Tragicocomedia

Praca Figuera, Lisbon, Portugal, September 6, 2007

The sunlight was blinding in the square below, the air already on its way to another hot day. For the last hour a blind man had been calling aloud the title of the journal he was selling at the metro entrance – a publication from what sounded like the Borda d’aqua. Every ten seconds or so the title would roll off his tongue, finishing up with a rhythmic flourish of “Borda d’aqua.” It seemed a sorry task, attracting little interest, yet he went about it with dignity and determination, sustaining his pitch through the morning’s indifference.

Later research found only the following link, the Borda D’Agua almanaque of 2008, which certainly fits the context as it was September 2007 at the time. It seems the almanac was designed as a guide for the coming year. Though I haven’t quite conducted the most comprehensive search, the lack of more recent hits suggests this almanac might have since ceased publication.

The bright glare of the square made a delightful backdrop against which to shoot. The man here with the newspaper is not the aforementioned blind man, but merely a passer-by troubled by the intense sunlight. I spent a lot of time with my head and shoulders poking from the small hotel room window above Praca Figuera, the square below. This was, however, not merely because of the great light and people-watching opportunities, but on account of the intense orange-scented smell of the cleaning product with which someone had cleaned the room the day before. So intense was it that I had had trouble sleeping and the scent stayed in my clothes for weeks afterwards. Clearly, I should have switched rooms, but this one did have the view after all, and on that sunny morning, it was worth it.