maybe you did some exercises from books?
so thanks thanks in advance
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valdas
tikrastigras@gmail.com