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Mayor of Aveiro,
Madam Speaker of the Aveiro Municipal Assembly,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is a happy occasion. We are commemorating the 1050 years of the first written reference to Aveiro and the 250 years of its having been granted a charter as a city.

In 959, the countess Mumadona named in her will the salt flats of Alavario. In 1759, by a charter dated 11 April, King D. José “had good cause to elevate the said town of Aveiro to the dignifying category of a city”.

These are events, or better, symbolic dates which relinquish from abstraction the facts and the persons that branded a common life.
Let us celebrate then, since Aveiro well deserves it.

But there are more reasons for celebration. In this same year of 2009 the people of Aveiro received excellent news: the cultural and economic consecration of one of the more characteristic products of its gastronomy.

The Aveiro “ovos moles” (sweet creamy eggs) were included in the list of agricultural and food products with the denomination of Protected Geographical Indication. It is the first Portuguese pastry product to achieve this charter.

These very famous desserts will have to submit to control and certification procedures which guarantee the quality of a product of excellence.

In the past, notable people of Aveiro served the idea of excellence. I recall the great 19th century orator, José Estêvão, a politician of national grandeur who never forgot his birthplace.

His efforts in the building of the facilities of the Aveiro Secondary School are well known, a learning establishment with great educational traditions. In January of 1860, when the building was being finished, he wrote the following letter addressed to Francisco José de Oliveira Queiroz, Headmaster of the Aveiro Secondary School: :

“- Queiroz, it is necessary that you immediately requisition through the Ministry of the Kingdom the bookshelves and remaining furniture. Do not ask for a lot in the case of small furniture items – three hundred escudos will be too much – and spend these with great care.”

And thus it was, impelled by the local representative, and with the endeavour and enthusiasm of the people of Aveiro, that the school building was built and equipped, a school that, fifteen years later, was still considered as Portugal’s best. Aveiro showed then, as it does now, that with ambition and thrift, much can be achieved.

Achieved, for instance, such as the consecration by the Community of the traditional dessert. Laudable, in this particular case, was the role played by the Association of the Aveiro “Ovos Moles”.

From now on this product can only be prepared in Aveiro. And it must be produced with local raw materials and in line with the traditional recipe. Compliance with these conditions is the only way to defend the reputation and the image of “ovos moles” with the consumer.

The Official Specifications for Aveiro “Ovos Moles” teaches us that the ingredients are water, eggs and sugar. Take care, however! These must be carefully mixed in line with the traditional recipe, and the quality controlled in the manufacturer’s laboratories.

We thus reach the conclusion that the best way to respect tradition is to be ahead in technology.

This is the world we live in. A world which, to be understood, must be scientifically interpreted, which leads me to Aveiro University, to its splendid campus, to its notable teaching staff and to its magnificent contribution to regional and national development.

The “ovos moles” aggregate will then be cooled down and left to stand in the manufacturer’s laboratories, where it will later be packed in host or in small barrels.

The host which is packed with “ovos moles” must be cut straight, and “zigzag cutting not permitted”. This is a further piece of good advice.

Porcelain barrels, with blue and white patterns, evoke the famous traditional Aveiro ceramic tiles. Ceramic tiles which, for centuries, have shown local motifs. The typical figures: “marnoto”, the salt flat worker; “tricana”, the female land worker; “varina”, the fishwife. And other local symbols, such as the “moliceiro”, a boat used to carry algae.

As an expression of an ancient way of life, as an amphibious alliance of man with nature, the “moliceiro” is also a cultural symbol. Their high and spatulate bows flaunt paintings which are irreverent, or reverent, sarcastic and hopeful, poetic and nostalgic. In short, the voice of the people.

You must not allow the “moliceiro” to disappear, since it carries the soul of Aveiro. Preserving identity attracts visitors. And creates the bases upon which the future is built.

The “moliceiro” is also painted on the wooden barrels containing the “ovos moles”, as well as the salt flats, the haylofts, the Barra lighthouse.

The Barra! The Bar of Aveiro, the prime condition for the region’s development. There is an atmosphere of progress that can be read in the faces of the people of Aveiro, and is shown in the city’s growth and in the progress of its institutions, and duly celebrated on festive occasions.
But, in a millenary history, it is inevitable that, alongside the better moments, less agreeable moments were lived. The history of this city demonstrates that Aveiro was always capable of overcoming the crises that could have mortified it.

I recall a critical period: the natural closing of the Bar occurred in mid 18th century, which closed down the communication between the lagoon and the sea. Man had to interfere in the development of the “Ria” (inland sea) in order to stabilize the connection with the sea.

I know that last year the bicentenary of a decisive event for Aveiro was duly celebrated: the opening of the Barra. On that occasion the clear words of Aveiro’s Harbour Master, delivered in May 1923, were recalled:

“For 121 years (...) large amounts of capital supplied by local bodies were invested without accruing any direct profit; the economic advantages obtained during one hundred years show us however that we should only regret the discouragements, the interruptions, that did not allow those that a contemplation of the past would allow us to consider feasible”.

I do not know what should be more deserving of our respect: the fact that it was an effort of the people, the multigenerational characteristic of the investment carried out in Aveiro Harbour, or the unusual capability to await the deserved return. It was just one more instance of the tenacious and enterprising nature of the people of Aveiro.

In these difficult times there won’t be, I trust, discouragements or interruptions.

Aveiro never laid down its arms in its quest for freedom. It is an old tradition that honours the city and binds its people. It is our duty today to evoke the memory of those people of Aveiro who, with courage and civic spirit, fought in the name of freedom.

In this month of May, we recall the heroes of 16 May 1828 who rose against absolutism. And we also recall all those others who, nearer to us in terms of time, in May 1969, took part in the 2nd Republican Conference, held in this city.

In this fortieth anniversary I particularly recall to memory Dr. Mário Sacramento, the main organizer and inspiring mind of the Aveiro Republican Conferences. He was sadly not allowed to see his wishes come true.

Mário Sacramento ended his literary and political farewell with the following words: “Build a better World, do you hear? Do not oblige me to come back!”

In Aveiro, land of soft creamy eggs but of stalwart people, a better world is built every day. But it is always necessary to go a little further.