The Spanish respect Saramago more than the Portuguese do

The death of Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago has had a very different impact in Spain, where Saramago settled, than in his native Portugal. That says a lot about how the two countries view their cultural legacies, writes Daniel Oliveira in his blog Antes pelo Contrário for the weekly Expresso: "In Spain the polemical author is considered part of Spanish culture, like one of them. 'We Spanish weep over Saramago like one of our own because we've always felt his presence', wrote [Prime Minister] Zapatero to [the author's widow] Pilar del Rio. In Portugal Saramago was a marginal figure partially disowned by his homeland, although he was Portuguese, wrote in Portuguese and has been laid to rest on Portuguese soil. The difference between how Spain treats what it has - even if it's adopted - and how Portugal treats its culture can explain why the one is a land of culture and the other merely has many talented people ... who must choose between leaving the country or living on the edge of poverty."

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