CRISTÓVÃO COLOMBO Filmes do Tejo
I have fixed on the signature I shall always use from now on.
An X with an S above it, An M with a Roman A on top,
And, above the A, an S.
And then a Y, with an S on top
with rays and commas as I do here.
And it will appear in all my signatures, from which many will derive.
And they will all look like this one.
This navigator, the one we are used to calling Columbus,
was never so called in his lifetime.
In every document he signed, in letters addressed to him,
and articles written by contemporary chroniclers,
he was always Christopher Colon.
Contrary to what is widely believed, Columbus was not from Genoa.
And the name - Colon ? he was never christened that.
It was given him later from the Greek for a phallic symbol, some say.
Which, according to some, is the divine protector of virgin causes.
Afonso D'Ornelas came to the conclusion
that the same documents are often used by different authors
to prove entirely opposing theories.
Each nation's interest in claiming Christopher Colon as its son,
makes them obscure certain facts and twist others
to make it impossible for him to have been born anywhere
but in their country.
Fortunately, today, History is dealt with differently,
because there are those who value truth above all else.
EMIGRATING - 1946
You know, Hermínio,
this king was Joâo the Good, the one of happy memory,
the first of the house of Aviz,
the second of Portugal's four dynasties.
It was during the reign of Joâo I
that the discoveries gained perspective.
Up there, Glory crowns Genius and Valour.
Underneath, in Latin it reads :
"To the virtues of the greatest for the enlightenment of all".
This, according to legend, is where Homer's Ulysses ended up.
After the Trojan war,
Neptune tricked him and he got lost in the Mediterranean looking for Ithaca.
He passed the pillars of Hercules...
The straits of Gibraltar...
Quite so ! And ended up in Lisbon...
Which is why it was called Ulissea, the city of Ulysses,
- But what are you getting at ? - That Homer predicted this.
Predicted what ?
That this is where the carracks and caravels would set sail from,
to cross uncharted seas.
And now we're going to America.
Because Father told us to.
He wants the all family to be together.
What about mother ?
I miss you already, and you're still here.
And also for a second good-bye, right Mother ?
You took so long. I was worried...
I thought the ship might leave.
You're just in time.
The other passengers have boarded.
There's still time for one last hug.
Go on, off you go or you'll miss it.
When father sent for us all to go and live together in America,
I wrote asking if I could stay and finish my degree here in Portugal.
But he sent an ultimatum. You'll come, or you're on your own.
And he was right.
After the second world war,
the family was always apart. Up until you were 18.
Yes, that's true.
And you ? Are you joining your family ?
- Yes, I'm going to be with my family. - Is your whole family there ?
Yes. All of them.
And yours ?
All except for my mother. She can't join us until later.
I see, there's always something.
Life's complicated.
Complicated, just like women.
I guess.
I guessed as well, when I was your age.
- At my age, you don't guess. - No ?
You suffer.
How old are you ?
How old do you think I am ?
I'm no good at guessing that kind of thing.
Anyway, I don't speak for myself.
Who then ?
My wife, she doesn't have any company.
And for others, younger than me even,
who start losing their faculties and become dependent.
There's nothing worse than being dependent on others, is there ?
I'm from the Azores.
Lots of folk from the Azores have emigrated to America.
Most of the Portuguese immigrants in America are from the Azores.
I've been there before.
Now I'm going back to join my wife and kids.
We have to get back together.
For our arrival, we all got up before the dawn.
We wanted to see the big city lights and the famous skyscrapers...
What a disappointment !
The whole of New York harbour was shrouded in thick mist.
The docks were filled with ships back from World War II.
So we and nine other lads, had to go by launch
to Dock 1
on Manhattan island.
You can't even see the Statue of Liberty through all this fog.
What a disappointment.
It's so cold it must have snowed.
And this fog...
This fog is a nuisance.
We'll come back when it's sunny.
The weather's bad, the ship was rubbish.
Like one of those lightweight "Liberty ships".
And being winter, the sea was so rough it took 16 days to reach Hudson Bay.
Have you noticed, Hermínio ?
The traffic here's controlled by a system of lights.
It's red now. See ?
Look, it's turned green now...
Green and red ! The colours of our flag.
