The first guest of this series had to be our friend and partner Rui from PEDDY+. In Lisbon in Us by Rui Martins we’ll find out how this local gained consciousness about the richness and diversity of his city and how today he’s committed to disseminating its historic heritage under the motto “we can only appreciate what we know”.
I was born in Lisbon in March 1974, a month before the revolution, in the civil parish of São Jorge de Arroios. Although I was born not far from the centre of our capital, I quickly “escaped” with my parents to the periphery, more concretely to Carnide, where I still live today.
This distance between the historic centre of the city may (or may not) partly explain the relative lack of interest of a local in his own city.
I believe that this lack of curiosity isn’t just my case, and rather a common thing among most alfacinhas (a term to denote a person from Lisbon) who, as the classic Portuguese, prefer to talk about their mishaps during their last trip to London, than to share the joy of discovering a lost church in Alfama.
It was only when I was 40 years old that I can say I had an “epiphany” and started in fact discovering the beauty of some historic neighbourhoods of Lisbon, such as Alfama, Mouraria and Madragoa.
It was 2014, shortly after foreigners found the city of the seven hills. Portugal was no longer just Algarve and Lisbon started being explored by the foreigners, making way for the Portuguese that started being advocates for “Going abroad inside”.
It was then, after finishing a Postgraduate in Image, Protocol and Events Planning, that I decided to create a project called PEDDY+ Events, in which the aim was (and is) to disseminate some of our less promoted historic heritage, which deserves to be known in order to be appreciated, to the locals of Lisbon. PEDDY+’s “slogan” was then that “we can only appreciate what we know”!!!
This was how I started to discover, together with the participants in the guided tours that my home city isn’t just Rossio Square and Terreiro do Paço. In fact, there are many Lisbons that can and should be explored: the Jewish Lisbon, the Muslim Lisbon, the Roman Lisbon, etc.
With the help of historians, archaeologists and many other specialists it has been possible to show the locals the richness of the historic heritage that we have among us. A true legacy that must be preserved and dignified for the future generations.
| Lisbon in Us by Rui Martins | |
|---|---|
| Mini introduction | Organiser of tourist entertainment events and singer in several choirs in his free time. Lover of culture in its most varied forms, including theatre (or he wouldn’t have been born on March 27, World Theatre Day) |
| An inspiring place | Panorâmico de Monsanto Viewpoint |
| An unmissable visit | Church of Menino Deus |
| Her mouth waters with… | Pastéis de nata (egg custard tart) from Pastelaria Versailles in República Avenue (a centenary house in 2022) |
| A song… | Nova Lisboa by Dino D’ Santiago |
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