Sara (4 years old), Nuno (7), Tiago (8) and Vasco (10) -- authors of a poster made with a marker where it reads "Long live the 25th of April = Freedom" -- rush to explain to Lusa why they chose the word "freedom" for the center of the A3 sheet of paper. "Because before the country was sad and now it is free. Because you couldn't talk and because the police would go to people's homes to get them at four in the morning or later to arrest them for thinking differently," they say, repeating the explanations they heard at home. They arrived at Largo Soares dos Reis, in Porto, where the Freedom Parade organized by the Commission for the Popular Commemorations of the 25th of April started, very early. They want to get to Avenida dos Aliados in the front column where a group of former paratroopers, upon hearing the conversation, point to a building. "And do you know what was there? The headquarters of the PIDE, the political police that arrested and tortured people. You can't imagine how many people were mistreated there," Francisco Almeida (66 years old) tells them. There were 7,600, according to Domingos Dias of the Union of Anti-Fascist Resistance Fighters who went up to the stage in the square to greet "the most beautiful human frame in the world, the one that wears a carnation and resists," he said. Meanwhile, the paratrooper whispers: "[50 years ago] I saw the joy of a people who were tied up and gagged. I saw faces with smiles from ear to ear. It was the happiest day of my life. Not the happiest, the most important, but I think that what was done in April 74 is not being taken seriously. There is a lack of housing and decent wages." Next to him, other fellow paratroopers, Aurélio Soares and Francisco Gonçalves, both 64 years old, who half a century ago were in school and were sent home because, they were told, "a great revolution was happening in Lisbon, a very good thing that would change Portugal," add to the list of complaints: "There is a lack of health, a lack of justice." There are people of all ages in the Freedom Parade in Porto. A procession that, starting from the square where today the Military Museum occupies the facilities of the former PIDE, passes through Avenida Rodrigues de Freitas, Rua D. João IV, Rua de Santo Ildefonso, Rua Passos Manuel, Rua Sá da Bandeira, Praça D. João I, Rua de Rodrigues Sampaio to end at Avenida dos Aliados. The sound of the organization's microphones began to sound at 2:15 pm with "Quis saber quem sou" by Paulo de Carvalho, music still heard on April 24, 1974, at 10:55 pm, which was exactly the first revolutionary phrase of the 25th of April 50 years ago. And the procession began about half an hour later with "Grândola Vila Morena" setting the tone. The song "Sexta-feira" by Boss AC and the verses "It's Friday / I sweated all week / I don't have a dime in my pocket / Someone get me a job / Good good good good / Now now now now" make Andreia Trevisan, who was 16 days old when the Carnation Revolution took place 50 years ago, dance. "I'm very very very happy. This has nothing to do with the right or the left, it has to do with freedom" It is the country that is at stake," she tells Lusa next to her sister and daughter and next to a group of students holding carnations and posters that, more than memories, convey appeals. Rafaela Pinto (21 years old) chose the phrase: "Hate speech is not freedom of expression". She explains to Lusa that she is "afraid" of the confusion between "opinion" and "discrimination". "It's incredible that we can say we have freedom of expression. I thank the Captains of April very much for that. But hate speech is not opinion. I fear the lack of sensitivity that is increasingly seen in relation to minorities," she describes. The Freedom Parade in Porto is expected to arrive at the Aliados between 4:00 pm and 4:30 pm. The musical project Cara de Espelho, which brings together members of bands such as Deolinda, Ornatos Violeta, Gaiteiros de Lisboa, A Naifa, Humanos, is expected to take the stage, and it is estimated that the slogans will continue to sound like the unavoidable "25th of April Forever! Fascism Never Again!". Read also: Thousands are already going down the Avenue to celebrate 50 years in freedom (Portuguese version)