Street art in Portugal

The streets of Porto seem to be particularly riddled with both boring tag lines and more interesting pieces of graffiti. From stencils on street walls to large murals, some pieces seemed commissioned whist others were more natural. Lisbon also had quite a lot of street art gracing its walls.

On my first day arriving in Portugal, I got lost. Wandering the streets of Porto, I came across these two cat portraits in the same street. Having just passed about seven or so cats in the past five minutes, I had to smile at their relevance.

‘Street of Cats’

‘Love Porto’

I also enjoyed keeping my eye out for some repeating motifs and styles. Godmess, Costah  and Hazul are some of the big names when it comes to graffiti, and their style can easily be picked out on the streets and lanes.

I really admire the geometric patterns of the artist Hazul and the use of sibling motifs, similar in style but slightly different in form, that find themselves repeated on the city walls.

 

Whilst a lot of street art seems to be tucked away, some of the major streets are decorated- one of them being Rua Das Flores. On this street, power boxes have been spruced up with some talent and spray paint. I loved the sayings by the artist Godmess, but sadly Google translate does not provide me with anything I can even begin to understand. I think it is something made by locals, for locals, and the rest of us can only smile at the enigma, as we do with a conversation or an inside joke that goes way over our heads.

From what I saw Porto was definitely the hub of street art, but Lisbon also had some gems to offer. Being a pun-lover myself, and always interested in playful use of language, I am particularly partial to the #selfieless image. It isn’t unique to Lisbon, as photos with the hashtag have been posted from Valencia, Barcelona, Berlin and London- and it may be pasted in other cities around Europe that I’m not aware of. I can’t help but think about the differences between the words and meanings of selfless and selfieless- are those who are disconnected socially, both on and offline, left with a less valued sense of self? I think it’s possible that being selfie-less is not that far away from feeling self-less (without a sense of self worth), in an age where photos are a such an important way of connecting with others, especially for young people. After seeing this artwork, I will make a greater effort to be a more selfless and reach out to others where I can.

Oh Oporto!

I went on a 5 day solo trip to Portugal- and loved it. On the flight to Porto which left directly from Tours, I made friends with a Portuguese couple who have lived in France for forty years. It was lovely to chat with them, to hear the dishes they recommended I try, the places I should go and the things I should see.

Welcome to Portugal

Arriving in the late afternoon, I decided to get off well before my stop on the metro in order to see the city before arriving at my hostel. This was great and I was enjoying roaming the streets until the large amounts of car traffic, the rundown walls and the twisting lanes started to get to me. I was reminded of the crowded streets of Bali, one of the places in which I have experienced strong culture shock. The problem was that here, unlike in Bali, I was alone and the hostel wasn’t were it ought to have been according to my map. I was lost.

I found a local mercato (small grocery store) and went inside. “Não falo português” I attempeted to say, “I don’t speak Portuguese”. I held out my map and made ambigous gestures, trying to explain the concept of lost. The man smiled at me, explained that he didn’t speak English and then had a good look at my map. Through basic words of Portuguese, gestures and drawing lines on my map, he showed me where I ought to go. It turns out I had mis-interpreted the google map location of my hostel, and it was on a similarly shaped street a little further south. I was glad to be able to say “obrigada” ,  to thank him for his kindness toward me.

After claiming a bed and dropping off my stuff, I sat down in the cool evening air to do some sketching. I witnessed a group of uni students half in black gowns and capes, the other half in orange tee-shirts. They were performing some strange sort of ritual, which I later learned from a friend in Lisbon is an initiation game that forms part of the entry into university. She was one of the few in her year to opt out, and I have to say I understand her choice. The power imbalance was shocking, and as a passerby, it was hard to understand the psychological forces that kept the orange tee-shirts chanting, bowing, jumping or singing according to the desire of the black gowns. I suppose it reflects some aspects of real life, but it was alarming all the same.

As they left the square, I decided to have dinner down by the river. I followed the advice of the couple from the plane and ordered a francesinha. A toasted sandwhich for meat-lovers, I enjoyed it but found that it was a little on the salty side. I returned to the hostel, chatted a little while and then went to sleep, happy to be in a land of new discoveries, so different from anywhere I’d ever been before. In the morning, I headed out to explore some of the key city sights before catching my train to Lisbon.

I managed to choose the most rainy weekend in April to visit this often sunny city!