Friday Briefing: Quo Vadis, Portugal?
Good morning and welcome to PORTUGAL DECODED. Can't keep track of Portugal's post-electoral drama? Fear not. We've got you covered.
TALK OF THE TOWN
Almost a week after the elections, Portugal’s future hangs in balance. As we brace for an uncertain couple of weeks, maybe months, PORTUGAL DECODED adopts a different format this Friday.
Today, we bring you the essential insights into the post-electoral FAQs on everybody’s minds - find them on shareable PDF below or peruse the links further ahead for a detailed analysis.
POLITICS
Pick a question and start reading:
SOCIETY
After throwing red paint at the hotel where the AD's leadership was gathered on election night, climate activists climbed the Bank of Portugal’s building in Lisbon later this week to protest against the use of fossil fuels (More).
Global Media Group (GMG), whose titles include dailies Diário de Notícias, Jornal de Notícias, and O Jogo, and radio TSF, announced its decision to go ahead with a mass redundancy process, another worrying sign of the growing crisis in Portuguese journalism (More).
ECONOMICS
The Independent Techninal Commission on the location of Lisbon's new airport delivered its final report. Alcochete and Vendas Novas remain the favourites, but the big surprise is that Santarém is back on the list (More).
Retailing giant Sonae’s profit jumped 6.4% last year to €357 million. Besides Continente supermark chain, the group also owns Worten electronics shop, Salsa Jeans fashion brand, newspaper Público, among many other businesses (More).
CULTURE AND SPORTS
The Domingos Sequeira’s masterpiece that left Portugal under suspicious circumstances to be sold in the international art market has been bought by a “national private organisation” and will be exhibited in a museum here (More).
Spanish curator Nuria Enguita will be the new artistic director of the MAC/CCB contemporary art museum in Lisbon. With her appointment, all major art museums in Portugal are now led by foreigners (More).
TIPS OF THE WEEK
Lisbon
Soma House at Antù
DJ Branko, founder of Buraka Som Sistema & Enchufada Records, releases today his forth studio album “Soma” featuring guests such as Teresa Salgueiro, Tyuo, Yeri & Yeni, Carlão, Dino d' Santiago and June Freedom. To celebrate the occasion, on March 15-17 March, Branko will open the doors of the Soma House at Antù in Alfama. The event is free and the programme includes talks, dj-sets and gastronomy, all curated by Branko.
Graça’s new Funicular
Fifteen years later, Graça's funicular railway finally opened this week and journeys will be free for the first month. The Funicular transports 14 people on each journey of roughly 1 minute providing a "comfortable" connection between the Graça and Mouraria neighbourhoods, every day from 9am to 9pm. Both pets and bicycles are allowed. The project began in 2009, but construction only began in 2016.
St Patrick’s Day Parade
For the first time, Lisbon will host a St Patrick's Day parade on Sunday, March 17, at 4pm. Over 200 musicians will gather in Lisbon to give colour and shape to a march celebrating the occasion. In total, eight Spanish bands and two Portuguese bands, representing the national Bagpipe Bands, promise to bring the Irish spirit to Praça do Comércio, where they will end the commemorative parade (5pm). The parade is open to the general public and there is no need to buy tickets.
Porto
Comic Con
The 9th edition of Comic Con Portugal will take place on March 21-24 at Exponor, Matosinhos. Comic Con Portugal is the largest Pop Culture event in Portugal, covering a wide variety of themes, including Cinema & TV, Comics & Literature, Gaming, Pop Asia & Commercial Area, Cosplay World, New Media, Music, CCPT Experience and Comic-Con Kids. Among the most eagerly awaited attractions are the autograph sessions. Tickets start at €25 and are available here.
Hugo Lobo Trio
Born in 2002, Hugo Lobo is already one of the most active musicians on the national jazz scene, taking part in various projects as a pianist and organist. Outside of the jazz scene, he is also part of the band of the phenomenon Slow J., responsible for one of the last major upheavals in Portuguese music. Hugo Lobo is currently preparing the original compositions with which he hopes to soon finalise his first album. Catch him at Casa da Música on Tuesday, March 19, 7.30pm. Tickets are €12.
Elsewhere
Alentejo and Ribatejo Outdoor
The Alentejo and Ribatejo Regional Tourism Authority has launched a portal that brings together the Walking & Cycling routes in the two regions. In total, there are around 130 walking routes to explore and more than 140 routes to enjoy by bike, including mountain biking, road cycling, gravel and cycle tourism. It is also possible to find suggestions on restaurants and accommodation in each of the regions, via links to the respective Alentejo and Ribatejo tourism pages. Just in time for Spring!
Note: An earlier version of today’s briefings had two links that were missing or redirecting to another page. We fixed them in this version. Our apologies.
Thank you for the great overview of whats important in Portugal. Written in a easy to understand language, this is what we (Portuguese living abroad) need to have! Looking foward to be next posts.