This picture was taken by Paulo Santos in the Bairro Alto.
Bairro Alto is an area of central Lisbon.
Nowadays, it functions as a residential, shopping and entertainment district. Bairro Alto is one of the oldest districts of Lisbon. Dozens of fado singing clubs animated the area. All the major Portuguese newspapers had their offices in there. Prostitution was visible and considerable.
Since the 1990s, Bairro Alto went through major changes. Lisbon's city council made extensive repairs, and dozens of new restaurants, clubs and trendy shops were opened. Many young people moved into the area. Cars were banned (except for residents and emergency vehicles). Today, Bairro Alto (or just Bairro) is the heart of Lisbon's youth culture and nightlife. Lisbon's punk, gay, heavy metal music, goth, hip hop and reggae scenes all have the Bairro as their home, due to the number of clubs and bars dedicated to each of them. During daytime, the Bairro is a traditional district where older people shop for groceries, and the younger generations visit art galleries like Zé dos Bois, bookshops like Ler Devagar or arty gift shops like Hold Me.
Despite the heavy police presence, illegal drugs are sold in the streets. In 1995, a group of far-right skinheads attacked and killed Alcino Monteiro, a Portuguese citizen of African origin. This zone struggles with a problem of vandalism, with graffiti destroying historical buildings, such as the birthplace of Fernando Pessoa.
17 comments:
Paulo took an awesome photo of this homeless man! It was my hobby, years ago, to photograph homeless people in Boston. Even today, I take such photos, but not obsessively as I used to.
Thank you for the history of Bairro Alto!
I'm to shy to photograph people, but here's another one for you from Paulo: http://lisboa366.blogspot.com/2008/02/47-yeah-its-been-hard-days-night.html
That's a great photo, indeed. Thanks for linking to the other one (those shopping carts are quite different from the ones we have here, btw).
Some areas prove quite difficult to manage, but they also provide a lot of "color" to the city. We have a couple of such areas here, as well.
this really is a wonderful photo... the man looks full of 'life'.
Very interesting history of this district, it sounds like a place we want to visit and explore, your picture of this man is extraordinary! Cheers.
excelente, muito bem conseguida a imagem.
Sounds very much like some of the changes here. Lively shot of the homeless man, considering his circumstances! Loved the pics of the dogs.
É a dura realidade. Apesar de ser de Setúbal, não conheço o Bairro Alto.
I knew well this "Hight Quarter", when I studied at the nearby Commercial Institute, and at the National Conservatory, right in its heart. It was, as it is now, a poor zone, although now some fashion shops and expensive restaurants paint the zone with a fake cultural glamour..
Eu acho é que para mostrar lá para fora o que há de negativo em Portugal já tem sido mais que suficiente a imprensa inglesa (neste caso, com muita mentira à mistura), não é precisa a ajuda de neo-realistas portugueses. Há tanta coisa bonita e positiva para mostrar em Lisboa.
Olha, olha ... tu demasiado tímida, ó atrevidota?
Eu sei da propriedade alheia.
A fotógrafa compensa o resto.
Não te deixes enredar por coisas menores ... o que existe, existe!
TANTA CASA SEM GENTE!
TANTA GENTE SEM CASA!
Uma por dia!!! Estou neste momento a organizar a lista de músicas!! Diz-me músicas e estilos que gostas para eu por!! Beijinho!
LOL!!!
That's «Didi», a beautiful music from the soundtrack of «Querido Diário» (Dear Diary)!!! LOOL
Now I put the Phantom of the Opera.
But I'll try to put some soft musics so that you don't have a lot of noise!!!
(when I'm fed up at work I turn out loud the banda da Armada!!!)
N�o fa�o a m�nima ideia mas OBVIAMENTE vou tentar saber!!! Que interessante! At� qu'enfim algu�m ousado numa terra em que tudo � proibido!!! (sempre que vejo um piano sento-me e tento tocar, pessimamente, mas tento)
PEPSI and homeless people are nowadays EVERYWHERE!
Very nice 'street' shot!
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