Maria Francisca Gil de Braganca van Uden

Music

Music at Portuguese Pilgrimages and Festivals

Pilgrimages like the Romaria de Nossa Senhora d’Agonia featured amateur wind bands, drum ensembles, and improvised poetic competitions where performers challenged each other with rhymed verses. Groups of zés-pereiras, consisting of snare and bass drums, were vital for announcing festivities by performing through village streets.

Daily life

Rural homes lacked basic utilities and infrastructure

In the 1970s, many rural homes lacked basic utilities like running water, electricity, and private bathrooms, forcing families to rely on public fountains and outdoor sanitation. Households commonly cooked over open hearths without chimneys, often using firewood or coal briquettes in clay-filled stoves.

What it cost

Controlled food prices in 1985

In 1985, the government set the maximum price for a unit of wheat bread at 4.50 escudos and one liter of milk at 62 escudos.

What people wore

Pilgrims carried shoes to protect them

When traveling long distances for pilgrimages, people often walked barefoot or in wooden clogs, carrying their good shoes in their hands to protect them from the journey and only putting them on when reaching the sanctuary.

Getting around

Avoiding luggage fees on bus travel

In the late 20th century, passengers traveling by bus from the Guarda train station often saved money by asking others to claim their heavy bags as their own to avoid extra luggage fees.

At the table

Sharing a single sardine between three people

In rural areas, poverty was so extreme that a single sardine was often shared among three people.