Author: Alexandre Rodrigues

The coup of December 1, 1640, ended sixty years of Spanish rule. It began with farce and violence: Miguel de Vasconcelos, the hated Secretary of State, was killed in a closet and thrown out the window. This was a conservative aristocratic coup, not a popular revolution, that restored Portuguese independence.

In 1893, Albert Robida published "Le Vingtième Siècle. La vie électrique," imagining France in 1952. Amidst flying airplanes and biological warfare, he predicted something extraordinary: virtual social networks through the "telephonoscope." It took 130 years, but he was right.

On February 1, 1908, King Carlos I and the Crown Prince were assassinated in Terreiro do Paço. The tragedy that should have shaken Portugal was met with indifference. The people did not wear mourning clothes, there was no revolt. This coldness revealed something irreversible: a country that no longer recognized its kings.

In March 1886, Lisbon panicked. The world's greatest opera star was about to arrive at the São Carlos Theatre, but tickets had sold out in 48 hours, and rumors circulated about her decline. At 43, could Adelina Patti still enchant? The city was divided between adoration and skepticism.

Little Walter revolutionized the art of the circus by transforming the clown Auguste into an unpredictable and profoundly human character. From poverty to stardom, from war to longing, this is the story of Alexandre Ulrich and his deep connection to Portugal.