One of the things that will strike your heart in Lisbon will be for sure the raucous ancestrally loud month of June.
Is the month when the old tradition of celebrating Santos Populares come to life,
It has an obviously religious beginning…well the name does give it away a little….
…being a city of sin…but also of saints... Lisbon in June celebrates its many saints days..
days such as Saint Anthony’s Day on June 13, Saint John’s Day on June 23, and Saint Peter’s Day on June 28…. And plenty of ungodly boozy indulgent days in between…
Is a time when the city would salute its summer vibe, the street gets decorated, food and drink are everywhere, so its music, smiles, loud voices and smokes from grilled sardines fills the air like fishy volcanoes …
It is a bit sore talking about those magic times after the second year of them not taking place, still the memories of 2 years of quietness that we have passed during those unfortunate times linger as a spooky memory… Unfortunately the Covid emergency obviously did not allow the usual festivities and mass gatherings to take place, but for the good of everyone.
And never more than times like this feels so unfortunate that this pandemic has shook our social dynamics so badly to their core, and in those moments when a kind of normality is somehow back, feels like a blessing, even if a drunken, loud, dancing one…
Before the Covid emergency I remember the last night of one of the Arraial in the one of the most historical Bairros of the city, the Bairro da Bica…
I regret not taking a photo , of this girl dancing around the fountain in the square of the Largo São Antoninho,
She had high Doc Martens boots and a Joy Division t shirt, but the honest attitude free nature of her having fun was absolutely liberating,
She could be a metaphor of this unique beloved city, edgy and inhibited in many aspects, that has a finger on the pulse of modernity, and keep jealousy its attachment to its tradition and its cultural past because it would be only a shame to don’t do so…and the night is always a little too young to stop dancing.
This year finally is all back, and Lisbon cannot feel happier, for the whole month of June every evening could be a great occasion to discover this city, it's great people and food.
here below a great website link of all sites where festivities take place, I would not miss it if I was you,
its and occasion to be a bit closer to the real essence of Portuguese joy of life, but also to let go and get a bit closer to ourselves kick back and relax….