For a Lisbon-based photographer, Portugal often means being outside the news spotlight, but recent exceptions have been the economic crisis which the country has faced over the past decade providing me with an opportunity to document the transformation of the country, and the catastrophic wildfires that hit Portugal almost every summer. My work consists mainly in covering social and cultural aspects of a country usually associated with tourism and sometimes presented in outdated pictures no longer conveying the reality.

The Portuguese are used to tough times but we are a proud people, proud of our rich culture and our achievements in many areas.

Being outside the spotlight allows me to focus on intimate and often little-known stories that somehow depict the present and show the traditions and history in different parts of this small country.

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted both strengths and weaknesses of Portuguese society, showing a united and resilient people, but at the same time it became clear that we live in a country that still needs to evolve and move into the European panorama.