for those of you who don’t speak the language, “a bica está em festa” means “bica is celebrating!”. bica is the name of one neighbourhood in lisbon, a very typical one as alfama, mouraria, graça, and so on, and as a typical neighbourhood, it’s already prepared to receive a full month of popular celebrations! the thing is that in june the whole city celebrates its city holiday, saint anthony’s and with all this comes what we call “santos populares“, which means something like “popular saints”. the whole city comes out to the street to celebrate on the night before the city holiday, on june 13th.
i think that sardines on corn bread and beer is the most popular combo, either on the street or the restaurants. and then my friends… is party all night long. every neighbourhood has live music or just music playing from the windows, and some of those narrow streets are really crowded during that evening. but from my experience, you can avoid extremely crowded streets if you choose carefully the neighbourhood to celebrate with your friends! and for a few years bica has been my choice! bica is small for what i know, and the main street is this one below with the yellow tram! this street has several bars and small restaurants and it’s perfect to be outside chatting with your friends, while you listen to the music coming out from windows and those bars.
during the day bica has some tourists because of this yellow tram going up and down, and the street itself is full of typical aspects like the black lamps, crocheted curtains, small doors, clothing lines… and when you explore more, you find yourself on not so narrow streets, but oh so typical. and it gets even more typical with all the garlands, banners and flower decor that come out with these popular celebrations. i see these streets and these details, and all i can think of is summer nights, sardines, salad, beer and friends hanging out together. i believe that even the city smells differently during this time of the year. it’s all about the celebrations!
as i may have shared last year, another thing happening in lisbon during these celebrations are the popular marches organized by each neighbourhood, which will compete with all the others. of course that there are some neighbourhoods known for this event as they win quite a lot, year after year, but it’s quite interesting to notice that among such a beautiful and modern city, one that has won several prizes for european getaways, it’s also so traditional and particularly on this day, each neighbourhood is like a village itself. people living on those neighbourhoods usually have a strong bond with it and wouldn’t move to any other place in the city.
and another thing that has become a tradition is that in the previous months to this celebration, there is a competition about sardines. as the sardine is the actual symbol of these celebrations since 2003, illustrators and designers from all over the country and the world as well, are invited to draw a sardine and make it special. you can check the ones that entered the competition here and the winners here!
and these are the stories for today! not a local markets feature, but stories from lisbon to celebrate this month of celebrations! so as i told you i’m going away today on vacations, this is the post that i leave you with, so that you can feel the excitement about being in lisbon in june! as usual, the blog will be quiet for a few days, but i hope to come back with lots of new photos from the so called paradise! enjoy and once again thank you so much for all your support!
ps. check the new prints on the shop!
MissLilly says
(sorry this one has to be in Portuguese) aiii que saudades!!! Tenho imensas saudades mesmo de ver a Bica assim colorida! E a minha altura preferida do ano em Lisboa, adoro o cheiro, adoro as cores, lindo e unico!!! Que fotos maravilhosas, adorei todas elas! que luz fantastica, cheira mesmo a verao
twiggs says
olá olá! chego um pouco tarde mas chego para te responder! adorei o teu comentário em português! lisboa é de facto uma cidade mágica e claro que quando se está fora, ainda se tem mais saudades! um grande beijinho!
Ana says
Great pictures.
You make this time of the year come to life!
A Bica é linda! (insert typical shouted words here!)
twiggs says
thank you ana!!! your words are so good to read! and yes, bica is amazing!!! ;)
sara (sushi lover) says
eu cá adoro os santos populares porque é a noite véspera do meu aniversário! há lá melhor maneira de celebrar um aniversário do que com a cidade toda em festa? só que este ano a cidade é outra, com outras festas! beijinhos e boas férias!
twiggs says
ah então isso ainda é melhor!!!! celebrar um aniversário com a cidade inteira a celebrar também é um luxo ;)beijinho grande e espero que tenhas tido um dia muito muito feliz!
suzie says
love those trams! I’m still hoping to visit Lisbon later this year :)
twiggs says
these trams are so charming, right? ;)
Traveling Mama says
It looks magical and like so much fun!
twiggs says
thank you so much my friend!
Saturine says
All your photos of Lisbon encourage and motivate me to save to travel. Have a lovely holiday, Claudia!
twiggs says
and i just hope you can come over and see it through your own eyes!!
northern ca girl says
You are a one woman tourism industry for Lisbon! All the pictures are inspiring and so beautiful!
Yours is one of my favorite sites that I subscribe to. Hat’s off to you. : )
twiggs says
whow THANK YOU so much!! your words just made my day and made me smile! thank you so much for taking the time!
Stephanie says
Lovely photos, it looks amazing!
Enjoy your trip!
ma-bicyclette.blogspot.com
twiggs says
thank you stephanie!!! have a lovely day!
Fiona says
E que linda é a Bica e a cidade de Lisboa em festa :)
twiggs says
olá fiona!! é verdade, lisboa em festa é uma verdadeira delícia! :) cheira a verão e adoro lisboa no verão! até porque é quando está mais calma!
Teresa says
Portugal tem tanta relíquia guardada :))
twiggs says
olá teresa!!! tem muitas relíquias mesmo! e às vezes é só preciso abrir mais os olhos!