Portuguese Soul Issue 25

AUTUMN/WINTER 2023

25. It’s not a round number. But neither does it matter. It is a beautiful, symbolic number and one that should not be overlooked.

By the time we’re 25, we’ll have lived practically a third of our lives. We’re somewhat more mature, but the impetuousness of youth persists, granting us a licence to dream, in the belief that to take risks is to be alive.

Most likely, at 25, we’ve met friends who will be with us for the rest of our lives. We know what it’s like to feel in love, but our lives are still ahead of us, a whole universe of experiences waiting to be explored. Invariably, at 25, we’ve still a lot to learn. This is the starting point for another issue of Portuguese Soul. A very special edition, as practically all the others have been, but which seeks in the following pages to get to the bottom of a pressing truth: the importance of water.

A baby is born with 78% of its body consisting of water. In adults, this percentage drops to 55% and is present in the blood and cells. Water is essential to human life. But there are almost two billion people who have no access to drinking water. March 22 is celebrated internationally as World Water Day. The United Nations has warned of the imminent risk of a global drought crisis, due to excessive consumption and climate change.

500 years ago, by sea, Portugal forever changed our idea of the world. Approximately 50% of Portugal’s borders are lapped by water. Never so much as today has there been the need to explore this theme.

— Paulo Gonçalves, Editor in Chief

Table of Contents