Here’s an interesting thing I saw on Instagram and thought would be a good topic to talk about. It’s about the subtle difference of meaning between the portuguese word “colaborador” and the English equivalent “collaborator”. Thanks to Talures for the help with this one.
Uma amiga publicou uma foto da sua lapela com um distintivo que dizia
Colaborador Trabalhador.
Não percebi o significado, porque o cognato inglês de “colaborador” é usado geralmente para traidores que colaboram* com os invasores que ocuparam o seu país nativo. Mas ela explicou e eu li uma página sobre o assunto. Colaborador é uma espécie de jargão corporativo. Algumas empresas nomeiam os empregados de colaboradores, porque trabalhador tem uma conotação de trabalho manual nas fábricas e nas quintas.
Mas há quem não goste da palavra, porque disfarça a relação entre empregador e empregado. Como a minha amiga disse “para fazer passar a ideia que os trabalhadores também são parte da empresa”.
Não é comigo, porque não trabalho numa empresa portuguesa, mas de forma geral, ainda que não goste destas gírias que crescem como um fungo nas reuniões de negócios, não acho assim tão problemático trabalhadores se sentirem parte da empresa – até certo ponto. Desde que a empresa não seja má.
*The corrector suggested changing this to past tense to match the verb later in the sentence but although I can see that’d normally be the right call, I don’t think I agree on this specific case. For example you could imagine a Ukrainian collaborating (present tense) with Russians who invaded (past tense) the country. As she pointed out, it’s probably better to avoid the ambiguity by making it simpler and eliminating the extra verb: “Pessoas que colaboram com os agressores do seu país” or something like that.
Não é colaborador,é trabalhador. Não é dispensado,é despedido. Não é rescisão amigável,é despedimento colectivo. Não é lay-off,é lock-out. Não é flexibilidade,é precariedade. Não é adaptabilidade,é trabalho não pago. Não é modernidade,é exploração. Não é novilíngua, é ideologia. pic.twitter.com/qNIY0oMgom
I’m pretty sure I’ve at least mentioned this song before because it’s so great, but I’ve never got around to doing a translation of it. Amália Rodrigues is an interesting character in her own right, and she’s had a huge influence on musicians, both traditional and avant-garde. This song is about a woman who’s lost her husband at sea and she’s sleeping on the beach waiting for him to come home and feeling like he’s still with her somehow even though everyone tells her its hopeless.
Thank you very much, Monsieur Trenet
Barco Negro (Black Boat)
Portuguese
English
De manhã, que medo que me achasses feia Acordei tremendo deitada na areia Mas logo os teus olhos disseram que não E o sol penetrou no meu coração Mas logo os teus olhos disseram que não E o sol penetrou no meu coração
In the morning, so scared that you’d find me ugly I woke up shaking, lying on the sand But then your eyes told me no And the sun penetrated my heart But then your eyes told me no And the sun penetrated my heart
Vi depois numa rocha uma cruz E o teu barco negro dançava na luz Vi teu braço acenando entre as velas já soltas Dizem as velhas da praia que não voltas
Then I saw a cross on a rock And your black boat was dancing in the light I saw your arm waving between the loose sails The old women at the beach say you’ll never come home
São loucas! São loucas! Eu sei meu amor, que nem chegaste a partir Pois tudo em meu redor me diz Que estás sempre comigo Eu sei, meu amor, que nem chegaste a partir Pois tudo em meu redor me diz Que estás sempre comigo
They’re crazy! They’re crazy! I know, my love that you never even left Because everything around me tells me That you’re always with me I know, my love that you never even left Because everything around me tells me That you’re always with me
No vento que lança areia nos vidros Na água que canta no fogo mortiço No calor do leito dos bancos vazios Dentro do meu peito estás sempre comigo No calor do leito dos bancos vazios Dentro do meu peito estás sempre comigo
In the wind that throws sand against the windows In the water that sings, in the dying fire In the bed of empty benches In my breast, you’re always with me In the bed of empty benches In my breast, you’re always with me
Eu sei, meu amor, que nem chegaste a partir Pois tudo em meu redor me diz Que estás sempre comigo Eu sei, meu amor, que nem chegaste a partir Pois tudo em meu redor me diz Que estás sempre comigo
I know, my love that you never even left Because everything around me tells me That you’re always with me I know, my love that you never even left Because everything around me tells me That you’re always with me
I posted a music video yesterday, and I’ve got a few more lined up. This one doesn’t really ave any lyrics though, so consider it a palate cleanser. Orelha Negra are portuguese band and they’ve put one of their chilled-out tracks over some footage of Vhils doing his craxy explosive artworks. I’ve talked about Vhils before a couple of times and I quite like the effect of combining the two art forms in one.
