Long before Ignatius Seveirano Ferreira's appointment as Honorary Consul for Portugal in 1985, he had been aware that his Venezuelan wife, Elia, celebrated her National Day and so too did people like the Americans and Canadians. Why then didn't the Portuguese observe their National Day?

One of the first things Ferreira did after his appointment as consul was to host a reception on the occasion of the Republic of Portugal National Day, at his home on Elm Avenue in Bayshore, on June 10, which continues annually, up to last Thursday evening when most Portuguese descendants gathered and toasted each other.

What is unusual about this National Day celebration is that unlike other countries which observe the day of Independence or Republicanism as their National Day, the Portuguese celebrate Camoes Day, in honour of a celebrated Portuguese poet, Luis de Camoes, who in 1572 published Os Lusiadas, meaning "The sons of Lusus", the mythical founder of Portugal, which poetically means "the Portuguese". Echoing classical models, the poem chronicled the voyages of Vasco de Gama, before a panorama of strangely mixed Christian and pagan images.

Os Lusiadas has been hailed throughout Europe, sometimes to the detriment of Portugal's other literature, as Portugal's one masterpiece. Under Antonio Salazar, Prime Minister of Portugal in the 1930s, Os Lusiadas became an icon of Portuguese nationalism, and is said to be rightfully renowned as a classic of world literature.

However, de Camoes did not live long enough to reap the celebrity of his poetry. He began and ended life poor, though it is said he did find romance and adventure in between. An affair with one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting caused his banishment to North Africa, where he lost an eye in military service.

Returning to Lisbon, Camoes was involved in a skirmish that wounded a magistrate, ended up in prison, and was banished again to Goa in India in 1553. In 1570 he returned to Lisbon, and published Os Lusiadas in 1572. The poem's worth was immediately recognized and as a reward he received a small royal pension. His final illness, however, was spent in a public hospital and when he died in 1580, he was buried in a common grave.

A monarchy from the year 1093, it was not until October 5, 1910, that the Proclamation of the Republic of Portugal was declared, and on September 11, the Republican Constitution came into force.

Ferreira believes that in the early 1900s, a lot of the Portuguese were leaving the country, particularly those from Madeira, because of the depression.

"There was poverty and they were looking for a better life, heard about the West Indies and set sail for this part of the world."

About 3,000 went to Guyana, then British Guiana; about 1,000 came to Trinidad; little drops of about ten went to Grenada and St. Vincent.

"The majority came to Guyana and Trinidad," says Ferreira, "and settled all over the island, the Xaviers in Couva, the Serraos in San Fernando, the Martins in Arima, and in Chaguanas the De Souzas, Fernandes, Vasconcellas and Ferreiras, among whom were my parents." They opened little shops and run-shops, and formed the Associacao Portuguesa (Portuguese Association) in 1905 at No. 50 Richmond Street, where on a Thursday afternoon when the shops and rum shops closed for half day, they would all gather and speak their own language.

"It was a haven for them," says Ferreira, who has remained President of the Association from 1976 to the present time.

"The association, up to today, gives a grant of $400 per month, and generally looks after the less fortunate Portuguese in the community."

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