I was born to a Portuguese father and to a west African mum. At the time, we lived in Portugal for a while, between life in Lisbon and to the lovely island of Madeira. Nowadays, Madeira is famous because of my fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal is amazing, always sunny, however sometimes the scorching sun can be unbearable especially during the summer season. Portugal possesses lovely beaches and possesses a rich history.

During the 15th century, Portuguese explorers went on to explore the world. My father would do the same, travelling far wide from Brazil to Africa. In fact, that is where he met my mum, in Guinea-Bissau during the late 70s.

What proved to be challenging for my parents was the fact Portugal colonised Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea-Bissau were independent from Portugal only from 1974. My parent’s union was not met with approval from my mother’s family. So together, they decided to move to Portugal. Another problem was that my grandmother (my father’s mother) was racist and never approved of the relationship either.

It seems, both my grandfathers fought during the war of independence, my paternal grandfather representing Portugal while my maternal grandfather fighting for independence of Guinea-Bissau. At the time, my parents did not even meet therefore my grandfathers didn’t know each other. If they did, I doubt it would have made a difference.  However, I feel it is worth pointing as I am a mixed raced, I cannot deny both my origins. I represent both, black and white.

My paternal grandmother, despite her racist views towards my mum, loved me so much and looked after me sometimes too. I was the centre of attention and loved the spotlight. I was a ball of energy, never stopping. It is fair to say, I was also mischievous. Sadly, for my sister, who was born a year after me, I was always pranking her or unwittingly dragged her along my pranks towards others.
Despite my mischievous ways, life was rather good. You could say, I lived a carefree life. Unknown to me, my mother was desperate for a change. So my life would change forever as the prospect of leaving my beloved Portugal loomed.