"We are the last generation" bringing in the catch at Angeiras

"We are the last generation" said Dona Fatima. She was perhaps 70, quick to smile and happy to talk. I noticed her as I passed by the fishermen's cottages of Angeiras, a small town just 15 kilometres from Porto. She sat in the open doorway of her family's storage unit, waiting for her husband to return with the catch. Her family have fished here for generations but as she explained "The young people don't want to do this work. It is hard and dangerous, they want to do other things".

Dona Fatima

The grey, sea-fretted morning reminded me of my home town on England's north-east coast, where there was once a thriving fishing fleet, but where today there are only a handful of boats. It also reminded me that there is no guarantee of sunshine on Portugal's Atlantic coast during June. The importance of fishing  to Angeiras is emphasised by the paraphernalia stored along the pathway at the edge of the beach. Nets, baskets and flags used to mark the pots left at sea are piled up waiting for use or repair. A black and white cat roamed the nets, looking for tasty scraps and grew angry when one of the locals stroked her tail. Other less active (or maybe less hungry) felines dozed, waiting for the boats to return, knowing they would be thrown the rejected fish from the early morning catch.

Year-round fishing began here at the beginning of the twentieth century  Prior to this, activity was seasonal and related to agricultural work. Small crabs and seaweed were gathered for use as fertilisers. Today's fishing activity includes the catch of pout, bass and octopus. According to a sign on the beach pathway, the sardines and shrimps caught here are considered to be the best in Portugal. The beach is known as Praia des Pescadores, or, the beach of the fishermen.

Dona Fatima was not the only one waiting for the boats. Small groups clustered around the cottages, talking, smoking and hoping that there had been a successful morning's work. Most of the people I met were in their sixties or older, all of them friendly, talkative and happy to be photographed (thank you Signors Salvador, Fonseca and José). Most of their families have been involved in fishing for generations but one young man said he had previously been a carpenter. Corsino Benjamin's uncle was a fisherman and he decided to join him some years ago. Since then he has remained working with the uncle, his aunt and his own wife, Eugenia, only occasionally practising carpentry. 

The boats come in one by one. They are first brought to the water's edge and then pulled along the beach by tractor. In the past this task was carried out by villagers who dragged the boats in by hand. One boat had recently been painted and left a colourful trail on the sand.  Once the boats were sited, the village women emerged and quickly began sorting and cleaning the fish, preparing it for sale at the nearby market. Meanwhile, the men checked and repaired the nets - there is a clear division of labour with "men's work" and "women's work".

Few of the men were happy and most reported a poor catch. Aurelio, also in his sixties said "the fish here were once plentiful but not today". He was removing the small fish that had become stuck in the net, rejecting most of them and throwing them to the waiting cats and seagulls who rushed forward to pick up the treats. From time to time squabbles broke out between the birds as one hungry gull tried to snatch food from the beak of another.

Signor Aurelio

Signor Salvador

Signor Fonseca

Signor José

Angeiras has several places to eat. The street behind the fishermen's cottages is lined with cafes and restaurants. Most of them specialise in fish and sea food but good coffee and the ubiquitous pastel de nata can also be found at the Doce Mar (sweet sea) cafe. On the day of my visit, numerous backpackers sat outside the cafes, some of them in pairs, most of them alone. All were participants in the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, heading for Santiago de Compostela in Spain.There is also has a small but busy indoor fish market where hoteliers, restauranteurs and local families come to make their purchases. The market boasts two delicatessens that sell local cheeses, meat and wine. 

Dona Olindina was selling shellfish from a tiny stall outside one of the restaurants. It's hard to believe she can make a living from this and I wondered if it's something she does in order to keep active and to remain in contact with other people. She nodded and called out "bom dia" (good morning) in response to my greeting. After asking me about my work and family she became philosophical "I'm 82 now. I've bought a plot for my burial. My husband is already there. I don't think we (humans) are really from here. Maybe we are from heaven and when we die we go back there". 

Dona Olindina

I don't often find myself in front of the camera, but I was accompanied in Angeiras by José of Picture Photo Tours in Porto. He assisted me in engaging with the people I met and also took a few shots of me, including the one below, in which I am a little directive! Details of his services are available here.

Picture Post 73 - An Art Nouveau Warehouse in a Porto Alley

Last week in Porto, each morning at 10.30, I had coffee and a Pastel de nata at the C'alma Speciality Coffee Room on Rua de Passos Manuel. This small cafe is tucked away on the ground floor of the Porto Commercial Athenaeum gentlemen's club, established 150 years ago and which today hosts occasional concerts and group tours. On my last morning in Porto I took a different route to C'alma and discovered a piece of the city's history.