I had another go at making this “bread soup” and managed, I think, not to disgrace myself as badly as last time.
I followed a recipe on YouTube and I used some higher-quality bread. It was only sourdough so could have been better still, but it was better than the crappy bread I used last time. And I used slightly vinegary water from the egg poaching instead of chicken stock.
Verdict: 7/10. I liked it, anyway.
And here’s a bunch of lads singing about it. It’s a roundabout way of doing it but he’s actually pretty much singing the recipe. Lyrics here if (like me) you have trouble tuning in to what he’s saying.
Fiz mais uma tentativa de fazer açorda à alentejana. Desta vez, usei pão melhor e segui a receita rigorosamente. O resultado… Provavelmente não ficou perfeito mas não me senti envergonhado quando experimentei a primeira colherada.
I did a Tiago Bettencourt translation the other day, so let’s have a go at “Morena” too, not becaue it’s my favourite song of his, but because it has some nice guitar work.
Trigger Warning: Scrabble Crimes
OK, potentially controversial decision: I’m translating “Morena” as “Brunette”, because that’s the closest I can get to a literal translation. It’s not quite right though, for two reasons. Firstly, there’s a sense of the person’s skin being tanned or olive-toned as well as their hair being dark brown; and secondly, I think referring to women as blondes, brunettes, redheads has a slightly disrespectful tone in english (at least in some circles) and I think that’s less true in portuguese. That’s partly a linguistic thing: in Portuguese it’s more usual to use an adjective as a noun – for example “um inglês” not “um homem inglês” – and partly because we have a tendency to overthink things in the english-speaking world, especially a certain very large country situated a few hundred miles north of Brazil. Anyway, with that dislcaimer, let’s crack on.
Portuguese
English
Esta morena não sabe O que o dia tem para lhe dar Diz-me que tem namorado Mas sem paixão no olhar Tem um risinho pequeno E que só dá de favor Corpo com sede de quente Mas que não sente calor Mas que não sente calor
Esta morena não dança Quando lhe mostro Jobim Talvez não goste da letra Talvez não goste de mim Cabelo negro sem regra Caindo em leve ombro nu Feito de morno passado E amor que nunca cegou E amor que nunca cegou
Morena no fundo quer Tempo para ser mulher Morena não sabe bem Mas eu no fundo sei Que quando o véu lhe cai Quando o calor lhe vem Sempre que a noite quer Sonha comigo também
Há sítios que ela não usa Por não saber que estão cá Há mares que ela não cruza Por não ser eu a estar lá É de mim que ela precisa Para lhe dar o que não quer Talvez lhe mostre caminhos Onde se queira perder Onde se queira perder
Esta morena não chora Com um fado negro de Oulman Nem com um poema de O’Neill Na primeira luz da manhã Sabe de tantos artistas Canta-me letras de cor Mas não lhe passam por dentro Não lhes entende o sabor Não lhes entende o sabor
Morena no fundo quer Tempo para ser mulher Morena não sabe bem Mas eu no fundo sei Que quando o véu lhe cai Quando o calor lhe vem Sempre que a noite quer Sonha comigo também
Esta morena não corre Quando a chamo para mim
This brunette doesn’t know What the day has to give her She tells me she has a boyfriend But without any passion in her eyes She has a little laugh That she only gives as a favour Body that thirsts for warmth But doesn’t feel heat But doesn’t feel heat
This brunette doesn’t dance When I show her Jobim Maybe she doesn’t like the lyrics Maybe she doesn’t like me Black, unruly hair Falling on a light, naked shoulder Made by boredom gone by And love that never blinded her And love that never blinded her
Deep down, the brunette wants Time to be a woman The brunette doesn’t really know But deep down, I know That when her veil falls When the warmth comes back to her Whenever the night chooses She dreams of me* too.
