PORTUGAL is of course the hottest tourist destination in Europe for Portugal has not yet been fully explored. Thus, exotic Mediterranean locations such as Praia da Luz are always magnets and static clings for British and Scandinavian tourists. The more daring kind is the Scandinavian tourists who opt to erect nudist resorts here. Thus, one can say that Portugal is populated both with conservative and liberated peoples. The conservative ones are the residents in the area who are mostly Roman Catholics and who hold elaborate and lavish celebrations every summer especially during Holy Week culminating to Easter Sunday and the Pentecost. On the other hand, the more liberated ones are the foreigners who troop to the nudist beaches to take advantage of the summer heat and tan their whole bodies.

If Canada’s national passion is hockey, the national passion here in Portugal is football. This year, the Portuguese team is training very hard indeed to snatch the UEFA championship come June in Switzerland. And because of their national fervor, they are praying for the Portuguese to be the champion this year.

Another piece of news that is set to rock the mood for the Portuguese this 2008 is on the economic front. While the United States across the Atlantic is experiencing an economic downfall threat due to the credit and mortgage crisis, its counterpart in Europe particularly Portugal is gay and one of the reasons for that is the entry of VW to the Portuguese market. VW is now starting to construct its Polo manufacturing plant in Portugal. For feasible reasons, they have decided to transfer their operations here from Brussels. The models that they will be building here are Audi A3 and A1. And with the influx of German supervisors here coming from VW, the tourist industry will surely have a boost especially the nudist resorts. That is the real economic equation.

When it comes to popular culture, this superpower from 500 years ago chooses not to be left behind. The film industry is now creating a stir even in Hollywood and word has it that the film Call Girl be among the nominees in best foreign language film at the 2008 Academy Awards. Call Girl investigates corruption in the government of Portugal with a love story about a prostitute as the backdrop. It stars Soraia Chaves, then 22 when the film was made, and now said to be the hottest actress in Portugal today. Soraia also starred as Father Amaro’s seductress in The Crime of Father Amaro. The story of the Portuguese film industry itself is a tear jerking one. Unlike the prolific South Korean film industry which has made a groundbreaking big budget flick last year D War, the Portuguese film industry is a very small one. But with the entry of such movies as Call Girl and The Crime of Father Amaro, the Portuguese film industry may slowly be recognized. In the meantime, actresses like Soraia can go to London and land film roles there.