Avieiros, Today
No. 65 AUGUST 2022
This book tells the story of one of the most striking internal migratory movements in the recent history of the country: that of fishermen from Vieira beach, who traded in the sea for the River Tagus.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the rough seas forced hundreds of fishing families from Praia da Vieira (Leiria) to look for alternatives to traditional trawl fishing on the Portuguese coast, known as xávega fishing, impossible to engage in safely and to make a profit during the harsh winter. They found it in the river fishing in the River Tagus and started one of the most striking internal migratory movements in recent history of Portugal: first moving between one and the other (winter in the river, summer on the sea), and then finally settling in the Ribatejo.
This fusion gave rise to a unique, but very marginalised riverside culture, with its own characteristics – boats, houses, gastronomy and religion – which the neo-realist writer Alves Redol wrote about in 1942. Today, there are still some traces of this culture on the banks of the River Tagus and on Vieira beach. Taking a leaf out of Alves Redol’s book, this set of texts goes in search of them, before they disappear.
This book tells the story of one of the most striking internal migratory movements in the recent history of the country: that of fishermen from Vieira beach, who traded in the sea for the River Tagus.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the rough seas forced hundreds of fishing families from Praia da Vieira (Leiria) to look for alternatives to traditional trawl fishing on the Portuguese coast, known as xávega fishing, impossible to engage in safely and to make a profit during the harsh winter. They found it in the river fishing in the River Tagus and started one of the most striking internal migratory movements in recent history of Portugal: first moving between one and the other (winter in the river, summer on the sea), and then finally settling in the Ribatejo.
This fusion gave rise to a unique, but very marginalised riverside culture, with its own characteristics – boats, houses, gastronomy and religion – which the neo-realist writer Alves Redol wrote about in 1942. Today, there are still some traces of this culture on the banks of the River Tagus and on Vieira beach. Taking a leaf out of Alves Redol’s book, this set of texts goes in search of them, before they disappear.
More details
Dimensions
7 × 130 × 200 mm
ISBN
978-989-9064-65-2
Book available only in Portuguese
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