Skip to content
VitrineVitrine
Sign in

Maria de Jesus de Saldanha de Sousa e Menezes

Born 16 Jul 1951

3 facts1 source

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

Facts and their sources

  • Born16 Jul 1951Taken as verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 16 Jul 1951

    Born

  2. 1978–1985

    3 children are born

Family

See the tree

Partner

Children · 3

During her lifetime

She has lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1950s · Maria is born

Who governed

Music

Brass Bands at Catholic Liturgies

At the Pocariça Festival, local brass bands performed during religious liturgies in the 1950s, despite earlier church rules that prohibited such instruments in these settings.

At the table

Memorable daily habits and simple luxuries

In poorer regions, some families relied on soup made of wine, bread, and sugar, known as 'sopas de cavalo cansado', or began their days in cold climates with a glass of pure brandy called 'mata-bicho'. Staples like yogurt and chocolate spreads were either homemade or considered expensive delicacies, with products like 'Tulicreme' only appearing as a luxury for some families in the late 1960s.

In Europe1957

The European Economic Community

Six countries signed the Treaty of Rome, the start of what became the European Union.

Daily life

Improvised sugar pacifiers for infants

Mothers created improvised pacifiers for infants by tying sugar inside a small white cloth. These sugar dolls kept babies quiet while their older siblings and parents worked long hours in the fields.

What people wore

Styling hair with sugar water and forks

To create curly hair for religious processions, mothers wrapped strands around heated fork handles after wetting the hair with sugar water.

Getting around

Driving speeds on old national roads

While early car travelers could reach speeds of over 120 km/h, average speeds on Portugal's narrow, winding national roads were often below 30 km/h, with Porto to Lisbon trips typically taking up to five hours.

What it cost

Wages for manual workers and maids

In the 1950s, a construction worker or a sardine cannery worker earned about 20 escudos a day, and a maid's monthly salary was between 200 and 400 escudos.