From politics to culture, sports to research, these are talents who have proven themselves in their fields of work and are serious success stories, now and in the future. Here are 20 profiles to get to know. Because the country is full of brilliant, restless and innovative minds, we couldn't choose just 20. Here are 20 other names you shouldn't forget, because you'll see them all over the place, in newspapers and magazines, showing the promise they have in their areas of work and interest. These are the 20 most promising young people in Portugal D.R. Politics and comment Ana Gabriela Cabilhas 27, PSD MP Chosen by the PSD to represent the party at the solemn session marking the 50th anniversary of April 25, she considered the revolution "continuous and unfinished" Paulo Duarte "I fight the ideas that young people are apathetic, disinterested and don't participate. I demand space for the new generations." Ana Gabriela Cabilhas has been doing what she preaches in student associations, but now she has extended her stage to parliament. She is the second youngest member of the Social Democrat bench and was chosen by the PSD to speak for the party at the formal session to commemorate the 50th anniversary of April 25 in the Assembly of the Republic, where she spoke about "a continuous and unfinished revolution", which "brought dissatisfaction, restlessness, the freedom to be, to think and to aspire to more and better". A nutritionist with a master's degree in Consumer Sciences and Nutrition from the University of Porto, Ana Gabriela Cabilhas was born in the district of Aveiro, but moved to Invicta to attend university, when she led the Porto Academic Federation. She was a member of the National Education Council and is part of the PSD's National Strategic Council. By Rita Rato Nunes Miguel Costa Matos 29, Socialist Party MP Miguel Costa Matos, who will soon turn 30, doesn't rule out the possibility of taking on the Finance portfolio in a government in the future Fernando Ferreira He's the leader of JS and vice-chairman of the PS parliamentary group, but it was working with António Costa that he gained a deep understanding of the executive branch. Between 2017 and 2019, he was the then prime minister's economic deputy, for whom he wrote speeches, prepared economic indicators and more. "He talks like someone who talks to people, he's fantastic. And when we told him a number, he would fix it," he tells SÁBADO. When he graduated from Warwick, one of the best universities in Europe, he received invitations to offices, but Marcos Perestrello advised him to make his own way. "He would even call the people who invited me and say, 'Miguel can't accept that. " Costa Matos ended up applying for the civil service. As a member of parliament, he is one of the key figures in drafting public policies. This was the case with the Basic Climate Law. He still remembers being on the plane, on his way back from his honeymoon, holding A3 sheets of paper to find a consensus version of the law with other parties. "I was getting back into work mode," he laughs. He's about to turn 30 and leave the leadership of JS. His future? To devote himself to economic policy. And one day be finance minister? "That would be something I'd really like." By Alexandre R. Malhado Adriana Cardoso 24, commendatore and political analyst Adriana Cardoso says she has "no party position" and therefore faces more scrutiny D.R. Co-founder of Próxima Geração, a non-partisan academy that aims to strengthen young people's participation in Portuguese democracy, Adriana Cardoso graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Coimbra and currently divides her time between television commentary and working as a market access manager for health technologies. In 2021, she began writing about politics for Sapo, Público and Comunidade Cultura e Arte, as well as being one of the protagonists of the Lei da Paridade podcast. "There weren't many women or young people in political commentary and the podcast arose from that need," she explains to SÁBADO. The political analyst also reveals that, since she started expressing her opinion, her life has changed in many ways. "As I'm independent, I don't have any party position, only an ideological one, so the scrutiny is very intense. As a woman, I also get a lot of comments about my physical appearance and sexist comments," she says. Despite this, she guarantees that "proportionally the response is positive". She will soon be teaching health policy and is writing her first book. By Sofia Parissi Gaspar Macedo 23, political commentator "I often say that I wasn't interested in politics, politics came into my house" D.R. Curiosity and fascination with politics arose around the age of 12, due to the financial crisis in Portugal. "I often say that I wasn't interested in politics, politics came into my house. I heard my family and my teachers talking and I wanted to know what was going on in Portugal," Gaspar Macedo explains to SÁBADO. It was from then on that the young man from Porto became involved in party and non-party groups and in political debate sessions at school. At the beginning of 2023, he started posting videos on social networks such as Instagram - where he currently has more than 149,000 followers - and was invited to take part in various podcasts. Today, three days before his 24th birthday, he is a political commentator