 Captain Salgueiro Maia, portrayed in the film, was born in 1944 and  died of cancer in 1992. He was one of the Portuguese heroes of the  revolution. It was he who forced the goverment to resign and it was  in great part due his intelligence and common sense that it was  possible to have a "bloodless revolution" that ended 48 years of  dictatorship. He wasnt promoted (nor did he ever seek any kind of  promotions or fame or power) and was for some time forgotten.  Eventually he was honored with two streets in Santarém and Castelo  de Vide (where he was born and where he is buried) that now bear his  name. Also in Santarém stands a statue of Captain Salgueiro. In  Lisbon, in Largo do Carmo, where he stood with a megaphone and his  troops and hundreds of civilians crying "Victory," forcing the  govement to resign, there is a inscription to him written on the  ground. It says: "To Salgueiro Maia, remembering the 25th of April  1974. Homage made by the city of Lisbon, 1992."