Os Jovens de Lisboa
On Thursday, August 25th, I met Daniel Barroca, an incredible artist, and filmmaker, in Cacilhas. After lunch, he recommended Casa Da Cerca, a drawing-focused art center in Almada. While searching for the center, a young man named Rui approached me. I accidentally photobombed his picture and was a bit embarrassed turning the corner. He asked me if I spoke some Portuguese. I said just a little and then he proceeded to tell me about a poetry performance that he is hosting right around the corner. I didn’t have any concrete plans that day and felt open to the idea of challenging myself by trying to make sense of Portuguese poetry. So, we exchanged numbers and parted ways until the event time at 16h.
I had no idea what I was getting into and felt ready to sink into the corner and make sense of what I could. Once I found Rui again he was with two other lovely friends, Tiago and Susie. We found a spot to sit by the water and sat in a circle. Rui pulled out his journal and started to read: “I am trying to find this light that will help me discover who I am, my interest in clouds has a deeper reflection of who I am. Do you know who you are? Will we ever truly know who we are? What are the different possible types of creation? One is not more valid than the other. My friend Oriana once told me to be the art. Eu estou não eu sou.”
Susie and I looked at each other like, oh man you are asking the big questions huh, and then Tiago proceeded to name-drop all the theorists you can think of and beautifully integrate and simplify their concepts and how they relate to Rui’s poems and ideas. Tiago then read his poems that talked about his past and future self. He said he has found happiness through existentialism and I later learned about his deep passion for the Portuguese Communist Party and its movement.
About one hour in, I found out that they were just teenagers, 17-19, with great inspiring minds. I was blown away and also a bit hurt that they thought I was around 18…oh well. They told me the origin story of their group; they felt like there weren’t any unfiltered space for artists, thinkers, and writers their age so they just thought—why not create our own biweekly group where we can share and support each other? The motivation to create such a space is incredible. I started to think about myself at age 18 and yeah…I really would try and do the same thing with my friends. We had so much to process about the world and wanted to uplift each other and create space in any way possible. Where did that energy go? Did it ever leave me? If so, how can I get it back?
Thank you, Rui for being so bold and approaching a stranger like me to join your sacred circle. I learned a lot from you all and will continue to let my heart be open and full for young people and their dreams. I really believe in the power of space for young people and want to continue to search for meaningful tactics throughout my year that help young people feel valued and listened to.
