Mayor Jose Marques brings Sabrosa, Portugal’s new Fernão Magalhães wine (Magellan Wine) to the Philippines

October 21st, 2008 by Sexy Mom · Viewed 1289 times · 2 Comments

“Life has the meaning we give it. It has our richness, our enthusiasm, our pride. Or our cowardice.”—Miguel Torga, 1907-1995, one of the greatest Portuguese writers of the 20th century. He wrote poetry, short stories, theater and a 16 volume diary. He came from São Martinho de Anta, Sabrosa municipality, in Vila Real district (then Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, now Douro ), Portugal.

Sabrosa is set among the vineyards above the River Duoro by Pinhao where the world’s best Port wine are produced. It’s landscape is also one of UNESCO’s World’s Heritage Sites.

Sabrosa is incidentally the same municipality where Fernão de Magalhães, better known as Ferdinand Magellan was born in 1480. He was said to have “discovered” the Philippines on 16 March 1521, and one of the first persons to have circumnavigated the globe.

Almost 500 years after Magellan set foot in the Philippines, another Portuguese has come to the country—Sabrosa’s mayor Jose Manuel Carvalho Marques, who is attending the 6th International Tourism Forum for Parliamentarians and Local Authorities.

While in the country Mayor Marques will also go to Cebu, and visit Magellan’s Cross in Mactan—it commemorates the first Christian baptisms in the Philippines after Magellan’s arrival in 1521. Plans are underway to plant a replica of the Cross in Sabrosa in preparation of the 500th anniversary of Magellan’s arrival in the country.

“Come to Sabrosa”

Mayor Marques was kind enough to show a video presentation of Sabroso—to show its culture, its breathtaking landscapes, the vineyards, church, river, festivities, and tradition. He envisions a full diplomatic relationship between Portugal and the Philippines in the near future, to create an international network among the countries that somehow in the past had an interaction with Magellan, to do things together, and to explore possibilities benefiting mutually from each other. He hopes to see more Filipinos in Sabrosa, more tour groups, particularly during their festivities.

When asked about the Portuguese’s perception of the Filipina, Mayor Marques commented that Portuguese have an exotic idea of Filipinas seen with a positive point of view. Even during Magellan’s time, the men were enchanted by the beautiful Filipina women.

Wine is not just a liquid—it is a culture

Mayor Marques has taken the opportunity of his visit to bring another Magellan to the country—Sabrosa’s new Fernão Magalhães wine (served with, you guessed it right—breaded lapu-lapu sticks), which was introduced this morning to the press at a breakfast at the Casino Espanol de Manila. The same combination will also be served at a diplomat’s dinner at the Casino Espanol on 26 October.

Present during the event was Don Jose Rodriguez, Director of Insituto Cervantes de Manila. Also actively coordinating the event was Exequiel Sabarillo, a tourism expert based in Spain. He has advised a lot of tourists on places to see in Europe, and even customizes tours from Spain to major parts of Europe (contact him at e_sabarillo@yahoo.com). Portugal, particularly Sabrosa, is now one place of interest that he will be actively promoting.

The video presentation which shows the traditional way of crushing the grapes (tons and tons of them) after the harvest as initial preparation for making wine, reminded me of a scene in A Walk in the Cloud, starring Keanu Reeves. This is held yearly, each September in Sabrosa, to continue its tradition of wine making.