Europe in Brussels part 20: The city's thriving Portuguese community

Your neighbourhood pastelaria may have a longer wait this weekend as Belgium’s Portuguese community prepares to celebrate the Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities.

Portugal’s national day is meant to commemorate Portuguese poet Luís Vaz de Camões, who died on 10 June 1580.

According to 2016 statistics, approximately 38.000 Portuguese expats are currently living in Belgium, and their impact can be easily seen.

The Brussels area specifically has been shaped by the large presence of Portuguese expats. Examples of their impact can be found all around, from Saint-Gilles to the Dailly neighbourhood of Schaerbeek, and the bust of another Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa at Place Flagey.

Many ways to celebrate

And while there are many people from Portugal living in Belgium you may not find them celebrating the same way, says Portuguese national José Guimarães.

Guimarães has been living in Brussels since 2013 and works as a consultant. He says that because the day celebrates one's own national identity, celebrations seem to take their own form.

“I have to admit that I never make any specific plans or plan any celebrations for the Portuguese national holiday,” he says. “I think it’s a day that everyone celebrates in a different way.”

While Guimarães choses to celebrate the day in a more pensive manner, other expats of Portugal may be found at different Portuguese restaurants, cafés and bakeries.

“We have a huge Portuguese community here in Brussels, like we have in most francophone countries, and every year there’s a big party somewhere,” he says. “This year it will be at Bois de la Cambre.” The big celebration will be held on Sunday 11 June, despite the holiday falling the day before.

Guimarães says that Portuguese patriotism runs deep but remains humble. “We are our own worst critics, so to speak,” he says. “There are some countries that no matter how bad they are they say they’re the best, we are the opposite… at the same time we are also very self-aware, very much aware that we are one of the oldest nations in Europe. We have a very long, and to an extent, proud history.”

Camões is not just a day to celebrate Portugal but people of Portuguese descent around the world. Guimarães says in Portugal, news stations will send journalists around the world to show how prevalent Portuguese expats are in different communities, especially Francophone countries like Canada, France and, of course, Belgium.

Portuguese at heart

Guimarães says that no matter where you go, one thing you can be sure to find in Portuguese people is their warm demeanour. “I think Portuguese people have a very special personal warmth,” he says. “But it has a different texture.”

It may be this warmth that give expats from Portugal the feeling of “saudade”. This is a word, according to Guimarães, that exists only in Portuguese, which seems to be best described as nostalgia mixed with longing and fondness.

This may be why many Portuguese expats find themselves going back to their roots. Guimarães says he tries to go home about three times a year.

And even if you’re not Portuguese, Guimarães says visiting Portugal is a trip worth taking. “If you have the opportunity, and I would seize it, to visit Portugal I can tell you that you will not be disappointed,” he says. “I think quite the contrary, you might fall in love.”