Portuguese Pop Culture: April 2017

English	Portuguese
Vitinho It's bed time Let's go to sleep So the stars outside Sleep smiling And early tomorrow, very early You are gonna see That you'll wakeup stronger and smarter That is growing up Good night Beautiful dreams Goodbye and see you tomorrow!	Vitinho Está na hora da caminha Vamos lá dormir Que lá fora, as estrelas Dormem a sorrir E amanhã cedinho, bem cedinho Tu vais ver Acordas mais forte e mais esperto, Isso é crescer Boa noite Sonhos lindos Adeus e até amanhã!
I LIKE SOUP I like soup I like how it tastes I like soup At lunch and at dinner And in the street I can't play because it's raining I don't even mind Because at the school lunch there is... Soup to eat. Spinach soup Carrot soup Bean soup Tomato soup Onion soup Watercress Soup. I like soup I like how it tastes I like soup At lunch and at dinner And when I get out of school I run non-stop I go to the dinning table I have something waiting for me It smells good and it's warm I have soup to eat. Pasta soup Alphabet soup And grain Soup Lentil Soup Chicken soup And shrimp soup I like soup!	EU GOSTO DE SOPA Eu gosto de sopa Do seu paladar Eu gosto de sopa Ao almoço e ao jantar E quando na rua Não posso brincar Por estar a chover Eu já não me importo Pois no refeitório há Sopa para comer. Sopa de espinafres Sopa de cenoura Sopa de feijão Sopa de tomate Sopa de cebola Sopa de agrião. Eu gosto de sopa Do seu paladar Eu gosto de sopa Ao almoço e ao jantar Ao sair da escola Corro sem parar Vou para o refeitório Tenho à minha espera Cheirosa e quentinha Sopa para comer. Sopa de massinhas Sopa de letrinhas E sopa de grão Sopa de lentilhas Sopa de galinha E de camarão. Eu gosto de sopa!
Every Little Duck Every little duck stops playing They wear their pijamas and they brush their teeth They wear their pijamas and they brush their teeth Because at this hour it's time to sleep It's time to sleep but there's still time for a bedtime story. It's time to sleep but there's still time for a bedtime story. Fathers, mothers or grandparents give the little ducks A goodnight kiss and than the lights go off A goodnight kiss and than the lights go off.	Todos os Patinhos Todos os patinhos acabam de brincar Os pijamas vão vestir e os dentes vão lavar Os pijamas vão vestir e os dentes vão lavar É que a esta hora é hora de ir dormir É hora de ir dormir Mas ainda há tempo p´ra uma história ouvir Mas ainda há tempo p´ra uma história ouvir Pais, mães ou avós à cama lhes vão dar Á cama lhes vão dar Um beijo de boa noite e a luz apagar Um beijo de boa noite e a luz apagar.

http://img.obsnocookie.com/s=w800,pd1/o=80/http:/s3.observador.pt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/29171103/117616357_770x433_acf_cropped.jpg

J.K. Rowling lived in Porto from 1991 until 1992. It was there in the invincible city that her first daughter Jessica was born

The connection between the author and Porto is a well-known one. For this reason, on the day the latest Harry Potter book is released, we point out 5 Portuguese places that inspired the author.

For about 2 years, Joanne Rowling walked the streets of Porto carrying the manuscript for “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” under her arm. The two years were intense, filled with uncertainty and had their highs and lows. Her marriage to Jorge Arantes turned out to be a big failure, leaving her in a state that she herself described as “bottom of the well”.

The period she spent in Portugal (18 months in total) left such a mark that even today the author avoids the subject in interviews. On her website, she called it “the dark period” of her life. But not everything went wrong. No only did her first daughter came along during the period she spent in the city, but also the project that would change her life drastically - Harry Potter.

This is why, on the day Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hits bookstores, we recall how and why “Jo” came to Porto and some of places crucial to create Harry Potter.

The Getaway to Portugal

J.K. Rowling moved to Porto after the death of her mother Anne, in 1991. For many years her mother fought against a degenerative disease called multiple sclerosis. The death of Anne Volant left a scar in the author’s heart, which would come to be a strong inspiration for the creation of Harry Potter’s background, a young wizard who lost his parents while still a baby.

