Salgueiro Maia receives the “Memory and Identity” award posthumously

Lieutenant Colonel Salgueiro Maia will be honored posthumously on Thursday, in Castelo de Vide, the village where he was born and where he is buried, it was announced this Tuesday by the Portuguese Association of Municipalities with a Historic Center (APMCH), promoter of the homage.

The general secretary of APMCH, Frederico Mendes Paula, explained to the Lusa agency that the management decided to award the prize to Salgueiro Maia, in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April, “at the proposal” of the current president of the Chamber of Castelo de Vide, António Pita.

“The president of the chamber proposed it as an associate and member of the board,” he added.

Frederico Mendes Paula also indicated that, during the ceremony, the award will be presented to Salgueiro Maia’s widow.

The formal session to award the national “Memory and Identity” award, from APMCH, will take place at 3:00 pm, in the Noble Hall of Castelo de Vide City Council, in the district of Portalegre.

“The ceremony also features interventions from the mayor of Castelo de Vide, António Pita, the president of the APMCH board, Hugo Pereira, and the president of the Board of Trustees of Historic Centers, José Miguel Noras”, he added.

On July 1, 2021, the Casa da Cidadania Salgueiro Maia was inaugurated in that Alentejo village, an investment of three million euros.

Located in the castle of that town, the space houses several pieces by Salgueiro Maia, including the well-known megaphone with which, on April 25, 1974, in Largo do Carmo, the then captain summoned Marcello Caetano to surrender.

The museum space also displays the uniform and military “quico” he wore that day, among other uniforms, mottos, pennants, banners and banners, insignia, diplomas and commendations, military documents and school records belonging to Salgueiro Maia.

An area with posters and photographs and a collection of miniatures of combat vehicles, the soldier’s specialty as a cavalry officer and his great professional passion, are other features of Casa da Cidadania Salgueiro Maia.

Fernando Salgueiro Maia (1944-1992) was the commander of the military column of the Practical Cavalry School (EPC), in Santarém, which, on April 25, 1974, occupied Praça do Comércio and surrounded the Carmo Barracks, in Lisbon. , leading to the surrender of the then president of the Council, Marcello Caetano, and the definitive fall of the Estado Novo dictatorship.

Born in Castelo de Vide, Captain de Abril expressed two wishes in his will, which were fulfilled: to be buried in that town, in a shallow grave, and to leave his estate to the municipality so that it could be made into a museum.

The award will be awarded on the same day as the National Day of Portuguese Historic Centers, which marks “the birthday of the patron saint of municipalism in Portugal, Alexandre Herculano”, explained the general secretary of APMCH.