Eliderico
It was like this, in a brutal and unexpected way, that I lost my colleague on Postal do Algarve for the last three years, and a friend of several decades. Elidérico left without warning, without a esse-éme-essewithout a phone call, without a last scheduled lunch with no specific date, in a treacherous ambush of the myocardium, more deadly than the grenades in Empada, Guinea, at the dawn of the seventies. It’s easy to make epitaphs when someone disappears from our scene of affection, but it becomes even easier when what would be written in life as prefaces is a rigorous equation in the balance of qualities.
Elidérico José Gomes Viegas was what can rightfully be called a “gem of the Algarve”, son of Paderne, who grew up, lived and died in the Algarve that he loved so much and never abandoned, with the exception of forced incorporation in the colonial war. He was the son of a traditional family, people from the countryside, educated within a framework of values that are so scarce these days, such as integrity, honesty, truth, family and true and sincere friendship. A convinced Social Democrat, he fully embodied the concept of someone who climbs the ladder in life gradually, through effort and work, through merit and not through the force of any party card or wedge of convenience. He did not become a man anointed by a cradle of gold or previous inheritance. Focused on Tourism, with a special gift for words and interaction with others, he has worked his way up the professional ladder since he was 17 years old. Receptionist, reception manager, deputy director, hotel director, businessman.
Former European Union parliamentarian and diplomat
Desde Sérgio Palma Brito, ninguém no Algarve traduziu por escrito a teorização de um tão vasto conhecimento prático de todas as abordagens do fenómeno turístico
His academic career was in the same direction, from a non-elitist “chop” at the Commercial and Industrial School of Faro, he added diplomas, certificates and courses in management and marketing linked to tourism, to a university degree in Hotel Management. He was a traveler on seven trips around the world, adding knowledge to his leisure moments, in permanent learning with the best in the sector, with the latest developments on the market. He was the founder and president of the most important business association in the Algarve, perhaps the only self-sustained one, AHETA (Associação dos Hotéis e Empreendimentos Turísticos do Algarve), and in this capacity he became one of the most heard, respected and authorized voices in the Algarve and in the country , talking about Tourism, but always in defense of the Region, of which he became a true ambassador. He was irreverent, defiant in the face of any power, but always placing the collective interest of this land above any others, telling truths where others cowered. Since his departure from this role, which took place in the unexpected circumstances that are known, neither the association nor the Algarve have recovered the protagonism and prestige they enjoyed under Elidérico’s leadership. This is a curious name, unusual and rare, with Germanic etymology, Aldric, in which “ald” means old, and “ric”, ruler and powerful. Old, he wasn’t, Elidérico left too soon. Powerful, yes, is his example of life, which leaves a trace of longing and a collective responsibility to remember him for those who come.
Here are homework assignments for a number of entities. From the outset, the mayors of Paderne and Albufeira must find in the toponymy of their hometown and the capital city (of Tourism) worthy places worthy of the national dimension they have just lost, to perpetuate their memory. The Algarve Tourism Region should organize an evocative and posthumous tribute session to Elidérico Viegas. The Higher School of Hospitality and Tourism of the University of Algarve must promote the edition of the collection of all articles published in this newspaper by Elidérico Viegas and others in various publications.
Since Sérgio Palma Brito, no one in the Algarve has translated into writing the theorization of such vast practical knowledge of all approaches to the tourist phenomenon. It will be a reference work, a collection and a legacy for everyone who works in the sector and for young people who are learning for a professional career. AHETA, of whose founding and affirmation he was the main worker, must, at the very least, find in the headquarters building, for the realization of which he worked so hard, a worthy space in which to remember his name. Goodbye Elideric. Goodbye, walks by the sea arm in arm with Rosa, your forever companion.
*The author writes according to the old spelling
Also read:
