Pinho 1 Tnia Azevedo de Pinho Dr.

Reinaldo Silva English VI 15th March 2012

Alentejano, stereotype of the lazy Portuguese People have different ways of thinking and interpreting things. In Portugal, people created a stereotype of the Lazy and doom Alentejano. Many persons think they are really lazy and stupid, but this idea is most of the time created by the very well-known jokes about Alentejanos. Before write about anything is better explain who are the persons about Im going to write, the Alentejanos. They are the people who live in Alentejo, a region situated in the south of Portugal. Its a quiet and dry region, which in summer acquires very high temperatures. Along the years many jokes have been made, and Portuguese people have created an image, and a stereotype about who are the Alentejanos and why are they that way. Jokes like Do you know why Alentejanos do not eat yogurts? Because when they reach the stomach they are out of validity, or 1st motto of the Alentejano: Better a swollen hand then a hoe in the hand, 2 nd motto of the Alentejano: Better die with cold then work to get warm, makes us suppose that Alentejanos are lazy. Other jokes like: What are doing 17 Alentejanos at the cinemas door? They are waiting one more, because the movie is for more then 18 (years old) gives us the idea that Alentejanos have a lack of intelligence. Many other jokes have been created, inclusively the 10 commandments of the Alentejano. And this commandments are kind of extreme: 1. Live to rest; 2. Love your bed, its your temple: 3. If you see someone resting, help her: 4. Rest

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during the day, to be capable of sleep during the night; 5. The work is saint, dont touch him; 6. Never do tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow; 7. Work the less possible, what you have to do, let someone else do it; 8. Take it easy, no one have ever died for rest, but you can get hurt working; 9. When you desire to work, sit down and wait the desire pass; 10. Dont forget, work is health. Leave yours for sick people. These 10 commandments prove very well this image people have created about Alentejanos. But is all of this true, or is just an image, a stereotype people has created? Because if we think a bit, we can find reasons/causes that can prove the veracity of what have been said. The high temperatures, the strong and bright sun that Alentejanos live with, can have fried their neurons and make them a LITLE BIT slow and retarded. And Im not going to speak about the bad and poor alimentation they have. Another fact that can prove their retard comes since very years ago, when the nomads traveled around Europe and it seems that some of them have stopped in Alentejo and havent evolved. The true is that to an Alentejano who works a lot, makes a lot of mistakes; who works little, do little mistakes; who do not work, do not do mistakes, and who do not do mistakes is promoted, so lets not work and wait to be promoted. Now being a bit more serious, we can make jokes, but I think that there are no studies to prove that Alentejanos are retarded, or lazy.

This is just an image people have created, and do not pass that. All around the world there are lazy and retarded people, its not just in Alentejo or Portugal. I think this image of the Alentejanos is an image that is already something that makes part of our culture. We joke about that, but Alentejanos joke about that to.

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Some people say that most part of the Alentejanos jokes are really made by Alentejanos. So probably when we are joking about them, they are joking about us, because we are joking about them. I think they are not stupid or retarded. About the laziness, I think the Alentejano, is the stereotype of the lazy Portuguese, because it has been created to be that way. In my opinion the Alentejanos are not the lazy persons, because the Portuguese are in general lazy. Ok, if we compare the Portugueses with other persons from other countries, we are not lazy. We are a country with people who works a lot, and our emigrants, the Portuguese emigrants are known in other countries for being good workers. But for me and for other Portuguese people, we Portuguese are lazy, we leave everything for the last minute; we leave for tomorrow what we can do today. People create images and stereotypes, and thats that what

characterizes their societies. We Portuguese have created this one, and its something with what we live very well. Its our culture; its something that makes part of us and our culture, like the Pasteis de Belm or the msica Pimba. Its something that only we, Portuguese understand. Im not saying that other persons cannot understand it, but they just dont feel it the same way we feel it. Its true that some people feel hearted and violated with this jokes and this image people have about Alentejanos. If we went into internet and see some pages with jokes, we can see several commentaries criticizing the jokes and the people who made them. I think everyone has the right to criticize and think what they want. But this stereotype isnt something new; people should be used to it and to the stupid jokes. I have nothing against the Alentejanos, and against the jokes. If the Alentejanos have no problem with this, and they are the

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ones that are made fools, why should we, that have nothing to do with that, have any problem? Its culture, its the Portuguese culture. Its who we are, thats what weve created. Weve created this, so we should live with that. As Ive said before, this jokes and this stereotype means to us as much as msica pimba means. If we are able to listen musica pimba, and we enjoy it, and sometime its worse than the Alentejanos jokes, why dont we accept that and enjoy it as much as we enjoy other things? Everything depends of the Portuguese minds, and Ive to say that sometimes Portuguese people could be a bit more open minded. If Portuguese were a bit more open minded maybe they were capable to understand that we have a culture with so many things, ones better than the other. The Alentejano, stereotype of the lazy Portuguese, can be a not so good thing, because give other people the image that they are really lazy, but who cares? Its just an image, it is culture and its funny. It would be worse if it was not fun. If people is capable to enjoy it and have fun with it everything is fine.