There are places she doesn’t use Because she doesn’t know they’re here There are seas she doesn’t cross Because I’m not there It’s me she needs To give her what she doesn’t want Maybe I’ll show her paths Where she wants to lose herself Where she wants to lose herself
This brunette doesn’t cry with the dark fado of Oulman Nor with the poetry of O’Neill In the first light of morning She knows so many artists She sings me lyrics by heart** But they don’t get inside her She doesn’t understand their flavour She doesn’t understand their flavour
Deep down, the brunette wants Time to be a woman The brunette doesn’t really know But deep down, I know That when her veil falls When the warmth comes back to her Whenever the night chooses She dreams of me too.
This brunette doesn’t run When I call her to me
*= Remember “sonha comigo” might look like “dreams with me” – implying they are sleeping together – but it means “dreams of me”, which is a different kettle of fish! One of those instances where the use of prepositions can give you a slightly different mental image if you’re not careful.
**= Letras “de cor” sounds like it should mean colourful lyrics but there’s an older meaning of cor that is the same as coração, so it’s just like the english expression “knowing something by heart”
Yesterday’s post was about the strange case of Fernando Pessoa’s advertising slogan for Coca Cola in 1927. As I mentioned, there seem to be a few different perspectives on the motives of the people involved, but I don’t think the facts of the matter are in doubt.
Anyway, it turns out that there’s a short movie about the incident. It’s made by a French company but it’s in portuguese with English subtitles. Someone’s put it on Facebook. Hurry though, it might not be there forever. It’s a good length and very easy to follow, so I can recommend it even if your listening skills are underdeveloped.
The film has a slightly playful, surreal tone. The name of the drink os given as “Coca Louca” and it translates the slogan as “First you’re surprised, then you’re possessed”, then plays with that idea of possession by showing the minister for health convinced that the drink contains evil demons which need to be cast out by an exorcist with a bottle opener in the shape of a crucifix!
It also depicts the poet not as Pessoa himself but as Álvaro de Campos, one of the heteronyms, who appears in the film as a separate person, looking just like the man himself.
As a result of a recent conversation about racism (following on from a book I read – there’ll be a review here in a day or two) a Brazilian guy on reddit pointed me to an account on Instagram called brasileirasNaoSeCalam. It’s basically one of these accounts that seeks to ginger people up for a particular cause by telling you how absolutely terrible everything is. In this case, quite a lot of the posts are just quotations from Brazilians in other countries recounting times they were victims of racism. The vast majority of them are in Portugal.
It’s quite interesting from a sociological point of view because of course there are racists in every country and knowing what kinds of stereotypes people have about each other tells you something interesting about the country. There is definitely racism against Brazilians in Portugal. I’ve seen videos and I have spoken to people who have some really unpleasant views about them all being thieves and whores, but I’m a bit unclear about the extent of that racism and I’m curious to know more.
But just as there is racism in every country, microaggressions (ie perceived slights which are held to be evidence of a deep seated hostility) are everywhere too, mainly thanks to the steady creep of absolutely terrible ideas from the USA. And my sense is that a lot of these posts fall under that heading. And in a way, that’s interesting in itself because learning what people see as a microaggression can tell you something about the shape of paranoia in a particular demographic. Take this for example:
(I’m doing an online course and my teacher always turns up with two video options for us to watch: one in Brazilian and one in English “for anyone who doesn’t like Brazilian”
From the comments, the reason for the complaint is that some people find the use of “brasileiro” in place of “português de Brasil” to be evidence of hatred, and the fact that she thinks some people might prefer to hear a foreign language rather than a São Paulo accent just adds insult to injury. This seems a little over-sensitive, but more importantly, I think it’s pretty obvious that there are plenty of alternative explanations for why English is being offered alongside Brazilian. For example, Portugal has a pretty good record of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers from Syria, Venezuela and Ukraine, among others. It must be a hard transition for those people to make given how much harder it is to learn portuguese than English. Of course it’s not practical to have videos in every language, but English is practically a universal esperanto these days, and it seems very likely that someone who is still struggling to learn portuguese might find it easier to follow an English language video than one that is in a strong, unfamiliar accent.
The irony is I think the teacher is being unfairly accused of racism just because they are making the course more accessible for all immigrants, and not exclusively catering to the needs of oversensitive Brazilians. Quite a lot of the quotes on the site are in the same vein: they’re minor or open to more charitable interpretation or just frankly unlikely-sounding.
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some real racist incidents on there, but I get the impression it’s one of those accounts where all the followers want to tell their victimhood story and the net effect is that it becomes a huge echo chamber and everyone inside is in a state of constant fear and rage, way out of proportion to the real situation. I’d love to find some good journalism on the subject though. When I say good journalism I mean (a) uses data competently and thoughtfully and (b) doesn’t pepper their narrative with the word ‘privilege’.
