Portuguese fire was close to devastating, but it was cathartic. It was sparked by a harsh economic reality-check that came upon us not too long ago. But realizing our faults also pointed out our strengths – and when you’re really down, there’s no other place to go to but up. And so we did. Suddenly, the great masses of the unemployed started to dedicate themselves to things they really love and could make on their own. Just to give you an idea, the number of companies that went bankrupt last year is lower than the number of companies created. this means that, at least, we won’t go down when economy hits us in the face. In fact, we are getting up and rising stronger than before, with a much more fit sense of self-worth and self-esteem. The before rather dull Portuguese city life suddenly bloomed: new conceptual bars and shops started to pop up, new ingenious businesses appeared out of the blue, and most importantly, a new Portuguese mentality started to speak its mind. So this is an exciting time of deep cultural transformations, a time of optimism, creativity and innovation. And what better way to gauge this than through a country’s highlights?

First, let’s talk art. Joana Vasconcelos – still don’t know who she is? – made headlines after her exhibition in the Palace of Versailles attracted more visitors than any other exhibition in Paris on the last 50 years! Why? Joana Vasconcelo’s work is overwhelmingly simple and relatable, as well as somewhat provocative, over the top monumental, and positively inspired. And, I have to say this, profoundly Portuguese. The gigantic “Marilyn” shoes were made with traditional Portuguese pans; the plastic spoon-made gigantic hearts are a faithful reproduction of Portuguese flaming hearts, symbols of eternal love, and the tampon-made chandelier (“The Bride”) has that Portuguese nonchalant provocation, in my humble opinion. Then Paula Rego, a renowned Portuguese painter with works fetching over half a million pounds, has recently inaugurated her Casa das Histórias (House of Stories), where Rego’s art and its underlying link with Portuguese rural familiar life is displayed.

 

Still on art, Street Art. Lisbon has been considered by The Guardian as one the European capitals of street art. And it was doing the city no favour. Just consider 25 year-old Alexandre Farto A.K.A Vhils, a Portuguese street artist whose stencil technique consists of selectively decomposing building façades, turning them into vivid portraits of random (and not so random people). With works exhibited in major art galleries worldwide, Vhils is slowly taking his art out of the street and into mainstream. In architecture, Portugal has two – yes, two – Pritzker Prize winners (the often considered Nobel Prize for architecture). Álvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto Moura are both references in worldwide architecture.  Lisbon, on the other hand, is also conquering its space in the modern architectural scene, with its built-from-scratch neighbourhood of Parque das Nações, featuring the works of Santiago Calatrava and again, Siza Vieira.

In literature, José Saramago is a Nobel Prize winner, with his book “The memorial of the convent”, but has a vast work published and a book that was turned into a movie – Blindness. in music, Portugal is showing what its got in a very sincere, heartfelt manner. i’m not here to talk about Nelly Furtado and how she’s the daughter of a Portuguese immigrant couple… No, no MTV here. I’m talking about Fado, recently considered a part of the World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. But not just that, I’m talking about a thing started to be known as the New Fado, the new voices and more laid-back approaches to a naturally beautiful but heavy style of music. It’s the case of Cuca Roseta, with her river-flowing voice, of Carminho, with her fresh take on tradition, of António Zambujo and his moderated dives in Fado, and of the group Deolinda, with their faithful but creative way of singing out the new Portuguese mind – and this was just to give you very few examples.

 

In sports, we all know how good we are at Football… and I hate to brag, but both Cristiano Ronaldo and José Mourinho are Portuguese. We were the only country in the world that managed to get an amateur rugby team on the World Cup, and we have several Olympic medals flaunting their shine in our shores.

 

In the meantime, it feels nice to see old companies such porcelain fabricant Vista Alegre opening up to the international market, creating alongside Christian Lacroix a new collection of tableware; traditional soaps factory Saboaria Confiança selling their aromatic soaps on specialty shops across the globe; the only Portuguese pencil factory, Viarco, competing against the market leaders with clever and resourceful new products and concepts; and Portuguese cork products by Amorim being sold at MoMA in New York. So, trust me, the Fenix is out there!