VILA NOVA DE GAIA, PORTUGAL - 2003: Portugal's historic city of Oporto is viewed from across the Douro River in this 2003 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, photo. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

J.K. Rowling lived in Porto for 18 months before moving back to the UK (George Rose/Getty Images)

“Desperate to get away” — from England and from everything that reminded her of her mother –, Rowling decides to look for an exit. In the newspaper The Guardian, she saw an ad of a Portuguese speaking school looking for an English teacher. After deciding on applying for the job, she moved to Portugal where, for about 2 years, from 1992 until 1993, she worked in Encounter English in Porto.

She brought along the unfinished manuscript of Harry Potter expecting to be able to finish it between classes. The story had emerged in her mind two year before, during a train ride to London. J.K. Rowling had already written stories before, but she was never as enthusiastic as she was about this new one. Maybe because deep down she knew it would become something special.

Without a pen at hand and too shy to ask for one. She sat on her carriage for hours imagining the young boy’s adventures, who was unaware of being a wizard.

A little bit over a year from moving to Porto, the British author met Jorge Arantes on the no longer existing Meia Cave, in Ribeira. It was love at first sight and the two got married shortly afterwards, in October of 1992. On her spare time, between English classes, Rowling would wander from coffeehouse to coffeehouse, looking for inspirations in the streets of Porto while trying to finish “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone”, the first book of the franchise.

But her marriage to Arantes was doomed to fail. “The biggest failure” of the author’s life, so her stay in Porto was a short one. About a year after they met, in December of 1993, Rowling left the Portuguese journalist and came back to UK with her baby daughter, Jessica.

The following period was considered one of the darkest for J.K. Rowling. “Failing meant taking everything that want essential out. I stopped pretending to be something I was not, and focused all my energy in finishing the only work I was interested in” Says J.K on her website. And that “only work” was Harry Potter.

Porto stayed behind in the cafés, where she would scribble the adventures of the young wizard who has a straggly hair and a scar the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead. Porto stayed in the mythical Livraria Lello ( Lello Bookstore) with it’s intricate wooden staircases. Porto stayed in bars she used to visit along with her friends. Those places, to which she never returned, still remind us of Rowling and her greatest creation, a boy named Harry Potter.

J.K. Rowling’s Porto

1. Majestic Café

The legend goes, that it was on one of the Café’s marble tables that the British author finished the first sketch of Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone. J.K. Rowling used to go to the coffeehouse with her ex-husband, the journalist Jorge Arantes.

The connection between Rowling and the Majestic Café became so popular that many tourists suggested that the coffeehouse puts a sign stating that the author was there.

“But we don’t know where to put it!” Franca-Presse Fernando Barrias, the son of the owner confessed.
It was in fact in Porto that she wrote her favorite chapter of the novel “Mirror of Erised”.

Aside from Majestic Café, on Santa Catarina, the British author also used to eat at the “Estrela d’Ouro” restaurant, a 70 years old establishment located in “Rua da Fábrica”.

2. Livraria Lello & Irmão

The Lello’s staircase is the main attraction of the library, which opened its doors in 1906.

Livraria Lello’s popularity already crossed the world. Founded in 1906 by the Lello brothers, the bookstore located at Rua das Carmelitas became an instant sensation. As soon as it opened doors, it received an instant innumerous amount of visitors who were curious to see the Neo-gothic style of the building created by the architect Francisco Xavier Esteves, which stands its ground in the street where it was always located.

It has been considered in various number of times one of the most beautiful bookstore in the world. It has been a source of inspiration to many authors and artists, including Harry Potter’s author. It is widely known that the author used to go there and it was from those celebrated wooden stairs that she got the inspiration to create the famous Hogwarts staircase, which doesn’t stop moving, conducting the students to parts of the school where they are not meant to go.

It is for that reason that the Portuguese bookstore was chosen for the “Harry Potter and the cursed child” launch. To those who enter Lello, it is hard not to imagine the intricate staircase of the wizarding school.

3. University of Porto

In fact, it’s not the university itself that is important, but its traditional uniform worn by the students. It was on those Portuguese academic clothes that J.K. Rowling found inspiration to create the long black capes that are part of the Hogwarts’ uniform.

4. Swing Dance Club

On the first page of “Harry Potter and the prisioner of Azkaban”, the third book of the franchise, you can read “To Jill Prewett and Aine Kiely, the godmothers of Swing”. The dedication is one of the few references done by J.K.Rowling herself to the time she lived in Portugal. This one is dedicated to her old flat mates, British Jill Prrewett and the irish Aine Kiely.

