We met Luís Machado at the Café Santa Cruz in Coimbra during the seminar of this emblematic Café, jointly organized by the Portuguese Association of the Historic Cafés and the Historic Cafés Route. He was very friendly, happy to discuss any subject with us and he gave us a tour of the historical sights of Portugal, where traditions are still thriving. As a friend of Historic Cafés, he immediately agreed to become a member of the Historic Cafés Route and he was especially happy to receive the official certification of the European Council.

Louis Machado was born in Lisbon and since 1999, has been Secretary-General of the Portuguese Writers Association (Associação Portuguesa de escritores).

Organizer of important cultural events, in recent years he has developed many activities as a cultural animator, particularly in the dissemination of poetry. A man of culture, he was an actor, journalist, and film critic. He has been promoting the events (tertúlias) for 27 years at the Martinho da Arcada café in Lisbon.

Luís Machado to the HCR camera wishing the certification of Historic Cafés Route by the Council of Europe

The video has been filmed before the Official Certification of HCR by the Council of Europe

Luís Machado coordinated the “Evocações” initiative, which marked the commemoration of the centenary of the death of Eça de Queirós, the 100th anniversary of the birth of José Gomes Ferreira, and the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Aquilino Ribeiro. He was responsible for “Itinerários”, an event that reconstructed the emotional journeys of António Ramos Rosa, Eugénio de Andrade, Fernando Namora, Fernando Pessoa, José Régio, Miguel Torga and Natália Correia. He has been a member of the jury of several Literary Awards and was curator of the Exhibition “culturalidades” (1998) and “A Festa da Poesia” (2002/2005).

As a writer, among his published works are: A Última Conversa, Conversas à Quinta-feira, À mesa com Fernando Pessoa, Rostos da Portugalidade, Um Homem na Cozinha e Amália – Confidências em noite de Primavera.

During our talks in Coimbra, Luís Machado offered us his book, with a dedication to Historic Cafés Route, on the emblematic Café of Lisbon Martinho da Arcada (which in 2022 celebrates 240 years of operation) as well as his short video which underlines the importance of Historic Cafés Route.

Photos/video: Historic Cafes Route/GeorgeLoverdos