SOOooo it is Portuguese Heritage Month with a slew of events happening all over the city if you are in the know...and I am...being a member of the Portuguese Benevolent Society and their 'youth' group. Finally wanting to give back to my culture literally: http://portugueseheritagemonth.com. I recommend the music nights at the Cellar Jazz Bar - http://www.cellarjazz.com/.Music, readings, film, and other festivities - something for everyone.
Here are some fast facts and tidbits on the generally lesser know Iberian nation:
-Portuguese is the 6th most spoken language in the world behind Mandarin, Hindi, English, Spanish and Bengali...the teeny-tiny Iberian country may be small but its reach was once world-wide with colonies and settlements all over the world - most notably in Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Macao, East Timor, Sao Tome and Principe and Goa.
-The Portuguese gave Japan tempura and thank-you: Obrigado = Arigato
-We gave the English their tea-time courtesy of marriage into Portuguese royalty. Of course 3 meals a day are not enough!!!
-We actually 'discovered' India, albeit a little later than Columbus ;-) in 1524 by Vasco da Gama
-I once heard a non-Lusitanian at a dinner party answer the question - 'What exactly is portuguese cuisine?' -- 'Give a portuguese woman a cut of meat to marinate and cook, and it's like an orgasm in your mouth!'
-But if you're not satisfied with that explanation some signature dishes are chicken piri-piri, (made popular in Canada by the Nando's Chicken chains) barbequed sardines, (believe me you have to try them at least once) all manner of cod dishes, and of course many egg and almond based sweets that melt in your mouth...showing influences from our arabic neighbours.
No comments:
Post a Comment