I’ve heard the word “Beto” or its diminutive, “Betinho”, being used a few times as a sort of derrogatory word for a rich, posh person – someone the kids today would call privileged. I think I first came across it in 1986 A Série but didn’t really wonder where it came from. Apparently it’s from the early eighties when a Brazilian Telenovela called Dancing Days first aired on portuguese TV. There was a character in that called Beto, who was the son of well-off parents. He was played by Lauro Corona. The series aired in the late seventies and made its way to Portugal in the early eighties, so it still would have been quite a new word in 1986 when Nuno Markl puts it into the mouths of his protagonists.
Anyway, here’s a clip from the original series. It has strong eighties vibes to me, but I guess these trends don’t fit precisely into decades, do they?
I did a translation of “Super Ego trip Humilde” by Gandim a while ago and I fancied doing a second one. It took me a while because the page kept crashing and losing my work but I finally finished the bugger, Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you an english translation of The senstiment is pretty familiar – standard observational comedy – so it’s relatable content for pretty much anyone, but he manages to end it in a way that saves it from being cliché.
Este é um som bué positivo, bué lá em cima /This is a really positive sound, really uplifting Alegria, dedicado a todas as pessoas do mundo inteiro / Happiness going out to everyone in the whole world Yeeeeehahhhh / Yes Estou a gozar… isto é para todas as pessoas que eu odeio /I’m kidding… This is for all the people I hate E que vocês deviam odiar também / And that you should hate too Se por acaso alguém ficar ofendido /If by chance anyone gets offended I don’t give a shit / I don’t give a shit Odeio pessoas que pedem francesinha vegetariana / I hate people who ask for vegetarian francesinha Odeio pessoas que querem pizza sem queijo ou com banana / i hate people who want pizza without cheese or with banana Odeio pessoas que mastigam feitas vacas de boca toda aberta / I hate people who chew like cows with their mouths wide open Odeio pessoas na faixa do meio com a estrada deserta / I hate people in the middle lane with the road deserted Odeio pessoas que usam comic sans como fonte /I hate people who use Comic Sand as a font Odeio pessoas que dizem tou a chegar mas inda vão na ponte / I hate people who say I’m about to arrive Odeio pessoas com música sem phones no autocarro / I hate people who listen to music without headphones Odeio pessoas que passeiam na rua a puxar catarro / I hate people who walk in the road and cough up phlegm Odeio quem chega sempre atrasado / I hate people who always arrive late Odeio quem pede bife do lombo bem passado / I hate people who order sirloin well done Odeio quem não responde às mensagens / I hate people who don’t reply to messages Odeio quem mostra mil fotos de viagens / I hate people who show a thousand holiday photos Odeio pessoas que usam a palavra top / I hate people who use the word “top” Dizem face e insta / And say Face and Insta Falam à tia tipo de snob / Speak to their aunt like a snob Odeio velhas a pagar as contas no atm / I hate old ladies who pay their bills at the ATM Adultos com boné / Adults in baseball caps Quem come o último m&m / Who eat the last M&M Odeio pessoas / I hate people Podiam morrer todas / They can all die Odeio pessoas / I hate people De qualquer idade / Of whatever age Odeio pessoas / I hate people Velhos e crianças / Old people and children Odeio pessoas na generalidade / I hate people in general Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I yearn for extinction O fim do mundo / The end of the world É a melhor solução / Is the best solution Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I yearn for extinction O asteroide / The asteroid É a melhor solução / Is the best solution
Odeio pessoas que falam alto na sala de cinema / I hate people who talk in the cinema Odeio pessoas que ainda acham cool dançar o esquema / I hate people who still think it’s cool to dance the esquema Odeio pessoas que se guiam pelos signos / I hate people who follow the signs (I think this is about people followijg astrology rather than road signs) Odeio pessoas que acham tarólogos fidedignos / I hate people who believe astrologers Odeio pessoas que usam sunga na piscina sem ser natação / I hate people who wear speedos when they’re not even swimming Odeio pessoas com bebés a chorar no avião / I hate people with babies who cry on the plane Odeio os bebés… a chorar em qualquer lado / I hate babies crying anywhere Odeio os pais que não os calam um bocado / I hate parents who