Flower Freedom, Fire Imagination, Strength Unity, Art Revolution: The symbolism of cultural guerilla in the Portuguese revolutionary process (1974-1976)

The Portuguese revolution, on April 25th, 1974, ended a fascist dictatorship that had lasted for forty-eight years. In the political and social global context of the Cold War, the country's new situation was understood as a victory for the anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist movement, particularly in Europe. This article will analyse the artistic practices during the Portuguese revolutionary process (1974-1976), particularly the symbolic adoption of a guerrilla strategy within the arts: a cultural guerrilla. First, the article introduces the topic and ask how a cultural guerrilla was relevant within the national artistic context during the period in focus, assuming collectivism as the strategy's basic and essential characteristic. This is followed by a discussion of forms of self-organization and direct action led by collectives. In this regard, the strategy of cultural guerrilla was used in articulation with the centres of political decision, as a means of projecting the voices of artists into the political-social sphere. The conclusion underlines the extraordinary context of Portugal in the political and social context of the Cold War and the relevance of artistic practices in this period towards international understanding of the topic.