I have always loved reading books, but there are also some very relevant magazines in my life. As a child, I remember reading comic magazines. My favourite were Tarzan stories, and I prided myself on my – almost complete – collection that I lent to no one except my brother, and that was because he lived with me and I could control what he did with my precious magazines that I read over and over again. I was also fascinated …
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Humans are very emotional beings. I would go as far as to say we really live of emotions. First, as babies, there’s all that emotion towards our mother, our father, our brothers and/ or sisters, those that take care of us…then at school, towards our friends…as we grow into our teens, of course, romantic emotions are in the order of the day. And these will accompany us throughout our lives, as we live through our relationships. Then come the strongest …
I was nine and it was my first day of what was called preparatory school (the fifth year of school). It was all very different from the private, small, primary school I had been to in the last four years. This was a huge state school, as schools in the years before the 1974 revolution were segregated. I had managed to find my way to my classroom and there I was, sitting quietly, waiting for the teacher to arrive. I knew …
I have always believed we can conciliate the many facets of our lives – personal and professional, hobbies, sport, etc – and for me the concept of “conciliating” comes very naturally. Maybe this was due to the fact that in my family this was not really the case – while Granny was a housewife and totally dedicated to her family, Mom was very much the opposite and very much career-driven. In my case, up to a certain age I was …
13 june is the feast of St. Anthony, and greatly celebrated in Lisbon whose patron saint he is regarded as, being a public holiday. St. Anthony is one of the most popular saints in Portugal. He was born on the castle hill, in 1195, and a church dedicated to him was built on the place where – according to tradition – stood the house where he was born, the son of a well off merchant of the city of Lisbon. …
When I was young, I dreamed I would one day find my true love, a love that would last a lifetime. I didn’t, but nonetheless I believe it may come to pass, as fortunately I have known, and I still do, couples who have shared a lifetime together and that are still very much in love with each other. It may be difficult, and not for everyone, but it is definitely possible. My grandparents, for one. They were married in …
More than forty years ago more than one million people “migrated” from Africa to Portugal, South Africa and Brazil. One million only came to Portugal, a country that, at the time, had 9 million citizens, meaning that, in barely two years (74-75) the population increased by ten per cent. These “migrants” (in which I am included, with my family) were not called as such then. As we were Portuguese, returning from Portugal’s former colonies in Africa, we were unpleasantly called …
Now that “surrogate motherhood” is being discussed in European countries and raising considerable controversy (only this week the President of the Republic of Portugal vetoed the draft law regulating it in Portugal, considering there had not been enough discussion and ethical questions had not been clarified), I found myself thinking about this very complicated subject, in my opinion, and some stories that I know about people wanting to have children and finding it difficult or even impossible. I know what …
When Nuno turned 55 his sons gave him a scooter. It was a huge surprise – he was not expecting it. For many years he had not ridden any motorbikes but he had begun to show some interest of late and he was really excited about the gift. We were all celebrating his birthday at a fantastic terrace restaurant over the beach on a warm July evening when his sons asked him to come out because of some “emergency”. We …
This is one of the books that most influenced my young adulthood, and that I still find incredibly lucid. It’s a French original, by French feminist author Elisabeth Badinter, and its title is “L’amour en plus” translated into Portuguese (literally) as “The uncertain love: history of maternal love from the XVII to the XX century”. It is a courageous book that dares question one of humankind’s main tenets, that of motherly love. It is widely accepted, at least in western culture, that …