June 10th

Today is our national holiday, the day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities.

 

For those of you who don't know, Camões was a marvelous portuguese poet, born in 1524, who wrote The Lusiads, an epic poem about the Portuguese people and it's great achievements throughout History, with special emphasis on the discovery of India by Vasco da Gama. He died on June 10th of 1580, so this is a day of huge patriotism and love for our culture.

The Portuguese culture is very often defined through Fado - however I hate Fado and I refuse to talk about it. I have to admit, though, that all of Fado's melancholy is a part of the Portuguese soul. We used to have everything in the Past, we discovered India and Brazil, we used to be very, very rich. We just didn't know how to manage what we had and we've lost everything. We used to be the most powerful country in Europe - now, we're begging for help. And why did it happen? Because, just like D. João V spent the Portuguese money on clothes, our former Prime-Minister spent it on TGVs.

However, the 10th of June is, as I said, a patriotic time. We have a new Prime-Minister, a new political cycle is coming, and I trust that all the competent people in Portugal will be called to action. A time of great effort is coming, but that effort will be made in the name of the country. It's a time for Portugal to be strong and united, so that we can feel, once more, pride in ourselves.

P.S - In Portuguese, we have a beautiful word, which is Pátria. I've been trying to find the translation to English and I can't. Homeland is not it. Homeland is the land where you come from. Pátria is the land where you come from and the land you love above any other. Your home. The bed where you hapilly fall after a long, hard journey. If anyone knows an English word for Pátria let me know :P