The Holiday That Would Have Gotten A Thumbs Up From Camões

Yes, we have another holiday in Portugal today! 

Is it the day of Saint Whateverhisnameis? No. 

Some other Catholic celebration? Also no. 

Does it have to do with an important historical event? Nope.

Ah, it must be another revolution, then! Of course not. 

June 10th is the Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities*. Whoever chose the date for this celebration was clearly an employee and not a boss. 

Portrait of Camões, by Fernão Gomes, considered the most faithful representation of the poet, as it was executed during his lifetime.

I mean, think about the holidays we have in June: in Lisbon, they celebrate Saint Anthony’s on the 13th and in Porto (and several other places) they have Saint John’s on the 24th, while in Sintra and in other towns there’s Saint Peter’s on the 29th. Even if you live in a place that doesn’t celebrate any of these saints, you still get to have a holiday in June. You get a holiday, you get a holiday, and you get a holiday!

And why June? It makes perfect sense: it’s already warm enough to go to the beach and get your first sunburn of the year, the end of the school year is fast approaching and everyone’s already desperate for the holidays… So why not have a taster before it’s officially summer?
It’s absolute genius, I tell you! I’m sure Luis de Camões would approve of this!

Well, ok, it is true the date celebrates his death – not the most joyous of occasions. And he died in the same year when the Spanish rule over Portugal began (ending in 1640), which was not a very happy time either. Buuut… on the bright side of the news, this year we’re also celebrating the 500 years of his birth. That means, this year we get to celebrate Camões’ birth and death on the same day! Groovy? Why, yes. 
I’m not going to bother you with details about his life, mostly because a lot of it is pure speculation. We’re not even sure he was actually born in 1524! 

We do know he received a very good education, but we also know that he died in poverty and had a very troubled life. This seems to have been caused, in part, by his reckless character. Or, as one of his most famous sonnets states: “Erros meus, má fortuna, amor ardente” (“My mistakes, bad fortune, burning love”).

He lived abroad (in Africa and Asia) for quite some time but he returned to Portugal in 1570. It was after his arrival that he finished his masterpiece, The Lusiads. 

Camões is widely considered to be *the* Portuguese poet. He had unmistakable writing skills, a deep and vast knowledge of the Greek and Roman mythologies, and, like all great writers, his poems are still meaningful today. 

Although his writing had clear, strong Renaissance influences, he already had a (literary) foot in the Baroque. His use of contrast and duality (the chiaroscuro in Baroque paintings) is a clear example of this. 

Being part of the Portuguese literary canon means Camões’ work is studied at school and is, still today, the object of essays and historical investigation. But one of the greatest proofs of the meaningfulness of his work, still today, can be found in all of his poems that were made into songs.

Of the many versions that have been made, here are some of my favourites:

• José Mário Branco – “Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades”

• José Afonso – “Verdes são os Campos”

• José Afonso – “Endechas a Bárbara Escrava”

• Amália Rodrigues – “Erros meus, má fortuna, amor ardente”

• not a singer or musician, but the actor Mário Viegas saying the poem “Erros meus, má fortuna, amor ardente”, considered one of Camões’ most significant sonnets.

*Joking aside, there are (and have been) other “things” associated with this date: the Armed Forces, the Portuguese language, the Portuguese citizens, Portugal’s custodian angel, and “the Race” (if you know a bit about Portuguese history, I guess you can tell when the latter was considered to be a thing). Today, June 10th is a day that celebrates, above all, the concept of Portugal and the Portuguese diaspora across the globe. If you live near a Portuguese community, be prepared for some partying!

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