for CNN Portugal and reveals that he will soon be studying Communication Sciences at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto. Regarding the representation of younger generations on political commentary panels, he says: "It's important to give young people a seat at the table in the debate in general. If they don't identify with what they hear, they won't want to participate [in political life]." By Sofia Parissi Culture Gonçalo Peixoto 27 years old, fashion designer Gonçalo Peixoto admits that he "doesn't take anything for granted" and attributes the brand's success, among other things, to "strong marketing work" Tiago Sousa Dias As a child, going shopping with his mother gave him a taste he couldn't yet explain. Then came fashion magazines, an interested and almost abstract look at clothes, and a desire that, at 16, he turned into a career. Gonçalo Peixoto, 27, from Famalicense, a fashion designer, has a brand with the same name which he founded while still a student at Cenatex in Guimarães. He can't draw and admits it amusingly. He was "miserable" in his sewing classes, too, but determination, "the hunger" to prove to himself that he could be better and the example of his parents, businessmen, led him to "take nothing for granted". Focused on the team's creative freedom, he recognizes mistakes as "essential for growth" and says he has learned "to know how to delegate and listen to others". He joined the ranks of ModaLisboa, which he thanks for the boost, but says that the key to the brand's success is the strong marketing work before the garments arrive. "I'm a much better businessman than a designer, and that makes the business serious, it stops being a dream." By Tiago Neto João Gonzalez 28 years old, Director João Gonzalez was the first Portuguese to be nominated for an Oscar for his animated short Ice Merchants Lauren Justice/Reuters With Ice Merchants, an animated short film from 2022, João Gonzalez reached an early peak in his career that pushed Portuguese Cinema forward as a whole: the film became the first national production to be nominated for an Oscar and to win an award at the Cannes Film Festival, the highest of a series of distinctions that also include the Melbourne, Chicago, Valladolid and Vila do Conde festivals. For Gonzalez, it was proof that "Portuguese auteur animation cinema is very strong", he told SÁBADO at the time. It's the culmination, for now, of a journey that always seemed destined for success: after completing a degree in Multimedia at ESMAD, he made his debut with The Voyager (2017), which earned him a Gulbenkian scholarship for a master's degree at the Royal College Art in the UK. In his films - in addition to Ice Merchants, Nestor (2019) and The Voyager (2017), all short films - he accumulates the roles of director, screenwriter, animator and also, taking advantage of his classical piano training, composer of the soundtracks. Today, he does this full-time as a member of the animation collective COLA, based in Porto. By Pedro Henrique Miranda Vicente Gil 23 years old, Actor Vicente Gil gained recognition for his role in the new series of Morangos com Açúcar. His brother, Salvador, went into directing Ricardo Ruella He thanks his mother for her example, inspiration and sensitivity. She's also grateful for the journey - after all, the stage brings them together, in a family and artistic relationship that also extends to his twin brother and which began at an early age. Theater, dance, street performances - the memories that connect him to the arts run deep and led him to the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema. He keeps his roots in the North, his childhood in Gaia and Porto, his walks by the Palácio de Cristal and the streetcar rides in the city he always said was home. He also keeps the identity of his blood, proudly gypsy, something to which he attributes "the way he sees the world", which helped him to be "a communicative person, who likes to create relationships", but which also made him deal closely with prejudice from an early age. The formula would give him the strength to overcome and the determination never to forget his origins. Pragmatic in his relationship with public exposure, Vicente Gil, 23, prefers simplicity and focus, even if his participation in the new version of Morangos com Açúcar has turned him into one of the best known faces in the country. By Tiago Neto Nenny 21 years old, Rapper Portugal, France and Luxembourg are the coordinates of experiences and influences for Nenny, one of the most promising talents in the new batch of Portuguese hip-hop. D.R. At the age of 17, she released her first single, Sushi (2019), the song with which she introduced herself to the world of Portuguese hip-hop and which made her a well-known figure to the public, having exceeded 16 million views on YouTube. Her second single, Bússola (Compass), was released months later and the numbers confirmed her success. The daughter of Cape Verdean parents, Marlene Tavares, better known as Nenny, grew up in Vialonga, Vila Franca de Xira, until the age of 11. She then moved to France with her mother and later to Luxembourg. The same year she released her first song, she took to the stage at the MEO Sudoeste festival at the invitation of the members of the band Wet Bad Gang, with whom she lived in Vialonga because they were friends of her brother and