- To Cheever Street ? - Yes.
Number 54.
Here's your room.
Look, this is Brooklyn Bridge.
Sr Silva, we see everyone around us is working.
But we've only just arrived
and haven't got a job.
I have a suggestion from your father.
We're both Silva,
no relation mind.
Anyway, he said if you're interested,
you've both got a job at the big factory where my son and daughter-in-law work.
Of course we do !
Turn up at the factory tomorrow morning.
- 23rd St, Manhattan. - What ?
23rd St, Manhattan.
DOCTOR IN MAS S ACHUSETTS - 1957
After obtaining his degree at Coimbra,
he now practices medecine in Massachussets.
OPORTO - 1960
Do you, Manuel Luciano,
of your own free will
take Sílvia Jorge
to be your lawful wedded wife ?
I do.
Do you promise
to love and honour her
and be faithful unto her until death do you part ?
I do.
Will you receive from God's loving hand the gift of children
and raise them according
to the laws of Christ and his Holy church ?
I will.
Do you, Sílvia Jorge, of your own free will
take Manuel Luciano as your lawful wedded husband ?
I do.
Do you promise to love and honour him
and be faithful unto him until death do you part ?
I do.
Will you receive from God's loving hand the gift of children
and raise them according to the laws of Christ and His Holy Church ?
I will.
As it is your wish to be united in Holy Matrimony,
I join your right hands...
and bear witness to your consent
in the presence of Christ and His Church.
I, Manuel Luciano...
take thee, Sílvia, to be my lawful wedded wife...
and promise to be faithful and to love and honour thee...
for richer or poorer...
for as long as we both shall live...
I, Sílvia...
take thee, Manuel Luciano, to be my lawful wedded husband...
and promise to be faithful and to love and honour thee...
for richer or poorer...
for as long as we both shall live.
May the Lord in His goodness strengthen you in His consent
and fill you both with His grace and blessing.
I now unite you in matrimony before God.
I bless you
in the name of the Father,
the Son and the holy Ghost.
Amen.
I was born and raised in the north of Portugal.
It's very different from this : more rugged and mountainous.
This is my homeland.
I was born in a place called Santana de Cambas,
but finished my teacher training in Faro.
I know, your mother's from there.
We met when you were teaching in Oporto.
We've spent a lot of our lives apart from loved ones.
Like your brother, Hermínio, he never came back from America.
He was always mad about America. Then he went to Hollywood,
got hooked on the movie business and never wanted to leave.
And from now on, Sílvia, that's how we're going to be.
More hooked on each other than Hermínio on Hollywood ?
More, much more. There's no one,
not in Hollywood or here more hooked than us my darling Alentejo acorn !
I've never been to the Alentejo before. I really love the wide open spaces.
- You'll like the Algarve, too. - I guess I will.
In the XV century, 1479 to be exact,
the Alentejo was the geographical centre of the world !
How come ?
Our king, Dom Joâo II, signed a treaty with the Catholics,
dividing the world between Portugal and Spain.
The treaty was signed at Alcáçovas Palace.
Unfortunately, the building is completely abandoned nowadays.
Look, here we are in Cuba.
Do you know if there's a house here where Christopher Columbus was born ?
Christopher Columbus ?
Not that I've heard, and I've lived here for ages.
Well, is there a house where a woman called
Isabel Gonçalves Zarco gave birth to a boy ?
There might be, but I wouldn't know.
Try asking at the Town hall. Just carry on down, it's not far.
Could you happen to know where the old church is ?
There's a lot of churches here. But the oldest...
The oldest here is St. Peter's,
the church of Our Lady of the Rock
and St. Vincent's.
But I don't know which is the oldest.
- Thank you, thank you for your trouble. - Thank you, 'bye.
- Good afternoon, Father. - Good afternoon, may I help you ?
We've come to Cuba to find the house where Christopher Columbus was born.
Or rather,
the house where his mother, Isabel Gonçalves Zarco gave birth to a son.
Can you tell us anything about that ?
Christopher Columbus was born here ?
I'm sorry, I know nothing about that.
But I have to admit,
I am intrigued.
Are you an historian ?
No, merely an enthusiastic researcher.
