Culture of Portugal Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Portugal and Spain to English or American people, normally, seems much of the same. But, since very early, visitors have said There are no mountains separating Portugal and Spain, similar and continuous countryside but there is a cultural abyss between the two countries. Portuguese nationality is made of antonym towards Spain, the eternal rival of Portugal, even tough they are based on the same Latin culture.
Portugal is sometimes known as "a country of poets". In fact, Portuguese poetry has a bigger influence in the country's literature than prose. In the dawn of nationality, poetry in Portuguese-Galician was widely popular in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. There are excellent works, in lyrical as in epic poetry. Without a doubt, the most worldwide known Portuguese poets are Luís de Camões and Fernando Pessoa, but we should also state the modern Portuguese poetry (since the 19th century) has its roots in a handful of relevant poets, from neo-classicism to these days.
Prose developed later than verse and first appeared in the 14th century in the shape of short chronicles, lives of saints, and genealogical treatises. The line of the chroniclers which is one of the boasts of Portuguese literature began with Fernão Lopes, who compiled the chronicles of the reigns of three kings of that time. He combined a passion for accurate statement with a especial talent for descriptive writing and portraiture. Eanes de Zurara, Gil Vicente and Priest António Vieira are some pre-modern Portuguese writers. But, it is the modern Portuguese literature that is more internationally known, especially the works of Almeida Garrett, Alexandre Herculano, Eça de Queirós, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, António Lobo Antunes and the 1998 Nobel Prize for literature, José Saramago.
main article: Music of Portugal
Fado (destiny in Portuguese) is a form of melancholic music. The music is linked to the Portuguese word saudade (there is no translation into English; it's a word for the mix feeling of sadness, pain, miss and love) and other feelings, and its origins are probably with a mixture of African slave rhythms with traditional music of Portuguese sailors, it has also Arabic influence. There are two varieties of Fado: Lisbon and Coimbra. The Lisbon style is the traditional (for the people), while the Coimbra's is the refined style (linked with universitary students); both are seen as ethnic music for sophisticated audience and as candidates for UNESCO World Heritage. The notable Amália Rodrigues introduced the most well-known variety of fado. After her disappearance, a new wave of performers added stylistic changes and brought more international popularity to the traditional Portuguese music. Mariza and Mísia, brought with them a new look to the traditional song, while Dulce Pontes mixed it with popular Portuguese music and Madredeus, made a complete revolution, with new instruments -- all that they kept from the original Fado is its looks and the concept of "saudade". The audience must allways keep silente until the song is completly over, because the music is transmiting pain or some feeling of the interpreter (the fadista), the fadista normally has his/her eyes closed, and singing has if he/she is crying. All varieties of Fado are sorrowful; some can be joyful songs. Morna (or Cape Verdian Fado), in which Cesária Évora sings, is a variety of Fado originated from the Portuguese Fado. It also keeps the concept of "saudade", but it is song in Portuguese Creole.
Portuguese pop-rock has grown particularly after the 1974 revolution. The most notable bands and musicians are Sérgio Godinho, Xutos e Pontapés, GNR, Rui Veloso, António Variações, Heróis do Mar, Rádio Macau, Clã, Delfins, Santos e Pecadores, Pedro Abrunhosa, Silence Four, The Gift and more recently Toranja, O Projecto é Grave and Fingertips.
Other genres include a local version of hip hop, influenced by the American style by descendants of immigrants from former Portuguese colonies in Africa. Hip hop tuga (Portuguese hip hop) is very popular among the younger population in Portugal. Cool Hipnoise, Da Weasel and Mind da Gap are some of the most popular and are becoming internationally known. In the genre metal there are also Moonspell, a well knowned band in Europe.
Other musicians include the globally recognized pianist Maria João Pires and portuguese-guitarrist Carlos Paredes.
Eating in Portugal, is one of the visitor's most remembered characteristics of the country. Each region of Portugal, has its traditional dishes, including various kinds of meat, cheap sea-food, diverse and fresh fish (including the 1001 ways of making cod dishes, the national dish).
Portugal is the country for wine lovers, known since the Roman Empire; the Romans immediately associated Portugal with its God of Winery and Feast, Bacchus. Today, many famous Portuguese wines are known as some of the world's best: Vinho do Douro, Vinho do Alentejo, Vinho do Dão, Vinho Verde, and the sweet: Port Wine (Vinho do Porto, literally Oporto's wine), Madeira wine, Moscatel of Setúbal and Moscatel of Favaios.
