Bom Dia Zermatt

Many different languages are heard on the streets of Zermatt. Portuguese is one of them. A language, however, that is not spoken by the many tourists, but by the many guest workers in the village. In order to cope with mass tourism, the tourism construct depends on many workers, mostly foreigners. In Zermatt, mainly Portuguese. Of the approximately 5,460 villagers, 950 Portuguese live in Zermatt and another 580 in the neighbouring village of Täsch.

The majority of this foreign community works in the hotel industry, mainly in housekeeping. It is these people who maintain the pure-looking hotel atmosphere and keep the rooms looking good without making an appearance. Because of this impersonal aspect, there is also no association with people. The cleaned room is taken for granted.

These are people seeking financial happiness in an alien environment. Many come for an indefinite period, some stay for life. The driving force is always the return to the home country, which, however, often remains unattainable due to the financial commitment. This leaves only the shoulder season, when the majority of Portuguese return to their homeland and are able to quench their homesickness, saudade, a little.

It is women and men who stand for the Portuguese community in Zermatt and make their presence felt through this work.