Today I am the father of 4 children- Luis, Barbara, Carolina and Maria- and 4 grandchildren- Luz, Xavier, Sancha and Flor, and I attempt everyday to perpetuate this family cult that I have always been educated in and that I consider a true foundation of life.

Family as my life’s most important aspect, my base and my comfort zone, I have always managed to live in the emotional comfort, with free thought and fearless of challenges away from my family. I was certainly influenced by my great-great-uncle, the historial figure General Norton de Matos.

Through him I start my family’s journey.

I grew up with an enourmous weight of my ancestor’s history, through the responsibility of my name.

The picture below depicts a moment I had with him when I was 1 year of age, in our family house in Ponte de Lima. Unfortunately, 18 days later , on the 2nd of January of 1955, he passed away in the town that saw him grow.

I have some memories of him that demonstrate his great service to Portugal.

In 1971 I was a player in Benfica, and its stadium was on the Avenue Marechal Carmona. After the Revolution of the 25th of April, its name changed to Avenue Norton de Matos.

In 1973 when I played in Académica, the neighborhood was called Bairro Marechal Carmona. It’s ironic how by 1975 it had a new name- Bairro Norton de Matos.

My ancestor’s name is present in many other places around the country.

In Angola, he founded the city of Nova Lisboa in 1912, currently Huambo. His statue still remains standing.

In 1945 he ran for President of the Portuguese Republic, opposing the dictator Salazar’s regime and the candidate Marechal Carmona that was reelected on the 13th of February in 1948. The General gave up the day before.