can’t get them to be quiet for a bit Odeio quem diz que tem wi-fi, mas é lento / I hate anyone who says they have wi-fi but it’s slow Odeio quem sorve a sopa, é nojento / I hate anyone who serves sleep, it’s disgusting Odeio quem diz que não precisa de beber para se divertir / I hate anyone who says they don’t need to drink to have fun Odeio quem entra no metro antes de te deixar sair / I hate anyone who gets on the metro without letting people get out Odeio pessoas que puxam o lençol / I hate people who hog the sheets Não sabem fazer rotundas / They don’t know how to use a roundabout E riem-se com lol / And they laugh by saying “lol” Odeio betos que sinalizam virtude / I hate posh people who virtue-signal Activismo de hashtag / Hashtag activism Não há quem os ature Nobody can put up with them Odeio pessoas / I hate people Podiam morrer todas / They can all die Odeio pessoas / I hate people De qualquer idade / of whatever age Odeio pessoas / I hate people Velhos e crianças / Old people and children Odeio pessoas na generalidade / I hate people in general Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I look forward to extinction O fim do mundo / the end of the world É a melhor solução / Is the best solution Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I look forward to extinction A peste negra / The black plague É a melhor solução / Is thebest solution
Odeio pessoas de óculos escuros em espaços fechados / I hate people who wear sunglasses indoors Odeio pessoas que passam à frente nos supermercados / I hate people who get in my way in the supermarket Odeio pessoas que metem a toalha em cima com a praia vazia / I hate people people who put out a towel on an empty beach Odeio pessoas que não respondem a um bom dia / I hate people who don’t reply when you say hello Odeio pessoas que publicam indirectas nas redes sociais / I hate people who talk shit on the internet** Odeio casais com facebook conjunto siameses digitais / I hate couples with joint facebook pages like digital siamese twins Odeio pessoas felizes logo de manhã / I hate people who are happy first thing in the morning Odeio pessoas com unhas de gel a bater no ecrã / I hate people with gel nails tapping on their phone screen Odeio quem deixa o carro estacionado em segunda fila / I hate anyone who leaves their car double-parked Odeio quem diz que é doce de ovos mas afinal é de gila / I hate anyone who says that they’ve made egg custard but actually it’s made of gila*** Odeio quem tem iphone e não arranja os dentes / I hate anyone who has an iphone but doesn’t get their teeth fixed Odeio quem estaciona no lugar dos deficientes / I hate anyone who parks in the disabled parking space Odeio a namorada que não queria nada / I hate a girlfriend who didn’t want anything Come as tuas batatas / She eats your potatoes**** E ainda fica indignada / And still gets annoyed Odeio as pessoas que dizem “as ‘soas” / I hate people who say “peeps” ***** Fanhosos a fungar / Snotty people sniffing Porque é que não te assoas / Why don’t you blow your nose? Odeio pessoas / I hate people Podiam morrer todas / They can all die Odeio pessoas / I hate people De qualquer idade / of whatever age Odeio pessoas / I hate people Velhos e crianças / Old people and children Odeio pessoas na generalidade / I hate people in general Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I look forward to extinction O fim do mundo / the end of the world É a melhor solução / Is the best solution Odeio pessoas / I hate people Anseio a extinção / I look forward to extinction Holocausto nuclear / Nuclear holocaust É a melhor solução / Is the best solution
Ainda tenho muito ódio em mim / I still have a lot of hate in me Mas a música está quase no fim / but the song is almost over Por isso sem rodeio / So without further ado Aqui vão mais umas quantas pessoas que odeio / Here are some other people I hate Quem faz espuma nos cantos da boca / People who froth at the sides of their mouth Gémeos adultos com a mesma roupa / Adult twins with the same clothes Quem diz que anda aí com um projecto / Anyone who says it’s out with a project Quem diz sande, apesar de estar correcto / Anyone who says “sande” (even though that’s correct) Odeio quem não sabe cortar queijos / I hate anyone who doesn’t know how to cut chese Odeio quem se dá um em vez de dois beijos / I hate anyone who gives one instead of two kissed Odeio quem se despede com abreijos / I hate anyone who signs off with “abreijos“ Odeio quem se queixa que em agosto está sol / I hate anyone who complains that the sun is shining in August Que são os mesmos que em dezembro dizem que faz briole / They’re the same people who say it’s chilly in December Quem não fez o trabalho de