Carnations and Bridges

Ponte 25 de Abril, crossing the Tejo between Lisboa and Setúbal

I'm always a little disappointed by my children's lack of excitement whenever we have to cross over the river Tejo and use the "Ponte 25 de Abril." I think that it's a stunning bridge; a marvel of modern architecture. It's difficult to see from this picture but underneath the six lanes of roadway suspended from the cables is also a railway leading in both directions. The road has a toll, but only in one direction and so while it is free and easy to get into the Alentejo, heading North into Lisboa usually involves queueing for around half an hour followed by a tax of €1,60 before you are allowed to cross into Lisboa. So anyway, I digress, but like I said, I'm always somewhat perplexed by my children's distinctly nonchalant attitude towards the bridge. I can't help myself though. For some reason, as yet unknown, I like it. I just think that it is a hugely impressive structure. One of those things that you look at and can't help but think of all the hard work that went into it's construction from blueprints to the last can of red paint.

If you remember, not too long ago, I traveled south across the bridge to Setúbal for a football match. The Thursday after that match was April the 25th, which in Portugal is a National Holiday, and not just any National Holiday either, since the bridge is not the only road in Portugal to be named after that date, and in fact, there are many roads and avenues and other places across Portugal sharing this honour.

So I did a little surfing around on Wiki. April the 25th is called the Dia da Liberdade, or sometimes called Carnation Revolution Day, celebrating the day in 1974 when the dictatorial Portuguese government was deposed. This dictatorship was lead by a man named António de Oliveira Salazar for over 50 years until he suffered a stroke in 1968 and was replaced by Marcelo Caetano. During the time of Salazar the Portuguese economy was strong and thriving, in part due to goods such as coffee and oil being produced in the Portuguese colonies in Africa. Unfortunately, the Colonial Wars between the Portuguese Military and various nationalist and guerrilla groups that were forming in response to the Portuguese government's refusal to withdraw from it's colonies after WWII, were becoming an ever increasing expense to maintain. Inevitably the conflict drew to a head with a military coup in 1974 where, accompanied by a surprisingly large civil demonstration in Lisbon, the military officers loaded the barrels of their weapons with carnations as a sign that they refused to fire.

So it came to be, that the very impressive suspension bridge joining Lisbon to the Alentejo, previously named the Salazar Bridge, had it's name plate unceremoniously removed and the words, "Ponte 25 de Abril" daubed in it's place in red paint. At least that's how the story goes. I tried to find a photo of the temporary painted sign as proof, but could not. But it does not matter. The events leading up to the renaming of the bridge only serve to make the bridge itself more important than just a huge mass of red painted steel. It has character and history. The renaming makes the bridge into more than just a means to get over the river. It is a Symbol. And maybe one day my children will be impressed by that.