Swing was an old dance club located near the Rotunda da Boavista, where “Jo” used to go with her colleagues, who were also teachers at “Encounter English”. Another bar the three girls used to visit was “Meia Cave” in Ribeira.

5. Gardens of Palácio de Cristal

This is one of the places Rowling used to hang in during her time in Porto and where she wrote some parts of “Harry Potter and the Philospher’s stone” in the gardens of Palácio de Cristal (Crystal Palace).

These gardens were designed by the german architect Émile David to surround the “Crystal Palace”, which was created by architect Thomas Dillen Jones having in mind the London counterpart. Inaugurating in 1965, the building was demolished in 1951. On its place stands the Pavilhão dos Desportos, today known as Pavilhão Rosa Mota.

The Gardens of Palácio de Cristal are located in Massarelos, Porto. (Amin Chaar / Global Imagens)

Some say that it was in these gardens that J.K. Rowling found the inspiration to create the forbidden forest. It might be a bit farfetched, but it’s still a nice thought.

Original Source: https://goo.gl/Nm8Vgy
Chosen & Translated by: Luisa.
Revised by: Badriah.

The Harry potter franchise was an instant success in Portugal, maybe the most recognizable one by the Portuguese people. Our generation grew up watching it, ever since it’s childhood days. These films are rerun on Christmas, Easter, and every time there’s an opportunity for Portuguese TV to show it. And not surprisingly, people always watch it, no matter how many times they have seen them. And knowing that Portugal had such a huge role to play in the creation of that world and those characters makes it even more special. Every Harry Potter fan has the curiosity to visit these spots mentioned in the article, and being such a worldwide successful franchise, it makes those places known to the rest of the world and consequently making Portugal a favored destination.

- Luisa.

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Review: São Jorge

BY RICARDO DURAND • MARCH 9, 2017 • ESTRELAS TRENDY * •• ❤ 873 • (3.5/5 rating)

SCRIPT: 60%

Directing:65%

CASTING: 60%

SOUNDTRACK: 65%

CINEMATOGRAPHY: 90%

WITH EXCELLENT CINEMATOGRAPHY, THE BEST THAT'S EVER BEEN SEEN IN PORTUGAL IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, SÃO JORGE LOSES ITSELF FAR TOO MUCH IN INCONSEQUENTIAL SCENES.

SUMMARY: (3.5/5)

It's the most widely covered movie of recent times; it's been held in high regard by the press and presented as the definitive portrait of a Portugal in crisis. Gut punch or failed uppercut?

Failed uppercut. In most Marco Martins interviews, he talks about the times he and actor Nuno Lopes went underground, looking for fight clubs and the tough collection agencies for São Jorge.

The result, while it's an excellent documentary about the time Portugal was under Troika's judgement, fails when it comes to cinematic narrative. Sometimes it seems more like we're watching a docudrama than a production fit for the big screen.

With excellent cinematography, the best that's ever been seen in Portugal in the last few years, São Jorge loses itself far too much in inconsequential scenes, especially the ones that show Lopes' job as a debt collector.

It's a difficult job, that makes his stomach churn, but it's his only way to give his son a decent living; they both live in a house in a poor neighbourhood, inhabited by more than ten people who all have the same drama in common: unemployment.

São Jorge's cast is based on real people who appear in scenes improvising dialogues about their marginalised realities – it's precisely here that São Jorge becomes a hybrid between documentary and film that doesn't make sense and that prevents it from deepening the conflict between Jorge and his struggles.

It's also a bit incomprehensible why the movie would only have a couple boxing scenes (one of them being the protagonist training at the gym), when we know that Nuno Lopes was entrenched in clubs where this sport is practiced for six months. The question we need to ask is: what for?

Whoever expects to see a consistent story that flows well throughout the two hours of screening will be disappointed, because there are many moments that cut between the action and we are left exasperated with how unimportant they are to the narrative.

It's like Nuno Lopes talked to Marco Martins about his old dream of making a film about boxing. So we'll keep waiting for that day to arrive and that it'll be one of Portuguese cinema's masterpieces; something São Jorge failed to achieve.

Original Source: https://goo.gl/rIxF9B

Chosen and translated by: Mariana.

Revised by: Badriah and professor Elena.

I actually haven’t seen São Jorge but, like this reviewer pointed out, it had a ton of media coverage and every time I passed by the cinemas there would be posters of this movie so I thought something related to it would be culturally valuable to the blog. I chose a review because I like reading reviews before I watch movies, and I thought it would be useful for an English reader to know what critics think of it. I chose this review in particular because despite the critic giving it such scathing negative feedback, it the overall score he gave it was quite high, which I thought was interesting.