cousin. In 2020, Nenny presented her first EP, Aura, which combines musical genres such as pop, soul, R&B and hip-hop. This first album, with nine original tracks, includes songs such as 21, +351 (call me) and Dona Maria - the latter dedicated to her mother. After a year without releasing any music, the Portuguese artist presented the single Bossy Girl in November 2023 and informed her fans that she would have more news soon. By Sofia Parissi Gaspar Varela 20 years old, Guitarist Expresso Transatlântico released Ressaca Bailada in 2023. Tracks like "Bombália" or "Barquinha", both singles, showcase his work on the Portuguese guitar Miguel Marquês Ancestry is a rank and if we think that Gaspar Varela is the great-grandson of Celeste Rodrigues, it's easier to explain why everyone in fado circles has known for years that Gaspar Varela is a prodigy on the Portuguese guitar. Fascinated by the Coimbra guitar, which he uses with the Lisbon tuning, he played with his great-grandmother (whom he refers to as his grandmother, mitigating the 80-year age gap between them) for the first time at the age of 7, at the Radio Amália Gala, encouraged by his master, guitarist Paulo Parreira. In 2019, a year after losing his great-grandmother, and after recording his first album of the same name, he sold out the CCB auditorium and met Madonna, who was then living in Lisbon. He began to play in gatherings with the artist and ended up joining her on the Madame X world tour. He was 16 years old. Since then he has given concerts, played with Carminho and Ana Moura and hasn't stopped growing. The band Expresso Transatlântico (Gaspar Varela on Portuguese guitar, viola and electric guitar), Rafael Matos (drums) and Sebastião Varela (electric guitar) is his latest project. By Ângela Marques Mafalda Creative 25 years old, Influencer Mafalda Machado, or Mafalda Creative, currently has 433,000 followers on Instagram Vítor Mota It was at the age of 13 that Mafalda Machado, better known as Mafalda Creative, started creating videos for YouTube. At the time, she dedicated her free time to creating humorous sketches, but today she makes it her job. About the inspiration for her characters, she tells SÁBADO: "I always like to be inspired by people I know. In fact, a math teacher once asked me to make a video imitating him. I said yes straight away." A decade later, his YouTube channel has more than 600,000 subscribers and the project has also migrated to social networks such as Instagram and TikTok, platforms where he posts shorter videos. In 2019, Mafalda decided to venture into musical comedies and released Rainha da Net, a video that surpassed three million views on YouTube and ended up becoming her first live show, presented in 2022. She explains to SÁBADO that the transition from the screen to live shows was no easy task: "Between 2013 and 2021 I was speaking to a screen. Speaking to an audience is different, I have more anxiety," he confesses. The second show, called Despedida (Farewell), was performed at the Coliseu in Lisbon on March 2 to celebrate his 25th birthday. By Sofia Parissi Madalena Almeida 26 years old, Actress In addition to João Canijo's movies (Viver Mal, Mal Viver), Madalena Almeida has also stood out in projects such as Conta-me Como Foi (2019-2023) or 3 mulheres (2022). Bruno Colaço He considers himself one of "those lucky cases", which he admits are rare. There are several episodes to prove it. Starting with her debut: a casting director came to see her final project at the Cascais Professional School and called her. That's how she got her first job, in a TVI soap opera. Another example: it was the actress Rita Blanco, who had already worked with her on television, who got her to do a casting for João Canijo. In 2023, she made the movie Mal Viver and this August she starts rehearsals for the director's new film. Madalena Almeida started acting when she was 18 - she never wanted to be anything else and it was her mother who nurtured her dream - and she hasn't stopped for the last eight years. She's done television, theater and cinema and even had the opportunity to join a fictional rock band - the Jesus Quisto project, which was born in the series Pôr do Sol - and give concerts at places like the Coliseu dos Recreios or Nos Alive. However, she considers the stage to be the place "where she can express herself best". A self-confessed workaholic, today she has two theater companies and is betting on them for her future. By Lucília Galho Sports Gustavo Ribeiro 23 years old, Skater Gustavo Ribeiro is currently ranked third in the world skateboarding rankings, the best national position ever achieved Luís Manuel Neves Gustavo Ribeiro got his first skateboard at the age of 4 and at the age of 10 he stood on the podium in the first international amateur competition he took part in, with his twin brother Gabriel. In 2019, he realized his dream and turned professional. "I'm a Cristiano Ronaldo fan and, like him, I believed it was possible," he tells SÁBADO. Three years ago he moved to Los Angeles, in the United States of America, the mecca of skateboarding. After overcoming a shoulder injury, he has only one goal at the Paris Olympics (which take place between July 26 and August 11): "Gold!" "2024 is the year I definitely wanted to see if I could get a medal and I'm working my hardest for that, so let's see how these last few months