Macau Antigo: Macau em 1974/75: fotos de Per Lander

Neste post publico um conjunto de 12 fotografias tiradas em Macau pelo sueco Per Lander em 1974/1975 e a quem agradeço a partilha das memórias.
Na época a mulher de Per estudava mandarim em Pequim mas como a China só permitia a entrada de estrangeiros em condições muitos especiais, o casal tinha de se encontrar em Hong Kong, o que aconteceu pela primeira vez em Dezembro de 1974. Nesse ano, na altura do Natal/Passagem de ano, aproveitaram para visitar Macau.
As palavras são de Per Lander: "My former wife was then studying the Chinese language in Beijing. At that time China was a closed country and I was not permitted to visit her there, so we had to meet in Hongkong, the first time 1974."
Per e a mulher voltariam a encontrar-se em Macau no ano seguinte.

Ao lado, uma imagem da Rua da Barra, já muito perto do Beco do Lilau.

Rua da Barra; à dta, acesso à capitania dos portos, antigo quartel dos mouros.

E como era Macau em meados da década de 1970 aos olhos de Per Lander? Eis a resposta: "In the mid 1970's, it was a big change to come to Macau from Hongkong. Compared to Hongkong everything looked very old and worn, and the pace was much slower. And not a single scyscraper in sight, as far as I can remember! The most striking, however, was that Macau seemed to be much more influenced by the portuguese, than Hongkong by the british. In Macau the chinese and the portuguese cultures had melted together, creating what looked like a unique macanese culture. The old houses had an architectural style clearly influenced by the portuguese. Even many people looked like a blend of a chinese and a portuguese. This was a big difference from Hongkong, where the british seemed to keep a clear distance to the chinese majority. There was of course the casino - Macau's main source of income - but that was
not dominating the overall impression of the city. We stayed only one night in Macau, at a fantastic old hotel called Bela Vista. We had a balcony with balustrade where we sat at night sipping portuguese wine and admiring the view of a bay, some island with a few lights and beyond that the ocean. It felt like the world´s end".