“It’s being in Brazil. That’s what I hear most here” — what the party was like in Braga

The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.

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Held this Saturday, Brazil Day is one of the main events for Brazilians in Braga. Stalls with food from different states, music, entertainment, socializing and football. Alexandra Gomide, president of UAI Associationwhich organizes Brazil Day, tells how people feel about the event. “It’s being in Brazil. That’s what I hear most here. There are Brazilians who have been in Braga for 20 or 30 years and say they have never felt as much in Brazil as they do today”, he reports.

She attributes the connection people feel to the way the event is organized. “People go to the stalls and have the state’s food, the state’s accent, the state’s clothing. This is very strong,” she says.

Here are some of the Brazilians who attended Brazil Day.

Divine calling

Milena Ferreira, 28, from Pernambuco, left Recife and came to Portugal eight months ago. “I came for a personal purpose. It was because of my faith. It was a calling from God. We wanted to leave the country and, through a dream, God confirmed us. I chose Portugal because I have family here”, says Milena, who didn’t want to take a photo.

In Brazil, she was a mattress entrepreneur and now she is a housewife. When asked how she sees herself in five years, she responds. “I have training as an accountant and financial manager and I am open and available for whatever comes my way,” she says.

quiet life

Marcelo de Biasi, 52, from São Paulo, has been in Braga for six years, after leaving the credit card company Cielo. “I left the company to come here. It was for the quality of life. In Brazil, I worked a lot, earned well, but I didn’t live. On top of everything, there was insecurity”, he emphasizes.

One of the reasons he decided to leave was his family. “We thought our children were old enough to make the change. They were 14 and 9 years old,” she adds.

Comparing Braga with São Paulo, he prefers the Portuguese city. “I really like the city. It has everything, but it’s small. Nothing is missing. There is a lot to do that there isn’t in São Paulo, a lot of things for free. There’s not much to do there, except go to the mall”, he concludes.

Travel agent

Belém native Valéria Borges, 32, was in a tent with leaflets from the travel agency she works for. “I came to Portugal because it was already in my planning to move to a country with a better quality of life than I had in Brazil”, she remembers.

In Pará, she already worked at a travel agency. In Braga, she says she gained quality of life, security and purchasing power. “The salary here isn’t the highest, but I have purchasing power that I didn’t have in Brazil. I see taxes applied here on the streets, in security. Here, I can make a monthly purchase without spending half my salary, as happened in Brazil. So it was worth coming,” she says.

Cheaper

Hand in hand, the couple Gabriela Pereira and Vítor Dias chose Portugal as their second option. “We were going to Canada, but we decided to come to Portugal because of the cost. In Canada it was necessary to have R$ 150 thousand (25 thousand euros) and, in Portugal, only R$ 15 thousand (2.5 thousand euros), the equivalent of three minimum wages”, says Gabriela.

Currently, Gabriela works as a machine operator at Bosch, in Braga – in Brazil, she was a security camera monitor. Vítor, in Portugal, drives an app car. “In Brazil, he was a fight teacher, businessman, physical education teacher,” he says.

Gabriela explains why they chose Braga. “Braga is calmer, it has more security. We fled Porto and Lisbon. We knew that these cities were very busy and very large”, adds Vítor.

Improve your life

Six months ago in Braga, Maurício dos Santos, 35, from Bahia, left his job at a supermarket in Porto Seguro. “I came to look for a better opportunity, to have a better quality of life”, he highlights.

Unlike many Brazilians in Braga, he says he didn’t come for security. “In Porto Seguro, there is no such problem,” he says.

Currently working as a production operator, Maurício is evaluating the move to Portugal. “It was much better, here there are opportunities to achieve things if we work. There, there weren’t any. The only regret I have is not having come sooner”, he adds.

Piano lessons

Six and a half years ago, pianist Fernanda Machado, 47, left Pelotas for Braga. “What made us come was security. Pelotas became a very dangerous city. I have an 11-year-old son, and we wanted an environment where he could grow up without walking down the street in fear,” she recalls.

Now, Fernanda works giving piano lessons to the Portuguese and online to other countries. “I have students in the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Italy. I don’t depend on the local economy,” she explains.

Marriage

Liana Leonel, 59, from Minas Gerais, left Belo Horizonte for love five years ago. “Not because of work. I got married, it was my second marriage, and my husband is the son of a Portuguese man, who had lived in Portugal for 20 years”, she says.

In Brazil, she left two daughters, friends and two granddaughters. “What I miss most are my granddaughters,” she says.

Working as a beautician in Portugal, the same profession she had in Brazil, she says she is happy with the change. “In Braga, I have tranquility, quality of life, air quality and peace. It’s much better than in Brazil”, she emphasizes. .