“The Lady of the Carnations”, symbol of the 1974 revolution in Portugal, dies

Celeste Cairo, a symbol of the Carnation Revolution that ended the dictatorship in Portugal in 1974, died on Friday at the age of 91, her family informed AFP.

The Communist Party, of which she was a member, responded in a statement, saying the woman, nicknamed “Celeste de los Carnations”, “will remain in everyone’s memory (…) of strong convictions.”

On April 25, Celeste Cairo participated in the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1974 coup that ended a 48-year dictatorship and paved the way for democracy in Portugal and the independence of its colonies in Africa.

Born on May 2, 1933, into an ordinary family in Lisbon, her life took a turn on the morning of April 25, 1974, when she was walking to the restaurant where she worked in the center of the Portuguese capital.

Given the political events occurring, his boss decided not to open the establishment and asked his employees to return home, and offered them red and white carnations to be distributed to customers to celebrate the restaurant’s first anniversary. Had to be done.

Before returning home, Celeste distributed carnations to soldiers and passersby she met, who placed them in the barrels of their rifles or on their lapels.

The red carnation soon became a symbol of the bloodless coup that young officers led to overthrow the fascist dictatorship that had been in power since 1926.

LF/TSC/IAL/MAB/PC