A funny thing happened on the way to the Revolution...

I must say, as revolutions go, the Portuguese "Armed Forces Movement" of 1974 was awesome. And I'm not bragging simply bcz my people rock. The universal forces of history & mathematics back me up. KEY STATISTIC: Number of people killed by revolutionaries: ZERO.

Not one person. You've heard of "bloodless" coups. Well, this uprising came miraculously close. A few people were killed, but not by the military. Members of the secret police, the PIDE, fired into the unarmed crowd. But that shouldn't count-- because the PIDE were always killing people.

Watch the movie: Captains of April. Portuguese w/ English subtitles, available thru Netflix. The love story is weak, as love stories so often are when wedged into epic tales of war, but the rest of the film shines. Produced by Maria Medeiros, who you may remember from PULP FICTION, but more important, she sort of looks like me.

Medeiros totally captures the charisma of the revolutionaries, the mood of the times, and how seriously funny the whole thing turned out to be.

FUNNY? First, tanks stopped at traffic lights. I kid you not. I asked my dad about this. "What the hell kind of revolutionaries stop at traffic lights?" I said.

Jeronimo Vazao was in the military, and served in the same barracks (Caldas da Rainha) as did the Hero of the Film (although at different times). My father's Army class was the last to serve on the mainland; all subsequent enlistments were sent to Africa to fight in the colonial war.

Without looking up from his newspaper, my father answers, "Certainly, the officers stopped at traffic lights. As it should be. Order and discipline." Finally, he puts the paper down. "It was a matter of public safety. You have to respect the laws."

MORE FUNNY: Shortly before some Captains of April were scheduled to take over the government radio station, they locked themselves out of their car. At the time, they were parked, unbeknownst to them, in the most notorious homosexual meeting place in Lisbon. And the young men have to change into their uniforms inside the car. Well.... funniness ensues.

For my info re: My family & the Portuguese Revolution, SEE: Flying to America: Revolution & its Discontents

Flying to America: REVOLUTION & its Discontents

I left Portugal nine days after junior officers led a coup against the semi-fascist regime that had dominated Portugal for decades.

My parents planned to work in America for two years, and save enough to mechanize the Vazao stone-cutting business. Then we would return to Portugal.

But then, the Carnation Revolution happened. And political & economic instability ensued. Thousands of refugees from the Portuguese colonies in Africa flooded into Portugal. Many had lost fortunes, and couldn't find jobs. People were desperate, and running out of patience. They wanted government assistance, and they wanted it NOW. My parents feared a Communist takeover.

My dad had initially supported the revolution, but I hadn't known that as a child. Both my parents seemed arch-conservative to me. Mostly, my mother ranted re: communists & my father said nothing, so I assumed he agreed. Yes, I was naive. But then, I was only four.

By 1976 (two years after the 25 de Abril Revolution), the Communists had gained substantial power among the ruling factions. Local communists (including some distant kin) had led the resistance in Portugal, as local communists had led the resistance against fascism in most countries in Europe. After decades, the Portuguese communists had become disciplined and well-organized compared to centrist and left-of-center factions. In the southern provinces, a few large estates had been invaded by landless peasants & Communist allies. Led by their bishops, Catholic priests preached the imminent threat of a Communist takeover.

Communist-led unions organized strikes, but much of the violence was spontaneous. The poor had been repressed for decades, and many acted recklessly. As my father said, "What does an abused and caged dog do when it escapes? It bites the Master." Given the cold war climate, my parents were terrified.

SEE: NYT Film Review re: Documentary: Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal (1977)

My mother's employment visa to America was sponsored by the Honeywell Corp, or some such. She was a tailor & embroidery teacher, who started her own school. More importantly, she designed wedding dresses and other custom-made garments [see: photo of one of her creations]. We were supposed to settle in Philadelphia.

Instead, we remained in Ossining where my mother had one cousin who had emigrated from Portugal to Brazil, and from Rio to the US. More important, her second cousin also lived there and was available to pick us up at Kennedy airport.

Yes, we have cousins in many cool places, including Paris & Madrid, and, at one time, Mozambique & Angola. The Portuguese are a mobile, swift-footed people. You never know what tomorrow holds. You may have to leave in the middle of the night. Literally, as did our cousins in Angola.

[To be Cont'd]

Want to see a film re: Carnation Revolution? CLICK: A funny thing happened on the way to the Revolution, re: Capitaes de Abril, or Captains of April (available on Netflix!)

STAY TUNED: I made a 10-minute video with still pictures & audio entitled, "Maria Vazao Wills a Miracle" for Oral History class @ Sarah Lawrence. Pictures will be posted. And perhaps audio too.