To: Isabel
Benedita
Maria Gabriela
Caetana
João
Lucas
João Maria

Perhaps it was the music that carried me away on this morning, so laden with uncertainty and longing, and moved me to offer you these words born of my thoughts: Every day, I look at your photographs. They keep me company through my prolonged silences, allowing me to reflect and to give shape to my days amid the uncertainty and mystery of the passing hours. I look into your eyes and speak to you, so that joy may not abandon me. From the vantage point of my ninety-one years, I contemplate the future awaiting you: the world will be very different from the one we know today.

I see you following the example of your parents: honest, hardworking and generous. I see you free of selfishness, well prepared to face the demanding days ahead in a world of profound tensions: a world of extraordinarily advanced technology, in which artificial intelligence will prevail. It will be the language of your time, but you must never allow yourselves to become enslaved by it.

Never surrender your dreams; they are what nourish and illuminate you. To live is a magnificent privilege. Do not squander life on futile emotions; learn to preserve your deepest feelings for the moments that truly deserve them.

Keep hatred and anger far from the paths you travel, and remember that the world is beautiful precisely because it is inhabited by human beings. Each carries a story of their own and, for that reason, deserves respect and understanding. Help others to live with dignity and to become worthy of admiration. As for Madeira, never forget that your ancestors—Madeirans whose souls were deeply rooted in the earth, true heroes—carved from the rocks the island we are today.

Your grandparents, with calloused hands that so often bled, built the steps that climb the mountains, challenging the very sky above you. Let this fill you with pride, for their sacrifice ennobles and honors you.

It falls to you to defend this priceless heritage with all your strength: the immense and noble epic of a people who watered with their sweat every stone they transformed. Do not forget that you are merely passing through this world. Reflect always upon that certainty, so that your souls may be enriched. The greatest investment you can ever make is in goodness—the only investment that never fails. Cast aside misplaced pride, for it is profoundly harmful in life. Ovid counseled us: “Lay down your pride if you wish to be loved.”

Let love preside over all your actions. Dialogue is always the surest path toward understanding. Argue only with intelligent people; the ignorant are always convinced that they are right. May truth and courage accompany you at every moment.

From the great distance of my many years, I believe that success will always walk beside you. You must never allow yourselves to be defeated. Fix firmly in your minds that there are no desperate situations; it is we who sometimes despair when confronted by them.

Love your parents with all your strength. They are your finest friends and wisest counselors. Do not be afraid: tell them everything. They will not only understand you; they will also help you. Love heals both the one who gives and the one who receives.

Do not grow impatient. Why surrender to despair? What has no solution is already resolved. Treat animals with kindness. Like you, they have the right to enjoy their lives. Confucius taught us: “Do not do to others what you would not wish them to do to you.” The world is not made of atoms alone, but of human beings whose souls must never be for sale.

In life, the optimism of the will must always prevail over the pessimism of reason. “Hope is the waking dream of humankind.” Do not be afraid. What cannot be resolved today may find its rightful answer tomorrow.

Just as the earth is cultivated so that seeds may grow fertile and resilient, cultivate your minds and spirits through many fields of study. The more versatile you become, the more fully you will understand the world around you.

I leave you these words from the Prophet Isaiah:

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of shadows and death, a radiant light has shone.”

If darkness should ever descend upon you, do not fear it. There will always be a ray of light to illuminate and guide you once more toward the path of hope and brightness. I could leave you many more thoughts. Yet I know that, in the years ahead, your parents—wonderful human beings who love you deeply—will guide you with wisdom and good sense, helping you discover the beauty of life in all its truth and fullness. When you are grown, I am certain they will show you this testament of mine, published in the Correio dos Açores.

I possess no material wealth, I shall depart as I arrived, but I leave you these words, filled with boundless love and hope. And if, one day, overcome by longing, you should happen to weep for me, let your tears water joy, so that it may always blossom and never abandon you.

My dear Isabel, Benedita, Maria Gabriela, Caetana, João, Lucas and João Maria: of course, it saddens me that I shall not see you as brilliant students in the universities you choose. Yet I have no doubt that you will succeed and that you will help build a better world.

I love you dearly.

Grandfather João Carlos

The Display of Political Posters Outside Election Campaigns

Suddenly, citizens enter the city and discover dozens of political posters hanging from public lampposts—a sight that naturally troubles those who share an intimate and familiar bond with the city. It is as though we were in the midst of an electoral campaign.

There can be no doubt that this form of visual pollution does nothing to enhance the city, whose municipal government works each day to beautify it so that residents and visitors alike may enjoy its streets, squares and gardens. I do not believe that this kind of propaganda produces any beneficial results. What I do know is that many Portuguese citizens have grown weary of this relentless bombardment of political publicity.

In many European countries, even during election periods, campaigns are no longer conducted through posters displayed in the streets. Everything takes place on television, through informative debates that greatly assist voters in reaching their decisions. In Portugal, however, we seem to live in a state of permanent electoral campaigning.

There is little that can be done about this situation. The law permits this form of political propaganda to be placed on electricity poles and in other public spaces. Many citizens therefore ask: why do the municipal authorities not remove the posters? Unfortunately, municipalities cannot act contrary to a law that allows public spaces to be inundated with political propaganda, even outside official election campaigns.

In Correio dos Açores, Spetermber 6, 2026. Translated to English by Diniz Borges

Photos from CA and Câmara Municipal do Funchal