- Mariana.

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*Please Turn the CC on Amara Player for Subtitles*

The Cover Van Report
From Depeche Mode to Nirvana
Passing to Pearl Jam or U2
The Portuguese band The Cover Van
Transport us to
A past of great musical gifts.
We play the 80/90s covers basically
and we try to give our own artistic touch
in each song
We are already musicians for a good amount of years
Each one with his own distinct project.
We got to know each other
We got to share stages
Each in a separate band
And we got to the point in 2013
In which we thought of getting together
And make something for the music circuit
Or the world of covers.
(4 MUSICIANS FORM THE COVER BAND)
With more than 300 performances
In all kinds of events
The Cover Band has now a new project now
The band is giving private concerts.
We go to the client's house
And we want it to be as intimate as possible
As comfortable as possible.
so that is the main characteristic of the project.
With music, they combine gin
Wine and Japanese meal
Which is gaining popularity in Portugal.
The project is called Home Sushi Van.
We are The Cover Van
(Van) comes from minibus
(Miguel Pedrosa Volkswagen T2).
(Cover) is from covers, isn't it?
And I think that it would complement
The resonance of the name.
Home Sushi Van, because of the connection
To the client's house, isn't it?
(Sushi) is inevitable
And the (Van) is our minibus that
We use for transportation.
An innovative concept that brings
To the client's home
A band
A barman
And a Sushiman.
A sushiman is a man who makes sushi
and is the one that ,in reality, is everything
Sushiman is the Japanese chef.
The price depends on the client's wishes.
The person has to simply say
How much sushi do they want
What wine and gin they want.
If they want a 4 men band
A 3 men band
Or a 2 men band.
So it is personalized for anyone.
Home Sushi Van is a sound and food trip
Which the band brings anywhere in the country.
On their way, perform concerts
The next one is on February 10th
in Casa da Música café starting at 22:00.

Original source: https://goo.gl/nuQjdA
Chosen and translated by: Badriah.
Revised by: Luisa.

I thought The Cover Band embodies everything that is Pop Culture, from the music, the wine to the famously popular sushi. It is interesting to see a band perform and bring to life music from the 80s and 90s that were popular at the time while mixing it with current popular culture customs like wine and sushi. Even the 80s and 90s music are being heard by younger generations and we see them often times wearing rock band t-shirts. Rock music is my favorite genre and I love sushi, therefore, it made total sense to me to translate a report about this band and hopefully make it more visible to the English speaking community in Portugal.

- Badriah.

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WOMEN WHO READ WOMEN

Aida grew up in a family where women read. As a child, she received her first book and since then, she had the idea of opening her own bookstore.

Confraria Vermelha (The Red Fraternity) located in Porto, is the only feminist bookstore in Portugal. Not only is it a place to buy books written by women, but it is also a space to pay tribute to feminine literature and talk about it.

"Each text is an island." This phrase was said in the last moments of the meeting, is a beautiful metaphor to describe the Leitoras de Pandora reading club sessions. It is late afternoon, in a quiet street in Porto and the participants are arriving. The environment is more than informal, it is homely. Aida Suarez, 35 years old, owner of the Confraria Vermelha, the only feminist bookstore in Portugal, wants to ensure everyone feels comfortable.

After all, it is here where they will share opinions, experiences, occasionally one or two confessions and above all, discuss books. Books, it’s always the books. That’s the passion (yes it is a passion) of these women who get together every last Thursday of the month in this place.

To have her own bookshop used to be an old dream of Aida, as old as when she learned how to read. "I think that I wanted a bookstore since I received my first book", says Aida. She grew up in a family of women. Women who read. This was her first big feminist influence, cemented, much later, with trips to Barcelona and Madrid, where she would come across feminist bookstores, which had existed for more than 40 years.

Why not open one in Portugal too? "It's not about taking advantage of the feminist cause visibility, not at all. I wished the Confraria to be mainly a bookstore which would pay tribute to so many female genius authors.” That’s why we don't only sell books on feminist themes. There are various collections of books written by women – history, children's literature, sexuality, philosophy, politics, travel, health or art – and a library to consult them.

