The good ol' & new stories of Ericeira
Jagozes, the people of the sea
Those born in the village of Ericeira, are called “Jagozes” - they are the “people of the sea”.
For the fishermen, there are only two seasons: the “berão” (summer from May – October) and the “imberno” (winter from November – April).
The typical Ericeira-morning-fog, which you might have noticed, is called “néuba” by the fishermen. There always has been someone in the village to say “the sky is still going to open today”, and usually around midday it dissipates, with a radiant sun showing up.
1924 – 2020
Fishermen & surfers' heads in the wave foam
José Caré, a past local government official, perfectly remembers the “cultural shock” that Jagozes had when the first Australian surfers came to Praia dos Pescadores in the 60s:
“We had a saying for shipwreck dramas, according to which a man who appears with his head in the middle of the wave foam is a dead man.
But here come the kangaroo country's sons, they surf and get close to the rocks. It was kind of a shock, they were the new supermen of today's movie fiction.
I even heard a very funny comment from an older fisherman: If we knew how to ride those things, when the sea is very rough, we'd leave the boat far away and come back to land on these scooters.
Ericeira was always of the sea, for the sea and by the sea. In the worst times, it was always by the sea that it found economic relaunch. Surfing is the latest example. And no one foresaw it.”
1933 – 2024
Fishermen's methodology of finding nicknames
Matalonga, an old fisherman of Ericeira, explains: “In the old days, everyone had nicknames. Sometimes we didn't even know people's real names. And the old folks, when they were at sea, didn't use GPS - everything was done by land signals. A mountain, here above São Lourenço, has a land signal which is called Matalonga.”
With shiny eyes and a smile he says: “So then I was very small, still am today, and I was always on the beach with the lifeguards — I was very naughty, and they would bury me in the sand up to my neck. Since only my head would appear, they said: It looks like the Matalonga signal.”
And so the name by which everyone knew him was imprinted in time and voices.
1935 – 2022
Going back to the place of happy childhood memories
Paula Rego, the most celebrated Portuguese painter in the world, had a special connection to Ericeira.
Her son says, Ericeira was where she loved to be as a child and the place where she had the happiest times of her life. It's where she moved when she first got together with her husband, had her first daughter, and where she established herself as a great painter.
There's even a documentary movie about her life, in which you'll find more hints about how our village impacted her emotionally and artistically.
1940 – today
A calm volcano of authenticity
Nana da Repolha started selling at the fish market in Ericeira when she was 10 years old and earned 10 cents a day.
She comes from a time when two families lived in one house, from a time when it was normal to ask: “Mum, when is Sunday? I want to eat a 15-cents steak.”
Her nickname dates back to her great-grandmother's time and has been passed down until reaching her - officially she's Maria Fernanda Serra Silva. Until today, she's like a calm volcano of authenticity and undoubtedly a woman of action.
1942
Dancing connected jagozes with refugees
In 1940 Ericeira had 3,100 inhabitants. Many survived on artisanal fishing and during the Summer months rented out their houses to upper-class families.
In 1942 however, more and more refugees from World War II came to Ericeira, as Portugal was neutral in the war.
People of many nationalities, professions and social classes arrived by bus, got off at Praça da República (today Pão da Vila) and found refuge at Pensão Morais on Rua Miguel Bombarda (today where Jukebox is).
It was at the dance events that women from abroad went to pick up foreign and local men. Music and dance reduced the cultural and social distance that existed between both. Fritz Teppich was one of them and wrote a book about it: “A Refugee in Ericeira”.
2014
Kelly Slater can afford to wreck an SUV
On the finals' day of the world tour event in Peniche in 2014, Kelly Slater came down to Ericeira with a goal in mind: to surf the heaviest wave on our Jagoza coast: Cave. It was supposed to be a discreet mission.
But Kelly is THE goat; a 11x-World Champion. So word got around and in the end some people gathered to watch nothing less than a legendary surf sesh. Two friends tell the story about this afternoon:
“As we walk the dusty trails around Cave that day, an SUV is coming in our direction, speeding recklessly through the lumpy dirt track.
This guy is going to wreck the car - Hugo says. Don't worry, it's probably Kelly Slater, he can afford another one - I joke.
Either way, nothing seems to slow down the car. When it's just a few feet away, I glance at the driver and recognise a tanned face with a bald head hiding under a cap. He looks at me and waves. I wave back, yet keep my arm up a few seconds longer. Did I just hallucinate? Perhaps it was a ghost? Nah. There's no doubt in my mind: Mate, he really is Kelly Slater!”
Today
Support the ones who know the ol' stories
If you want to hear more stories like that, support Hugo and his team from Azul magazine and get the print version. Let's keep them alive in our minds!
