"Se eu te pudesse abraçar" ("If I could embrace you") was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, performed in Portuguese by Alma Lusa. The song is a ballad, with the band singing about the fact that the Portuguese diaspora is to be found worldwide. Lead singer Inês Santos directs her lyrics towards these overseas Portuguese and tells them that she wants to "embrace" them and talk about their experiences. It was succeeded as Portuguese representative at the 1999 contest by Rui Bandeira with "Como tudo começou". * v * t * e