During the summer, in the month of June, festivities dedicated to three saints known as Santos Populares (Eng. Popular saints) take place in all over Portugal. Why the populace associated the saints to these pagan festivities is not known. But it is possibly related to Roman or local deities before Christianity has spread in the region. The three saints are Saint Anthony, Saint John and Saint Peter. A common denominator in these festivities are the wine and água-pé (drink basically constituted by grape juice), traditional bread along with sardines, marriages, traditional street dances, fire, fireworks and joy.
Saint Anthony is celebrated in the night of 12 to 13th, especially in Lisbon (where that saint has born and lived most of his live),
with Marchas Populares (sort of street carnival) and festivities. In the meantime, several marriages known as Casamentos de Santo António (En., Marriages of Saint Anthony) at the same time are made. But the most popular saint is Saint John, it is celebrated in many cities and towns troughout the country in the night of 23 to 24th, especially in Porto and Braga, where the sardines, Caldo Verde (traditional soup) and plastic hammers to hammer in other person's head for luck are indispensable. The final Saint is Saint Peter, celebrated in the night of 28 to 29th, especially in Póvoa de Varzim and Barcelos, festivities is similar to the others, but more dedicated to the sea and extensive use of fire (fogueiras). In Póvoa de Varzim, there is the Rusgas in the night, another sort of street carnival. Each festivity is a municipal holiday in the cities and towns where it occurs.
Portuguese popular song:
Portuguese national team, or Selecção Nacional, has won two FIFA World Youth Championships and several other UEFA youth championships. Recently, they finished second in Euro 2004, becoming European Vice-Champions.
At club level, SL Benfica ,FC Porto and Sporting Clube de Portugal are the main references. Benfica has seven presences in the UEFA Champions League (then UEFA Champions Cup) final and two titles. While Porto has two titles in two presences in the final of that competition alongside an Intercontinental Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and a UEFA Cup. Benfica is still the most popular Portuguese club in Europe though FC Porto has dominated the last 20 years of competition. Sporting Clube de Portugal has won a UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
However, soccer is not native to Portugal. The country has an ancient martial art known as "Jogo do Pau" (Eng., Stick Game), used for self-protection and for duels between young men in dispute for a young women. Having its origin in the middle ages, Jogo do Pau uses wooden sticks as a combat weapon. The modern variety uses smaller sticks of 0.60 to 0.80 m (2.0 to 2.6 foot).Art
Literature and Authors
Theatre
Film and Television
Music
Dances
As for dancing, Portugal has the traditional folklore (Ranchos Folclóricos), with many varieties from each region. Portugal with Angola has a shared rhythm known as "Kuduro" (popular in both countries), a sort of 'hard samba' with fast movements and extreme sensuality and strong African rhythm, performed mainly by Angolans or Angolan descents. This mixture of Portuguese and Angolan influence has also created the Brazilian Samba (popular in Portugal) and the Angolan Kizomba(Angolan samba, less Popular in Portugal), which have softer movements.Food
Portuguese Wines
Popular Festivities
English:Sports
European football is the most known, loved and practiced sport in Portugal. Luís Figo is one of the world's top players, but the legendary Eusébio and Rui Costa, Cristiano Ronaldo are also noteworthy.
| Date | English Name | Local Name | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year's Day | Ano Novo | |
| January 6 | Epiphany | Dia de Reis | (not a holiday) |
| - | Carnival | Carnaval | (District holiday), tuesday 40 days before Easter |
| - | Good Friday | Sexta-Feira Santa | Friday before Easter |
| - | Easter | Páscoa | Sunday, date varies |
| - | Easter Monday | Pascoela | (not a holiday), Monday after Easter |
| April 25 | Freedom Day | Dia da Liberdade | event of 1974 |
| May 1 | Labour Day | Dia do trabalhador | |
| June 10 | Portugal Day | Dia de Portugal | Camões death, event of 1580 |
| - | Ascension Day | Corpo de Deus | Thursday, 40 days after Easter |
| August 15 | Assumption | Assunção | |
| October 5 | Implantation of the Republic | Implantação da República | event of 1910 |
| November 1 | All Saints Day | Todos os santos | |
| December 1 | Restauration of Independence | Restauração da Independência | event of 1640 |
| December 8 | Imaculate Conception | Imaculada Conceição | Protecting Saint of Portugal |
| December 25 | Christmas Day | Natal |
note: each municipality has its own holiday which is religious (normally Saint Anthony Day - June 13, Saint John Day - June 24 or Saint Peter Day - June 29). When the municipality does not have one, then Carnival (the district Holiday) is an obligatory holiday. But due to cultural factors, Carnival is treated has a normal holiday, attempts to elimate it cost the popularity of the former Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva. Some critics proposed the Independence day June 24, 1128 as a national holiday.