go until the Games," he told Lusa. By Susana Lúcio António Morgado 20 years old, Cyclist The 20-year-old cyclist has three victories under his belt: Volta ao Algarve (youth), Giro della Romagna and 2nd stage of the Vuelta a Asturias Bruno Colaço In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that it takes 10,000 hours - or 416 full days - of intensive practice to master a skill. The theory, however, leaves out fundamental factors inherent to the subject such as determination, commitment, competitiveness or, ultimately, natural vocation. António Morgado is therefore an atypical case, a combination of all the factors excluded by the author, combined in a formula that, if it seems promising at the age of 20, can soon become a serious case of success - after all, the precedent exists, and the hours seem to matter little when the will dominates. Nicknamed the "flying moustache", he made a name for himself with a fifth place in the Tour of Flanders, the youngest rider in 80 years to finish in the top five of the race, and a 2nd place in the Grand Prix de Le Samyn. "Second isn't winning, it's the first of the losers." Born in Salir do Porto, Caldas da Rainha, he's a member of the UAE-Emirates team and wants to leave his mark on a sport which, in Portugal, had Joaquim Agostinho as its greatest reference. By Tiago Neto Research Mariana Gomes 22 years old, Law student About the lawsuit she has filed against the state, she says: "it will set a great precedent and discussion in Portugal about the responsibility of the Portuguese state in protecting our fundamental rights" Sérgio Lemos He's one of the main faces of environmental law in Portugal - and he's only just finishing his degree. At the age of 22, through her association Último Recurso, Mariana Gomes has supported more than 500 climate activists and recently sued the State for failing to apply the Basic Climate Law. "It will set a great precedent and discussion in Portugal about the responsibility of the Portuguese state in protecting our fundamental rights," she told SÁBADO. He was born in Matosinhos, but grew up (and studied) all over the country. In Braga, at the age of 10, the librarian gave her the key to read; in Guimarães, in high school, she organized a climate protest and brought together dozens of students. There was one image that struck her in Geography class: "Our teacher showed us photos of her trip to Bali. The pollution, the plastic It was a shock." She was fascinated by the judicial world, where she dealt early on with a judge who made her feel "wronged", and chose to study law at the University of Lisbon - which became her main weapon. She advises the President in the think tank "O Futuro Já Começou" (The Future Has Begun), created Climáximo's legal structures, but is now focused on challenging the status quo with her own association. By Alexandre R. Malhado Catarina Caria 26 years old, Entrepreneur Catarina Caria presents the World Made Good podcast and writes opinion columns for SÁBADO and Jornal de Negócios. Duarte Roriz Her degree in Political Science and International Relations at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa - during which she was an ambassador for the faculty and went on to Sciences Po in Paris - served as an intercontinental platform: between this course and her master's degree, which she completed with distinction at the Universidade Católica in Lisbon, she worked for government bodies in the USA, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and for the United Nations, working in the areas of communication, diplomacy, international trade, sustainable development, peace and security. Today, as well as being a member of the advisory board of the Portuguese Business Confederation and the Institute for the Promotion of Latin America and the Caribbean, he is a program manager at the Institute for Economics and Peace, a Brussels-based think-tank. In the media, he presents the World Made Good podcast and writes opinion columns for SÁBADO and Jornal de Negócios. By Pedro Henrique Miranda Mariana Esteves 28 years old, Economist Mariana Esteves is dedicated to researching gender inequalities in the national labor market. Morgane Vie Born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Mariana Esteves graduated in Economics from the University of Porto before moving to Nova SBE, where she took a master's degree in Economics and Public Policies and is still a doctoral student, researching gender inequalities in the national labor market. As an academic specializing in public policy at this institution, she was one of the authors of the report Portugal, Balanço Social (2022), a comprehensive meta-study that drew the portrait of poverty and social exclusion in the country. Since January 2021, she has been presenting the podcast Mão Visível with Rui Maciel - which is now published in SÁBADO, where they both have an opinion column. The podcast explores the intersection between economics and current affairs in the areas of politics, society and culture. By Pedro Henrique Miranda Miriam Sabjaly 25 years old, Lawyer Miriam Sabjaly is of Portuguese descent from India. She has experienced Islamophobia but has turned law into a weapon of struggle D.R. A racialized Muslim woman. This is how Miriam Sabjaly, a Portuguese descendant from India, presents herself and defends the rights of minorities. She experienced