It's a very big day. In approximately 30 minutes Portugal will be taking on Spain at the World Cup for advancement into the final 8. It's going to be a tough game (Spain are European Champions) but we're up to the challenge - I hope.
Later tonight is the other big even. "Eclipse" is finally opening. Yes, Special K and I have tickets to the 12:01AM screening tomorrow morning and I'm beyond excited. It hasn't started to settle in yet but it will when the clock turns over to 2PM and I only have a few hours left in the day. I hope it's not crazy insane but who am I kidding? It's going to be a gong show and I'm going to take in every second of it.
Don't expect a review any time soon. By the time I get home tomorrow morning it'll be near 3AM and then an early wake up call at 6:15. Making things a little more difficult, I can't go home tomorrow night right after work because we've got tickets to see Econoline Crush at the Venue. I'm really looking forward to the show as I'm a fan of the band and I don't think they've performed in years but man, it's going to be a long day. Good thing I have Thursday to recuperate!
Showing posts with label Portugal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portugal. Show all posts
June is Portuguese Heritage Month in Vancouver and the festivities started today with a kick-off party at Vancouver's J Lounge. With Mariza singing in the background (don't get too excited, it was a DVD), free Portuguese wine, bolinhos de bacalhau and a few other goodies (no more mouth watering details, promise), the event started with an introduction by Terry Costa, Consultant to Government of Portugal in Canada (Arts & Culture Commission).
The event unfolded quickly, avoiding the pitfalls of long, boring, drawn out affairs and included short but memorable speeches from the Consul General of Portugal, Dr. Carlos Amaro, the Consul General of Brazil and City of Vancouver Councillor Raymond Louie who was representing the City and seemed genuinely thrilled to be there addressing the crowd.
The event wrapped with a little traditional music (rancho baby!) care of the Grupo Folclorico Ilha Verde who performed a couple of traditional ditties. I caught a few on video including this one which was my favorite of the bunch:
If you're interested, a few more videos here and here.
The month is full of special events celebrating Portuguese culture. The entire schedule of events is available at http://www.portuguesemonth.com/. If you attend an even and happen to be on Twitter, I urge you to use the non-official (aka Decreed by Marina, Of No Particular Importance) #yvrphm.
I'm hoping to make it out to a few events. You can keep track of all the happenings via pictures in my newly created Portuguese Heritage Month Set.
See you around town!
This is so awesome, I'm not even sure where to start. On the eve of Portuguese Heritage Month which kicks off in June, I get word from the fabulous Terry Costa (Terry really is fabulous - the man is a machine and I love him for all of his hard work) that Portuguese is now a recognized language in BC meaning that students can take Portuguese classes (if offered I guess) towards their high school graduation. Here's the official press release:
This week, on a visit to British Columbia, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Communities, Dr. Antonio Braga, received a two-part gift from Hon. Ben Stewart, Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism. First, the Province of British Columbia acknowledgement of the Portuguese participation in the region since 1850s with a proclamation for Portuguese Heritage Month (June 2010) and the most important words that Portuguese-language begins to be recognized, as of August 2010, as an elective language towards credits for high-school diplomas.This is so exciting! It's wonderful to see my heritage honoured this way - can't wait to break out all the red and green for both Portuguese Heritage Month and World Cup!
This news gives Terry Costa, Canada’s Consultant to Portugal (Language, Education and Culture Commission) great pride. “As a Canadian of Portuguese roots, I am ecstatic with this great news,” says Costa “finally my ancestors language is being acknowledge by my province as an important part of our culture.” Costa who founded Portuguese Heritage Month in 2004 adds that the news arriving a few days before the launch of the 2010 festivities, especially at a time of lack of funding and support, give that extra incentive towards the celebrations and notes that he hopes to see an increase in enrolment in Portuguese-language studies, “now that students can work towards elective credits to complete their high-school diploma”. Also, as the VP for the Portuguese-Canadian National Congress, Costa acknowledges that it is time for the language and culture to join the ranks of other languages like German and Spanish that have been granted these opportunities many years ago.
Portuguese speakers worldwide are estimated well over 210 million. Portuguese language is the 6th most spoken in the planet, 3rd on the internet. Eight countries have Portuguese as the official language: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guine-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal (including the autonomous regions of Azores and Madeira Islands), S. Tome & Principe and Timor; as well, due to historic ties, various regions of the world including Macau (China) and Goa/Damao (India) celebrate their Portuguese influences. The Portuguese language crosses all continents and its emigrants and descendants can be found in British Columbia since 1850s. An estimated 50,000 B.C. residents hail from a Portuguese region or are descendants of the Portuguese.
