25 de Abril Sempre

Today is a holiday in Portugal as it is the date of the revolution that ended the fascist regime in 1974, also known as the Carnation Revolution.
I picked some flowers from the potted carnations, they're not really red (the symbol of the revolution is the red carnation) but they'll have to do.
My father sent me the a link to Grandula Vila Morena and I listened to it in the morning. It was a song forbidden by the regime (it speaks of liberty and fraternity) that was played on the radio as the 2nd signal for the revolutionary army factions. The 1st signal was E depois do adeus, an authorized and less risky song.
1974 was not so long ago and yet people seem have forgotten how regimes come into power, about the censureship, the political police, the torture in prisons.
The incredible rate of progress made in the country in less than a generation also seems forgotten.
Since coming to France I haven't really marked the date. It's usually a week day and with the routine of going to work I forget about it. Besides, it's impossible to find red carnations here in florists. I'm glad I managed to celebrate it this year.

Liberdade