Just a few steps away from my morning coffee, I noticed a single storey building with an art nouveau facade. The Depósito de Sola e Cabedaes is the former warehouse of what was once once an extremely successful shoe parts supplier. The company was founded in 1887 by Adriano Vieira da Silva, whose name is inscribed on the decorative tiles at the top of the facade. These premises were inaugurated in 1917 and are an example of late art nouveau. The design features floral flourishes, classical references with small pillars and discs, and stained glass windows, the colours of which brighten when they watch the sun. The building incorporated modern design ideas including skylights that maximised the use of natural light and air circulation equipment which helped prevent deterioration of the stock. This approach was carried through into service and the staff were known to be polite and knowledgeable.

Da Silva was born in Santarém in 1869 and came to Porto at a young age, initially finding work as a clerk. He went on to establish a successful business and to have a career in politics. He was a member of the Portuguese Republican Party and a close friend of its leader, and three times Prime Minister, Afonso Costa. From 1919-1926, Da Silva served as administrator of the Gondomar municipality, just outside Porto. 

The April 1917 edition of the Illustraçáo Portuguesa magazine marked the inauguration of the premises saying "we can consider today that this is the biggest and most complete (shoe parts supplier) of Portugal and all of the Peninsula". An extensive range of products was offered, including leather, suede, soles, glues, laces, buckles, waxes, polishes and insoles. The company was the main supplier for cobblers, leather workers, bag makers and other artisans. 

Over time low-priced competition from overseas and the decline of the tanning industry in Portugal impacted on the business and it closed its doors for the last time in 2016. The building appears to be well maintained with only a small amount of graffiti but stands empty, in a side-alley, waiting to be brought back into use. Similar premises in Porto are now serving as cafes, restaurants or cultural venues. I'd happily have my coffee and pastry in the old warehouse on my next visit.

Porto Art Deco

Porto is best known for its long seafaring tradition, beautiful bridges and production of port wine.  There also also other treasures, not least a collection of fabulous art deco buildings, which can be found throughout the city. My recent visited was marked by several days of rain but the skies brightened long enough for me to search out and admire some of Porto's best examples of art deco and modernism. 

Estacao de serviço Passos Manuel

Estacao de serviço Passos Manuel

Coliseu do Porto

Rua de Passos Manuel in the city centre is home to two stunning deco buildings. The Coliseu do Porto theatre and the Estacao de servico Passos Manuel look at each other from opposite sides of the street. Whilst many cities have art deco theatres, fewer have garages built in this style. The Estacao opened in 1939 with three parking levels and shops on the ground floor. The facade is delightful, boasting speed stripes, a glazed stairwell, portholes, a flag pole and a neon map of Portugal. As if this isn't enough there are also a couple of "elephant trunks" fins and changing depths with recessed upper levels.  Designed by architect Mario de Abreu, the garage continues to be used for its original purpose but also houses Maus Habitos, a cultural organisation with a gallery, bar, restaurant and panoramic views of the city. I tried to sneak a look at the neon map from inside the building but found it screened off, I assume as protection against damage.

Coliseu do Porto

Coliseu do Porto

Abreu was also involved in designing the Coliseu do Porto, directly opposite the Estacao de Servico, working with two other stellar Portuguese architects - Cassiano Branco and Julio Jose de Brito. Occupying a larger footprint than the garage, the Coliseu really does have it all. It is a deco dream with portholes, columns, recessed elements, fins, stylised lettering and my favourite feature - those eight purely decorative discs at the summit of the partially glazed tower. Fabulous.

Originally commissioned to a group of Portuguese and Dutch architects, Branco assumed overall responsibility for the design in 1939, managing it to completion in 1941. Long one of the city's premier cultural buildings, the Coliseu was almost sold to a Brazilian evangelical church in 1995. However, several thousand people took to the streets to protest the sale, resulting in Government and Mayoral intervention to halt the sale and pass the building to community management where it remains today.

A fire in 1996 caused internal damage and the Coliseu did not re-open until 1998. Since then it has staged many concerts including appearances by Omara Portuondo of Buena Vista Social Club fame, Fado singer Ana Moura, jazz vocalist Anthony Strong and Brazilian musicians Joao So and Gal Costa. The main auditorium has a seating capacity of 2955 with space for 3500 standing.

