Day of Camões in Lisbon
Krisztian Kos
In Lisbon, on the Day of Camões, it is an expectation and a duty to go outside into the city’s electrified streets. On this national holiday, the white pavements fill up with people who have travelled to this city from all corners of Portugal. Families, youths, locals, and tourists all wait for the spectacle to arrive from the Avenida de Liberdade.
They can already hear the cheers from the other side of the Praça dos Restauradores and the fanfares that rise and spread throughout Lisbon down to the river Tagus. Kids that return to their families with steaming Bifanas - traditional Portuguese pork sandwiches – and elderly couples, who have dressed up specifically for this special occasion, feel the tremors of excitement on their skin. They’re almost here.
After the procession of green and red glitter has passed through and disappeared up Lisbon’s steep streets, the city settles down into a controlled chaos. Shopkeepers sit on their stools outside their stores, and watch the spectacle with bartenders stretching their smoke breaks, chatting with animated hand gestures. All of a sudden, crowds of voices and steps flood the passageways, the alleys, the staircases. The young have spilled out everywhere and are flowing quickly through Lisbon’s veins.
Gradually, they fill up the bars and cafes that peek out from beneath the blue and yellow-tiled façades of the buildings. The thrill dissipated from the parade crystallises in their eyes and on their mouths, and they carry it through the rest of the night that is yet to come. Through every crack of every window and every door, snippets of Portuguese life escape into the street, contributing to the vibrancy of this magical occasion.
This article first appeared in PRISMA, Issue 11.