Little Lettuces
“Next time, I’m coming back as a ‘Little Lettuce’ as Lisbonites are affectionately known.”
Cafe culture is an integral part of Lisbon life.
Brasileira do Chiado pulls them like a moth to a flame, both locals and tourists. Who wouldn’t stop and sit at such a cute little cafe? The fact that two Gin & Tonics set me back €30 was by-the-by. It was my birthday!
Fernando Pessoa poised as one of his many personalities.
It’s not clear that Fernando Pessoa actually frequented ‘A Brasileira do Chiado’, but they have, nevertheless, erected a bronze statue in his honour outside the premises.
Pessoa was Portugal’s answer to Robert Burns, Byron, Bob Dylan, Dylan Thomas, and James Joyce all rolled into one. The prolific author and advertising man might have been diagnosed with a Multiple Personality Disorder. It was, in fact, a very useful writing technique. Pessoa’s prolific outpourings came from at least seventy-two separate authorial perspectives.
His main heteronyms (a term he invented) were Alberto Caeiro, Álvaro de Campos, and Ricardo Reis, each writing on different subjects with entirely different writing styles. Most of us struggle to create one authorial presence. Pessoa’s creative dam was well and truly overflowing. He was a poet, literary critic, translator, publisher, and philosopher, one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and probably the greatest poet in the Portuguese language.
Ok, it’s expensive for G&T so stick to beer or wine. And there’s a constant cavalcade of entertainers eager to please.
Tram 28 takes you out to Campo de Ourique, an authentic part of Lisbon. It's a shame about the McDonalds. Pessoa had no such inhibitions. He wrote advertising slogans to promote Coca-Cola.
CASA FERNANDO PESSOA
We took tram No. 28 out to Campo de Ourique, a residential neighbourhood not far from the city centre. Campo de Ourique is still an authentic part of Lisbon, not given over to global retail outlets and the Airbnb culture that has captured the more touristy parts of town. Well-dressed Portuguese gentlemen sit outside cafes looking a lot like Fernando Pessoa must have done back in the 1930s. He was a snazzy dresser by all accounts!
If I were a ‘Little Lettuce’, this is the kind of neighbourhood I’d live in. Campo de Ourique is like a small town close to the centre of Lisbon with an artistic vibe and plenty pavement cafes to sit and watch the world go by.
Pessoa lived here for 15 years between 1920 and 1935 and was undoubtedly inspired by his surrounds. His house is now a museum dedicated to his life and works. There’s an open-access library specialising in Pessoa and international poetry.
When dictatorship. the Sentece Coco Cola’s an acquired taste. First, you think it’s weird, and then it gets in your belly.
In Portuguese, it rhymes. The guy in charge of Health worked for Salazar. Coke means cocaine. It never took off during the dictatorship.
Fernando Pessoa's last sentence was written in English from his hospital bed in November 29, 1935: ‘I know not what tomorrow will bring’.