grupo, mas aparece na apresentação / Who doesn’t pull their weight in the team but still turns up at the presentation Quem filma concertos inteiros nas stories, mêmo pitas sem noção / Who films the whole concert on their stories – they really are clueless kids Odeio pessoas que interrompem as outras a falar / I hate people who interrupt when others are talking Puto olha aqui uma cena… man, não vês que estou a gravar? / “Dude, look at this thing…” Man, can’t you see I’m recording? Odeio quem usa chinelos com meias / I hate anyone who wears sandals with socks Modelos de Instagram feias / Ugly instagram models Com os seus pezinhos sapudos, enfiados na areia / With their podgy feet stuck in the sand Odeio quem luta pelo ac no trabalho, / I hate people who fight for air conditioning at work Dói-me a garganta, eh pá, vai pó caralho / It hurts my throat, hey man, fuck off! Quem não sabe conjugar o verbo haver / Anyone who doesn’t know how to conjugate the verb “haver” Quem não sabe usar palavra literalmente, podia morrer / Anyone who doesn’t know how to use the word “literally” can die. Odeio pessoas que só se queixam e dizem mal / I hate people who only complain and say bad stuff Odeio pessoas e seres humanos no geral / I hate people and huiman beings in general Odeio quem está no reflexo do espelho / I hate the person reflected in the mirror Por isso é que tenho tanto ódio / That’s why I have all this hate Não gosto do que vejo / I don’t like what I see Odeio-me a mim mesmo, ganda plot twist / I hate myself. Huge plot twist Afinal o misantropo / Ultimately the misanthrope Era só um inseguro triste / was just a sad, insecure man Ya, ganda final / Yeah, big finish Não é cómico, mas tem boa moral / It’s not funny but it has a good moral Ya, ganda final / Yeah, big finish Não é cómico, mas tem boa moral / It’s not funny but it has a good moral
*It says “inda” in the original and I’m pretty sure it should be “ainda” but whether that’s a typo or just slang like “tou” and some of the other words in the rap.
**Uma indirecta is a comment that appears to be nice but has a hidden, malicious intent. It’s not a straightforward personal attack and… actually, it’s a little hard to know how to translate it. Subtweet? Trolling? Something like that.
***I don’t know why it has taken me until now to find this out but apparently Gila is a kind of green squash that’s often used in sweets. Sounds weird, but then pumpkin pie exists, so is it really that strange? So he’s protesting about “doce de ovos” (egg custard type stuff) turning out to just be nasty pumpkin goo. Well, fair enough, I can see how that wold be annoying!
**** I wondered if this was some sort of expression, but no, it’s just literal. You ask someone if they want a portion of chips and they say no but then proceed to eat all of yours
***** I think ‘soas is short for “pessoas” so I’ve used the closest equivalent I could think of but I could be wrong…
I used the phrase “Tia Angústia” as the original title of yesterday’s post and that made me wonder if there really was a Portuguese equivalent to the English expression “Agony Aunt”, that would be better than my all-too-literal translation. I asked…
Acabei de usar esta frase no meu texto dia. Foi uma piada, porque aposto que a expressão não existe em português mas “agony aunt” em inglês significa alguém que dá conselho, principalmente sobre amor, por exemplo num jornal ou numa revista. Tipo: “Cara Tia Joana, Amo um rapaz mas é casado com um caranguejo. O que é que devo fazer?” / Já consideraste vestir-se a vermelho e andar de lado para chamar-lhe a atenção? Será que tais pessoas existem/iam lá? E se existem mesmo, qual é a… Sei lá… O título deste cargo…?
Yeah yeah, we believe you, José Nuno Martins
Anyway, it turns out that, no, agony aunt columns were never really a thing in papers, but that seems to have been largely because there was a magazine called Maria, launched in 1978 that absorbed all this action. People would address their letters to “Maria” and so having another personality, an agony aunt figure, wasn’t really necessary. A lot of this is based on people speculating so it’s not an authoritative answer or anything.
Maria still exists but it has modernised and moved on to fashion and lifestyle tips, but you an find old advice from it if you look around. Here, for example. Apparently the letters were real, and the people who answered them were psychologists, according to the magazine’s own account of itself.
So, bottom line, nobody will know what you’re on about if you refer to a Tia Angústia but if you need a cultural reference point in the same sort of area to drop into conversation, a revista Maria is probably the right one to reach for.
Luso 