Fact: you’re likely to see Marina come up often in signage but you’re not all that likely to meet someone actually named Marina. There are some of us, but not nearly as many as, let’s say, Bella.
I once asked my Mom where the name came from and she didn’t have an answer beyond “I just liked it.” I’m thinking she may have seen it when she came to Canada for a few months as a teen, saw it and it stuck with her.
Over the years I’ve heard that it’s Russian and know that it means “from the sea” (or something like it) but the other day I learned something else about my name: I share it with a beer. Yes. Beer.
One or our subs came through the office recently and was telling a story of when he was young and living in Portugal, when people asked him where he was going he often said “To see my girlfriend Marina” meaning, he was going to go drinking. I thought he was kidding but after a little searching I discovered that there was once a beer called Marina.
Marina is was produced in the Algarve region of the country from 1969 to 1982 when the company that made it decided to abandon local brands (with it went another beer, this one made in Santarém, called Clok). In 2005 the beer was re-introduced for sale in Portugal exclusively through “Continente” and “Modelo” supermarkets. The price: 1,5€ for a six pack (about $11).
I will get my hands on a bottle of this stuff (though a six pack would be better).
I proudly display and share my Portuguese heritage. Whereas I get the sense that my sister isn't quite as keen on keeping her heritage alive, I'm one of these people that's very much interested in not only sharing it and keeping it alive but helping it grow. A few years back I was very involved with the Portuguese community in Vancouver but a few happenings really rubbed me the wrong way, mostly because I felt like I was putting in so much of my time and getting so little thanks in return. That would be fine, if others were also being overlooked, but it irked me that some people would only show up for the big public events, doing little to no work at any other time, yet they garnered attention. Yes, I'm a little petty at time and this really did bug me. That's not to say that I don't love what Terry Costa, the guy behind the community - don't let anyone tell you otherwise - doesn't do amazing things. One of the projects he helped spear head was Portuguese Heritage Month, which actually kicked off on Sunday.
For the entire month of June, there are loads of events going on around town, most of them free of charge. If you're in town, I urge you to check out the events calendar for all the listings.
Given my film passion, it's no surprise that I veer directly to the Film and Video Festival portion of the events. I was checking out the various upcoming films and of those listed, I'm very, very excited to see "Foreign Land" from renowned Brazilian director Walter Salles who, earlier this year graced Cannes with his newest film "Linha de Passe".
Not directly related to Portuguese Heritage Month but also worth taking close note of is the fact that The Pacific Cinemateque will be running a retrospective of the world's oldest active director, Portuguese master Manoel de Oliveira. Between June 20 and July 6th, they'll be showing nearly all of the director's works, including his first film. Well worth checking out. If you're looking for a buddy to go with, worry not. Yours truly will be taking a few groups to the movies so if you want to tag along, keep your eyes peeled on the Vancouver Movie Meetup site.
And if you prefer to take in some local cuisine, be sure to check out the Georgia Straight's recent blog entry, care of the aforementioned Terry Costa, which outlines most of the local eateries.
All in all, should be a month full of fabulous events. Add in the EuroCup which kicks off with the first Portugal game on Saturday, and you've got more than enough events to get your Portugal fill for the year! Hope you get out to enjoy some of it! I sure will!
If you're not European, you've likely never heard of Eurovision but as of now, consider yourself partially informed. For me, this year's contest snuk up on me because, for some reason, there simply wasn't the same amount of buzz as there usually is.
Most folks will tell you that the for the past years, the contest has been more of a political back-scratching exercise than any real measure of talent and this year's contest is no different though I will admit that the back-scratching wasn't quite as obvious as it has been in the past. I've heard a few folks comment that there are talks that if this sort of political play continues, the voting structure of the competition will have to be changed but I simply don't know enough about the inner-workings to comment - I just watch for the music.
For the first time in what seems like year's, Portugal's entry was very good. So good, in fact, that it made it's way through to the finals. We may not have won, that honor went to Russian singer Dima Bilan, but we did kick some serious ass. Congrats to Vânia Fernandes for representing the country in great style with "Senhora do Mar".
At this point I'd also like to mention my disappointment at the fact that so many of the countries chose to present songs in English. I find it so much more interesting and entertaining when singers sing the music in their mother tongue. To each their own but I hope this changes over the next few years (doubtful).
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