We might have been on Portuguese TV this weekend. But will probably never know.
It was a big weekend in Serra d’El Rei. This July marks the 20th anniversary of our parish reaching village status. Our mayor or more accurately called the President the Council, has planned many parties and events to commemorate the event. As new residents, we want to show our support and gratefulness for being included in the community and this weekend, we were literally right in the middle of it all.
Professional Cycling comes to Serra D’EL Rei
Saturday, Serra d’El Rei hosted the start of the second leg of the Joaquim Agostinho Grande Prix. I don’t know anything about professional cycling, but Beth does, and I learned a lot during the day. She was so excited about this race that we ended up on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Torres Vedras to see the finish.
This race is the second largest race in Portugal and featured around 17 teams and 112 cyclists from Spain, Portugal and Canada. Our little village was all a buzz as the GNR were our directing traffic early and busses, cars, and news crews trickled in.
The best part about this race (in my opinion) is the story of Joaquim Agostinho. When he was a kid growing up close to Torres Vedras, he encountered a cycling team practicing near his village. He initiated an impromptu race, which he won on a steel bicycle. The cycling team just couldn’t keep up, so they recruited him to cycle for their team. By the end of his career, Agostinho won many races and competed in the Tour de France 13 times, finishing all but one. Winners of the Joaquim Agostinho Grande Prix get their winners jerseys right next to the statue commemorating Agostinho in Torres Vedras.
Domingão!
Sunday was even bigger. As a matter of fact, it was DOMINGÃO!
Domingão is a TV show in Portugal that airs on Sundays from different locations all over Portugal. It is kind of like a variety show where the hosts sing popular songs, interview the locals, sample recipes–basically celebrates the community.
The Domingão bus rode all over our village singing songs, dancing and getting the people involved all broadcasting live. It started about 2 pm and went on until almost 8 in the evening. It was cheesy and fabulous and the crowd loved it.
I loved it until about 7:30 pm when the thump of club music became a little too much. But it brought out many people in our village I haven’t seen before and soon we were all having a festas!
So that’s when we would have been on TV. The party bus was returning to the centre of town and I was outside the Serrana (cafe) dancing to the music as the cameras were pointed straight at us. Were we on TV? I have no idea. But like I said, I’m here to support my community and if that means dancing when the party bus comes around, I am in.
Shelley is a full time traveler, blogger and podcaster currently living in Portugal with her wife, 2 dogs and a cat. She is a former history teacher originally from Winston-Salem, NC but wanted to see what life was like abroad. Now she travels all over Portugal and Europe writing about what she sees and does and tells you all kinds of fun stories on the podcast at Wandering Works for Us.