Islamophobia at the Catholic University Law School (where she specialized in Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law) and the experience led her to work as an intern at the Portuguese Association for Victim Support, where she helped undocumented immigrants. "I was aware of the barriers of the law," she tells SÁBADO. "But it's different when you get to know people." At the age of 22, she was Joacine Katar Moreira's parliamentary aide and decided that wasn't the path for her. Disenchanted with the parties, because of what she says is a dissonance between the concerns of racialized people who are part of a precarious group and what the parties have on their agenda, as she told Expresso, she believes that "with the growth of far-right populism, based on racial hierarchization, dehumanization, calls for violence and disinformation, there is an urgent need to reject the common conception that hatred is an internal attitude, without effective consequences," as she told Afrolink. He is currently completing a master's degree in the Erasmus program on Human Rights in Sweden. She wants to return. "The April 25th parade was very hopeful. It's important for young people to be there." By Susana Lúcio Rui Maciel 27 years old, Economist The 27-year-old economist doesn't rule out getting involved in politics but stresses that he won't be "dependent on anyone" Miguel Baltazar "If I ever appear on TV as a commentator, it's because I've failed in life: I'm an economist." This is how Rui Maciel responds when we ask him if he's thinking about politics, given his career and his growing involvement in public policy - since 2021 he's hosted the podcast Mão Visível with economist Mariana Esteves. The young man who grew up in Ermesinde doesn't rule out getting involved in politics - he tends to be left-wing - but he stresses that he will never be "dependent on anyone". His eclectic path suggests this autonomy of thought, such as when he went from a master's degree in economics at Nova SBE (where he highlights the influence of economist Susana Peralta) to a master's degree in cinema and television at Nova FCSH. The mix is reflected in his career: he worked in communications at the Bank of Portugal, did technical work as an economist in the mission structure for Health at the Ministry of Finance ("I would leave Finance and wear a T-shirt so I wouldn't go to film classes in a shirt") and at the European Central Bank. Rui Maciel is deepening his knowledge of data science in Barcelona, knows about communication and likes to have a public voice on economics and politics. You'll probably hear more from him in the future. By Bruno Faria Lopes Filipe B. Caires 29 years old, Economist Filipe B. Caires refuses to be called a "genius" but does not deny that he is "good at what he does" D.R. More than one person uses the word "genius" when referring to Filipe Caires, which makes him uncomfortable. "It's an abuse," says the young researcher - who doesn't deny being "good" at his job. Those who know him say that the 29-year-old (he turns 30 this Friday, October 10) has a habit of devaluing himself, a personality trait he assumes, although he assures us that he is trying to make amends. The expat in Florence fell in love with economics halfway through his academic life, when he was studying for his master's degree. "I thought about doing Engineering," he recalls, but decided on Economics, fascinated by the abyss of possibilities and doubts inherent in science. "I was attracted by the philosophical side of economics, thinking about what the world would be like if certain agents hadn't made the decisions they did, if they had taken a different path," he explains. He is temporarily in Paris working with the OECD on a study of the labor market, a more "practical" aspect that complements his research - Microeconometrics applied to public policies. He would like to return to Portugal, but without delay. "I'm not going to miss out on a good career opportunity just to return to Portugal sooner. I'm in no hurry." By Diogo Barreto Sara Aguiar 27 years old, Entrepreneur With a degree in Political Science and Management, Sara Aguiar is the founder of the Ponto Zero podcast and worked her way up to brand and product management at Procter & Gamble in Switzerland. D.R. It was through a busy life in the fields of entrepreneurship, marketing, diplomacy and innovation that she came to brand and product management at Procter & Gamble in Geneva, Switzerland, where she uses artificial intelligence to optimize business models and digital marketing. After training in Political Science and Management at Universidade Nova de Lisboa (during which time she spent time in The Hague and Copenhagen), she founded her first company at the age of 21, taught at ISEG and Católica and interned at the European Commission before dedicating herself to empowering startups - first at the Startup Factory, and then as part of Amazon Web Services. Together with Mafalda Rebordão, from Google, she is the co-founder of the Ponto Zero podcast, about female leadership mentoring, and co-author of the entrepreneurship book O Acelerador de Carreiras, published by Contraponto. By Tiago Neto Alexandre R. Malhado , Ângela Marques , Bruno Faria Lopes , Diogo Barreto , Lucília Galha , Pedro Henrique Miranda , Rita Rato Nunes , Sofia Parissi , Susana Lúcio , Tiago Neto , Vanda Marques May 08th