Teatro Rivoli

Cinema Batalha

The Coliseu is not the only art deco style theatre in the city centre. The Teatro Rivoli in Rua do Bonjardim opened in 1913 and was remodelled in the 1920's in the art deco style under the direction of architect Julio Jose de Brito.  In addition to theatre and cinema the remodelled Rivoli offered opera, dance and music. de Brito came from an artistic family and was the son of painter Jose de Brito.  He trained at the School of Fine Arts of Porto, enrolling in 1910 before continuing his studies at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto.

The Cinema Batalha comes from a later period. Designed by Arturo Andrade and completed in 1947 in streamline moderne style, it is arranged over four storeys of a trapezoid shaped structure. The facade has exquisite windows that run the full length of the upper floors along the two points facing a public square, meeting in a superb curved corner. It also has a raised marble relief, the work of sculptor Americo Braga. The cinema reached its heyday in the 1960's but by the 1980's, like cinemas around the world it suffered from falling audiences, eventually closing in 2003 before re-opening as a music and events venue in 2003. At the time of my visit the Batalha looked neglected and possibly abandoned with rubbish on the steps and rough sleepers on one corner. A Portuguese language blog refers to parties being organised in the building and the risk of damage but I have been unable to find more details. It is to be hoped that this beautiful building can be properly cared for and retained for public use.

Cinema Batalha

Club Fluvial Portuense

Another stunning deco building lies a short distance from the city centre on the opposite side of the River Douro. The Vila Nova de Gaia district is home to many of the producers of Port including Sandeman, whose building has an outline of the famous caped man who features in their marketing material and reminds me of the brand's TV adverts from the 1960's. The Club Fluvial Portuense is a short step from Sandemans. Founded in 1876 it is the city's oldest sports club and one of the oldest in Portugal. The club now operates from a modern site outside of the central zone but the old building is another art deco beauty with a gorgeous green and white facade complete with portholes, balconies , flagpole and tiny discs flanking the central tower. The upper level also carries the club's name in stylised lettering. There is a restaurant on the first floor and if you step into the ground floor lobby there are art deco tiles with aquatic scenes.

It has been difficult to find firm details about the date of construction but the building commenced operating in 1948 - rebuilt after an earlier building was damaged or destroyed in 1932.  Anyone with further information or who knows who the architect was is encouraged to add the details in the comments section below!

Back on the other side of the river but even further away from the centre of town the Hotel Vincci Porto is housed in yet another terrific deco building. Now a stylish hotel it started life as a large fish market - surely the most stylish one ever to be built? Transformed into a hotel in 2005, it has retained the external deco features including fins, a clock tower, neon lighting units and sculpted panels. The hotel also has a good restaurant with design references to the deco style and a modern bar  at raised level in the enormous lobby. Both are open to non-guests and are worth a visit if you go to admire the architecture. And in case you are wondering there's not even a whiff of fish now.

Designed by Januario Godhino de Almeida the building was completed in 1934 it was declared a national monument in 1977. de Almeida was another graduate of the Porto School of Fine Arts and went on to design many other buildings here and in other Portuguese cities, including residential, commercial and civic structures. The conversion to an hotel was carried out by Portuguese architect Jose Carlos Cruz.

Hotel Vincci

Hotel Vincci

And so to my favourite Porto art deco building. Armazens Cunhas is a department store in Praca de Gomes Teixeira. A striking building in its own right it stands in sharp contrast to the neighbouring monumental structures such as the Carmo church, the exterior of which is partially covered in beautiful blue and white azulejos. The footprint of Armazens Cunhas encompasses three 19th century buildings joined together and given a deco facade. The work took from 1933-36 and was a collaboration between three architects - Manuel Marques, Amoroso Lopes and Coelho Freitas. Marques is perhaps the best known of the three. A bit of a child prodigy, he enrolled at our favourite school - the Porto Fine Arts Academy in 1902 at the age of just 12, continuing his education in Paris after the First World War. On his return to Portugal he worked with a variety of architects including Julio Jose de Brito, author of the Teatro Rivoli as well as serving on the city council's aesthetics committee.  

Armazens (which means warehouses) looks great at any time but when the sun comes out it is truly stunning with the deco style lettering, vertical light boxes, a pair of balconies running the full length of the building and of course, its crowning glory, the green peacock. Fabulous. 

Armazenas Cunhas

Armazenas Cunhas

Porto has many other art deco and modernist buildings - too many to fit into a very short visit, which of course means I will have to return and seek them out. In the meantime I will leave you with this modernist building which I came across by chance and that would not look out of place amongst Tel Aviv's many buildings in this style. It is in Rua do Guerra Junqueiro, built in 1934 and designed by Jorge Manuel Viana. 

Private home, Rua do Guerra Junqueiro

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