Do you know Cristiano Ronaldo? I hope you would know well about him, if you like soccer. He is the most famous Portuguese in this time. I think many people will be able to tell the name of Cristiano Ronaldo, when they are asked the question of what is Portugal famous for. But Portugal is famous for many things such as Fartima, Fado and delicious Portuguese dish. I’d like to introduce few things about Portugal on this show.
This is Hanako and I am Lin. Today we’ll be talking about a few basic facts, some culture and Portuguese cuisine. Let’s start.
Basic facts of Portugal
Portugal is located on the southwestern part of Europe. Portugal is bounded by North Atlantic Ocean and Spain in the west. The terrain of Portugal is mountainous and plains are rolling in south. And the islands of Azores and Madeira belong to Portugal.
The capital is Lisbon and the second city is Oporto. The population of Portugal is nearly 11 million. There are many Portuguese speaking people in Asia, South America and Africa as a result of colonial expansion. In Portugal, most of people are Roman Catholic.
Culture of Portugal
The culture of Portugal is formed by combining of different culture. And it is related to the culture of Spain. There are many museums, ancient monuments and buildings in whole Portugal. Many places have at least a cinema. Café culture is also an important culture of Portuguese. Then football is the most famous sport and Portuguese people like it so much. So when you visit to Portugal, use the word of football to make a friendship with Portuguese people.
Portuguese cuisine
The Portuguese good uses fish and shelfish alot. Mainly sardine,mackerel and anqler fish. The Grain uses wheat,rice,cornfield and rye. The rice is consumption charges most of Europe. The national dish of Portugal is called “cozido”. This is a dish very similar to the beef and cabbage. It is made with cabbage and fresh fish from the costal waters of Portugal. The feijoada is very famous food in Portugal. It is a stew of beans with beef or pork meats. There is a history. The traditional history of Brazilian feijoada is that it was a “luxury” dish of African slaves in Brazilian farms.
As it was prepared with relatively cheap ingredients(beans,rice,collad,greens) and leftovers from salted pork and meat production. The gazpacho is famous in Portugal, too. It is a cold tomato soup. It uses many vegetables, So it is a rich food.
Fatima
Fartima is a town of Portugal, located in west central Portugal and only 135 km from Lisbon. It is famous as the site where the blessed Virgin Mary. Religious tourism is the economy of Fartima. Over four million devotees visit Fartima each year.
Fado, the Heart of Portuguese
Fado,the tradition music of Portugal appeared from the old part of Lisbon in 1820. In that time, Portugal attempted to plant colonies to Africa. So it is considered the original of Fado are a mixture of African rhythms with the tradition music of Portuguese sailors. Portuguese play Fado not only for pleasure but also to relieve the pain of life.