António Manuel d'Athouguia da Rocha Fontes

Music

Youth and Rock and Roll

In the 1950s, urban youth began listening to explosive rock and roll, leading the secret police to post notices in cinemas warning that young people could be happy without being irreverent.

At the table

Rural diet based on carbohydrates and scarcity

In rural areas, families often shared a single large loaf of bread and ate a simple diet based on carbohydrates like potatoes and vegetables, with meat and fish being rare luxuries. Meat, such as pork, was conserved in salt or lard and consumed in very small quantities, sometimes described as a sardine divided among three people.

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

Children carried shoes to school

Children often went to school barefoot, carrying their shoes in their hands to ensure they would not wear out.

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

Cost of a pair of shoes

A pair of custom-made shoes from a shoemaker in Portimão cost 8 dollars and 50 cents, while factory-made shoes were about 10 dollars.