Celeste Caeiro, who made history during the Carnation Revolution by distributing these flowers to the soldiers who ended 48 years of dictatorship in Portugal, died Friday at the age of 91, AFP learned from her family.
Nicknamed “Celeste aux Œillets”, this woman “with strong convictions (…) will remain in everyone’s memory”, reacted in a press release the Communist Party, of which she was an activist.
On April 25, Celeste Caeiro participated in the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1974 coup d’état, which opened the way to democracy in Portugal and the independence of its colonies in Africa.
Born on May 2, 1933 into a modest family in Lisbon, her life changed on the morning of April 25, 1974, when she went to the restaurant where she worked, in the center of the Portuguese capital.
Faced with current political events, his boss decided not to open the establishment and asked his employees to go home, offering to take with them the red and white carnations which were to be distributed to customers to celebrate the first restaurant anniversary.
Before returning home, Celeste distributes carnations to the soldiers and passers-by she passes, who place them on the barrels of rifles or in their buttonholes.
The red carnation quickly established itself as the symbol of this bloodless coup d’état led by young officers to overthrow the fascist dictatorship in place since 1926.