From Aida’s willingness to put her dream into action, it only took a couple of years and a crowdfunding to give the project its final push. The bookstore finally opened doors in 2015. On the bookstore’s display window, Clarice Lispector, Virginia Wolf, the godmother of Confraria, and Florbela Espanca greeting the passers-by and inviting them to take a peek inside.

There are authors’ framed pictures everywhere, small objects with book quotes, a turntable in the back of the room with a Janis Joplin vinyl, coffee and tea machines, cookies on the table so that nothing is discussed on an empty stomach.

Everything is ready, the group is forming. This time, every reader brought a book that marked them. Aida initiated the discussion with presenting 2 new books. Women by Carol Rossetti and Las Chicas Son Querraras by Irene Cicico and Sergio Parra. From a hand to hand, they turned the pages and discussed the illustrations. The first to present her book was Sara Riobom, who did not just come to talk about Maria Teresa Horta, but also to read her work. By sharing an excerpt about the body, which is subjected to various interpretations, respectively whether it's a man or a woman’s body, the discussion focused on the way we perceive our own body. Maria Teresa is one of the women who has been on the shelves for a longer time and Aida couldn’t prevent herself from recommending the reading of Novas Cartas Portuguesas (New Portuguese Letters).

Maria João Coelho who was attending the club for the first time held the book “A Metáfora do Coração” by Maria Zambrano. “It is a philosophy of the heart”, that is how she justified her choice. The question followed “Why are women punished for being emotional?”. “To act with the heart can be an absolutely rational choice”, says Júlia Jardim from Minas Gerais, Brazil. There seems to be a consensus around the group about seeing the need to interpret emotionality as a strength and not as a weakness.

Marta Reis crossed the ocean to revisit Alexandra Lucas Coelho. Vai Brasil (Go Brazil) is the publication, travels are the motto. The choice was simple, travel books are a big part of Marta’s life growing up. “I have always seen my family travelling to remote places; I have always read books about this theme. It is fascinating to travel through the words of another person.”

Sara identified herself with Marta, a travel blogger, she goes alone everywhere. “It is such a big pleasure, it is a bigger availability for everything that is around us”, she assures. Aida, who just returned from a trip herself, had her first solo travel experience not a long time ago. “It was liberating!”, she confesses. “Every time I say I’m going to travel, I always hear the same question: why are you going alone, jokes Sara.

Moments are shared; there was a general laughter about a trip to Moscow where vodka was the only word understood and the only salvation.

The Brazilian Júlia brought Harper Lee’s “Não Matem a Cotovia” (“To Kill a Mockingbird”). There’s a discussion about childhood, the character’s growth, the growth of each one of us. “The first time that she felt that everyone wanted her to be less than who she really was, was at school”, says Júlia. The second book that Harper Lee did not want to release is a target of negative criticism describing it as a sloppier version of the first. “She wanted to be an author of a big book, one unique memorable work”, defended Aida. There is herbal tea break.

The herbal teas of Ana Hatherly, author and friend of Helena Topa, brought with her two books, visibly marked by time and by re-reads. 351 Tisanas and 463 Tisanas, two works that combine loose texts without connection between each other. They are small infusions of ideas, mantras, resolutions, and advices. Helena says that “they are like a Japanese haiku” and she picks five or six to read, ends up reading more. There are smiles across the room, they are taking notes of the end of the sentences. Not everyone knew about them, it is the surprise of the afternoon. “Every text of these is a small nature painting.” Again, a metaphor that fits the moment.

The authors mentioned are described as if they are friends. They leave a mark on life stages; help overcome the stages that were not so good, they always come to them when they need it the most. That is friendship, is it not? There’s more than talking about feminism, there’s talking about devotion to literature.

“The Confraria is a feminist project, in its creation, because we have by majority feminine authors. But men are welcome, we already had some of them participating in the Club and the conversation is always very good”. Explains the owner holding a book in her hand.

There are one piece of news left to discuss. “Jane Austen Reading Club”, which has already been adapted as a moving picture, is the chosen one. “Jane deserves an opportunity, she is always portrayed as a romantic author. But there’s another side that we have to explore here. She will be one of our next authors!”

The desire to deconstruct ideas is one of the mottos of these meetings. Beyond The Pandora Readers, there are other group activities happening regularly. In tertulias “Ler para Conviver” (Read in order to co-exist), the aim is to celebrate the birth of an author and to discuss her work. And to prove that we can talk about everything, there are scheduled reading sessions about...Harry Potter.

WOMEN WHO READ WOMEN

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