Forgive me, this is Sílvia, my wife. Manuel Luciano, MD, at your service.
We're just married and on our way to the Algarve.
Excellent, excellent... Many congratulations.
Thank you, Father.
That's a beautiful altar.
I can't help noticing
there's a saint missing, though.
Yes, that was the Guardian Angel of the Realm, the protector of Portugal.
God appoints angels to protect people and peoples...
And it was the same here in Cuba,
which is was part of the Duchy of Beja.
By decree of King Manuel I,
every church in the Duchy had its devotion.
What's interesting is that it involved a celestial militia
commanded by St. Michael the Archangel.
And, curiously, they were both dressed in red and green.
At the time of the Republic,
during the persecutions, the figure was destroyed
in the churchyard.
But they were the colours of the republican flag.
Exactly. That's an interesting observation.
Sra. Silva, if you please.
Here we are, on our way to Beja.
Didn't you do some of your course there ?
I miss those days.
There are always things we miss from our youth.
They're the best days of our life. Never to return.
- But we get to keep the happy memories. - Yes, they stay with us for life.
I'm looking forward to seeing that mausoleum.
No more than I am. I'm particularly anxious to find some connection
with the descendants of the Portuguese royal family.
Why ?
Because Christopher Colon was christened Salvador Fernandes Zarco.
His name was changed to Christopher Colon, later.
So are you saying he was the biological son of Don Fernando ?
The first Duke of Beja ? - Quite so !
And Isabel Gonçalves Zarco, a Lady from Paço.
The daughter of the famous Portuguese Jew, Joâo Gonçalves Zarco,
who discovered the island of Porto Santo in 1418
and Madeira the following year.
Which would lead to the conclusion
that he was christened Salvador Fernandes Zarco
but changed his name later, to Christopher Colon.
Which makes him a bastard descendent, on the spear side, of the House of Avis.
Born in Cuba !
You did your teacher training in Faro, isn't that where your father's from ?
No, he's from Merlâes, in Aveiro.
But I've always loved the Algarve.
I'm so pleased you chose it for our honeymoon...
Me too.
Pleased, curious
and looking forward to seeing those castles in the Algarve.
The ones on our flag.
- Here's your castle. - Not mine, that's Beja castle.
But weren't we supposed to be going to a museum ?
Absolutely.
I'm the curator, how may I help ?
My name is Manuel Luciano, doctor and researcher.
This is my wife, Sílvia.
We'd like to see the tomb of Dom Fernando.
The Duke of Beja... his tomb is over there.
Would you like to come this way ?
In 1459, the first Duke of Beja and his wife, Dona Brites,
ordered this convent of Our Lady of the Conception be built.
This is the tomb.
This and all the others were plundered during the French invasion.
Napoleon's soldiers desecrated the tombs,
looking for gold and silver.
Such a dreadful shame...
Let's climb the tower.
All right.
This is thought to be the oldest castle in the Algarve.
But within the castle walls, there's an even older one;
the Old castle, mostly likely built by Muslims.
Ruined battlements like this evoke wars.
- They've decapitated Prince Henry. - It's modern art.
This is so derelict... I'd even say, downright neglected !
The prince died here. In 1460.
In Vila Infante, Cape Sagres.
Look at the wind rose.
Let's go.
Is this really the legendary school of Sagres ?
Excuse me, but it's is so uncared for.
I'm not the curator here.
The mayor sent me to show you round,
the monument's not open to the public today.
Someone should take charge of these buildings on the Sagres headland.
And restore them.
To dignify this place... make it a memorial.
It's one of the places best suited to be a memorial to Portugal's greatest .
You're absolutely right. That's what we want to do.
It's what we're planning to do.
Arms are my theme And those matchless heroes
Who from Portugal's Far western shores
By oceans Where none had ventured
Voyaged to Taprobana And beyond
Enduring hazards and assaults
Such as drew on more Than human prowess
Among far distant peoples To proclaim
A New Age and win undying fame
NEW YORK - 2007
This is where Columbus stepped ashore,
on the continent to become known as America.
We have to go to Porto Santo island.
That's where Colon lived with his wife and son,
before he became the first
to reach the American continent.
But I want to show you
other places connected to the Discoveries.
I'd love that.
