We were lucky enough to be invited by our friend Séíríóús-Márío Sérgínhó AlánRámós Méndés (but we just call him Alan) to Portugal Day in Kennington Park where we catch a glimpse of Portuguese food, music and best of live entertainment from signed and unsigned talent. Won’t bother hiding it, I was over watchin’ the food!
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Well in terms of food they went all out, there were dozens of stalls representing different Portuguese restaurants in London. The one we went to was called ‘A Toca’ and I was really impressed with the food, I think the best way to describe it is ‘black mans paradise’ there was meat everywhere of all kinds being bbq’d. Some of the best we ate were: pork belly, chorizo Sausages and Octopus Salad. I hate squid so I was a little bit sceptical of eating Octopus under the impression that they would taste the same.. but it was so nice I’m definitely glad I tried it!
The music was great; I like listening to music from different parts of the world because its interesting the different kind of sound people listen to. There were a series of artists who performed and I liked them even though I hadn’t a clue what they were saying. They sung famous songs that the crowd seemed to love as they joined in; it was just a great atmosphere. The artists that I remember most are: Monica Cintra, Sergio Campos and Joao Portugal. Monica sang her rendition of ‘All By Myself’ in Portuguese, which sparked a few flashbacks. Sergio sang a famous song called ‘Mais Que Uma Onda’, which is now part of my music library via iTunes of course… Joao sang ‘Meu Prineiro Beijo’. For popular artists they seemed really friendly, they even came out to take photos and speak to people from the crowd, which most popular artists don’t really do so that was cool of them.
I love events like this where people gather to celebrate their country’s achievements and their culture; I think it’s what some people need to remind themselves of where they come from because in a city as diverse as London it’s so easy to lose yourself. It has become a problem because a lot of young people don’t know or really care about their heritage. Anyone who is Ghanaian will know about ‘Meet Me There’ it’s the same concept: remembering and appreciating your roots; but because its black people it suddenly becomes a party in the park as soon as they’ve waxed down Jollof rice and heard music.. and on that note check out some of the photos I took.
About Yang
There are so many young people in London without the right guidance in life and don’t know where to turn. My dream is to set up my own company lending support, guidance and advice to young people so I can share everything I have learnt and will learn in the future with people who need it. Anyone sharing a similar vision get at me, we need to talk. Follow me on twitter