And that's here in New York ?
No.
We have to go to Berkley.
I wouldn't mind if it were to the end of the Earth.
That's all right then.
But first,
let's have a closer look at this monument to Columbus.
That makes sense.
What does the eagle up there on top mean ?
Ah, the eagle...
That represents the United States as an independent nation.
Let's have a look at the other side of the statue.
All right.
This monument was designed and offered by Italy.
Look, Manuel, isn't that amazing.
The Angel ?
Yes, the Angel.
It's the Guardian Angel, Protector of the Discoveries.
Not like the brazen giant Of Greek fame
With conquering limbs Astride from land to land
Here at our sea-washed Sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman With a torch,
Whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning
And her name Mother of Exiles
From her beacon hand
Glows world wide welcome
A mighty woman with a torch
Whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning
And her name Mother of Exiles
Send these the homeless Tempest-tossed to me
I lift my lamp to light your way
Give me your tired, your poor Your huddled masses
Yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse Of your teeming shore
Send these homeless Tempest-tossed to me
I lift my lamp
To light your way
Beautiful words.
Beautiful, indeed.
But more wished for than realized.
They were written by Emma Lazarus,
a Portuguese Sephardic Jew.
She died young, of a lymphoma.
She was a strong character and so loved liberty.
She was always envied,
yet set a part from the majority of women.
There's something I've been wanting to say.
While we're on our own.
Do you truly love me ?
Oh, Sílvia...
My darling acorn,
if I didn't love you
I'd never have married you.
We got married in 1960...
I know.
More than 40 years ago.
And that's exactly why I wanted to talk to you,
but I don't know how to start...
I love you, Manuel.
But love is always very complicated,
demanding,
and even possessive at times.
Don't say anything. I know you love me.
But I also know,
because you've told me often enough, that love...
Oh, Sílvia..
I know what you're going to say. I know you love me.
What matters, is being able to distinguish
between different ways of loving and of showing love.
I have a degree, too, just like you.
And like you,
I love my work
and that's really helped me put up with...
I mean, helped me understand you.
Understand... what ?
Understand your two passions in life :
medicine and research.
As I said, my work has helped me.
Me too.
Oh, my dearest... dearest love.
This is a model of the flagship St. Gabriel,
which Vasco Da Gama sailed to India on,
in 1498.
It's very beautiful.
It was a gift from our Prime Minister, Pinheiro de Azevedo.
A wonderful present.
This here is a model,
of the caravel Victoria.
It was a present from the Spanish king, Don Juan Carlos.
It was in this ship
that the Portuguese navigator, Fernâo de Magalhâes
first circumnavigated the world
between 1519 and 1522,
in the service of the Catholic kings of Spain.
It was a generous and interesting gift.
They certainly got around, these navigators.
If I hadn't married you, I'd never have got to know all this.
You've helped me enormously.
It's you who's helped me survive these two loves of yours.
This rock was submerged on the left bank of the River Taunton.
The name engraved here is Miguel Corte Real,
the Portuguese navigator who went to Africa
after first voyaging to North America.
In 1502, Corte Real returned to the River Taunton
in search of his brother but he vanished as well...
From what you say, and you should know,
the Portuguese were the first Europeans
to reach the five corners of the world by sea.
Exactly.
Christopher Columbus, America,
Vasco da Gama, India,
Pedro Alves Cabral, Brazil,
Ferdinand Magellan, circumnavigated the world
and Fernâo Mendes Pinto, China and Japan.
This is the pillar the Portuguese navigators left...
wherever they discovered new lands.
To serve as a reminder they'd been there and as a mark of their presence.
They left these markers
all over the world. - All over.
Do you know the Octagonal Charola in the Convent of Christ in Tomar,
the headquarters of the knights Templar from the XII century ?
Yes.
I brought a photo with me
so we could compare the two
and see just how similar they are. - It's very clear.
In fact, it looks like an exact copy.
They're amazingly alike.
To build a tower like this,
here in America in the XVI century
must have been a colossal undertaking.
Yes, when you consider the practical difficulties then.
I think it was meant be more than a church.
As it overlooked the bay, it made a perfect watch tower.
With the sea on all sides...
You can still see the sea over there.
- Let's go and look. - All right.
You see ? That bit of sea, down there.
In the past it was all around.
Let's go and see it stretching to the horizon.
All right.
It's been a good few years, doctor...
- A few minutes, that's all. - Yes, that's true.
It'd be best if we stopped off at the hotel.
Do you have a car ?
We'll take a cab.
- A cab ? - Yes.
To the hotel first, then ?
No, I'd like to go straight to Columbus House.
- I'm really keen to show Sílvia round. - I'd like that.
Columbus was the grandson of Joâo Gonçalves Zarco,
who discovered the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo.
So, would that make Columbus Portuguese ?
Yes. It helps to explain.
Good morning, this is Dr Luciano and his wife, Sílvia.
Good morning, this is a double honour !
To meet you and have you visit the House.
Please, come on up.
I'm afraid you'll be disappointed by how bare the place is.
The fact is, we're currently considering which pieces are essential to put in.
Your help, Dr Silva, would be invaluable.
Delighted, I place myself entirely at your service.
I'd like to show you these framed photographs.
By all means.
This is a picture of Sâo José fortress,
which Zarco had built to defend Madeira.
It's a print of an old painting, the fortress no longer exists.
There's just a mound of rubble now, as you can see in this photo here.
- The fortress wasn't preserved, then ? - No, as you can see.
This is a photograph of the statue to Gonçalves Zarco.
It was put up in Funchal because it's the capital of the archipelago.
That's the sextant the navigators used.
Invented by the Portuguese !
It's great pity Portugal doesn't attach due importance...
to the Discoveries
which were such a boon not only for the country,
but the whole world.
What Joâo Gonçalves Zarco achieved
is comparable to the feats of the Russian, Yuri Gagarin
and the American, John Glenn in outer space !
Quite so ! Or Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral,
hardly ever remembered
as having made the first transatlantic crossing by air
from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, well before Lindbergh's attempt.
A highly scientific venture,
using the sextant Gago Coutinho perfected,
which enabled them to plot the airplane's position precisely at any given moment.
But getting back to Zarco,
where's the monument here in Porto Santo, to his achievements ?
You're right. There isn't one yet.
This is where the Museum to the Epic Feats
of the Maritime Discoveries should be.
Like the one in America, to its astronauts.
The House of Columbus is some recognition of the Discoveries.
And next, we have here a tribute to Prince Henry.
His statue, erected in Oporto,
the house where he was born,
and the Avis Dynasty coat of arms, as you can see from these photos.
This house dates back to the same period as Christopher Columbus.
When all this started.
The island holds the memory of Joâo Gonçalves Zarco and Colon.
But there are many more...
And it's about time
the world was told
Christopher never signed himself Columbus,
but Colon.
Last year, in the village of Cuba, a statue was unveiled,
a statue to Christopher Colon - not Columbus, Colon.
Great. Not before time !
I heard about it in America and very pleased we were too.
Sílvia and I are going there as soon as we leave here,
we're dying to see it. - You can see it now.
- Now ? How ? - There, behind you.
He was Portuguese and born in Cuba.
And he named Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean,
after the village where he was born.
Do you have any proof of that ?
That's just it !
That's what I've been searching for since 1998.
That... what ?
I have to find a laboratory in Portugal
that can carry out DNA tests
on the remains of family members connected to the first Duke of Beja.
Or the descendants of Joâo Gonçalves Zarco. Or of Colon's first born, Diogo.
He was the first of the navigators to set off across uncharted seas,
as Fernando Pessoa
says in the poem, "The Abomination", in his book "Message".
The abomination At the end of the seas
In the pitch dark of night Rose in the air
And around the carrack Thrice it flew
It flew thrice round And screeching cried
Who is it dares enter my den Where no man may see
The dark ceiling of my sanctuary At the end of the world
The helmsman In trembling voice replied
His Majesty King John II
That's true, certainly.
But most true of all are the designs that come from on High !
It always comes down to transformation...
Transformation and yearning,
like a premonition, according to our poet, Pascoaes.
As Afonso Lopes Vieira, with tears in his eyes said :
This word - yearning -
Whoever coined it
Must surely have cried
When they first spoke it
Sous-titrage : C.M.C.