PHPC Board Member Interviewed for WW RTPi Television

January 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

newspaper2Lúcia Soares, founding member of the Portuguese Heritage Publications’ Board of Directors, and Vice-President, Chief Information Officer at the Diabetes Care Franchise Division of the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, was interviewed for WW TV RTPi, as part of a series on successful Portuguese-Americans. The Azorean news paper Correio dos Açores, also gave first page exposure to Ms. Soares interview.

Lúcia Soares was born in Santa Cruz – California, daughter of Azorean parents who immigrated to California in 1970. Raised speaking Portuguese at home, she currently dominates both languages comfortably and is raising her own daughters equally bilingual.

PHPC congratulates Lúcia Soares on her career achievement and wishes her continued success.

Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, Inc. is a non-profit organization, created to research, preserve and disseminate vanishing memories and current relevant events about the Portuguese presence in California, for educational purposes.

For further information about Portuguese Heritage Publications and its published works, please visit www.PortugueseBooks.Org

 

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Power of the Spirit Presentation at the Buhach Community

December 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Jose Rodrigues presenting Power of the Spirit in Buhach

Jose Rodrigues presenting Power of the Spirit in Buhach

This past December 8th, the community of Buhach hosted the Presentation of Power of the Spirit – A Portuguese Journey of Building Faith and Churches in Califonia.

Jose do Couto Rodrigues of Portuguese Heritage Publications, presented the book in his usual eloquent and sincere manner. Judging by the number of people in attendance and volume of books sold, the Power of the Spirit kick-off book presentation was an enormous success!

The mass was celebrated by Father Timmings, the pastor of Immaculate Conception, and by Father Manuel Sousa, pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption in Turlock.

Under the leadership and coordination of Norma Jean DeSousa, Lillian Apolinario and Jo-Ann Neves Freen, the event was well attended and enjoyed by all. The famous “malassadas” and other goodies prepared by the ladies of the local Portuguese community councils, contributed to the success and encouraging results of this social-cultural event.

Anyone who may be able and willing to host a similar Power of the Spirit book presentation event in your local community, we’ll be glad to send our volunteers to present the book and be on hand with books for sale.

Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, Inc. is a non-profit organization created to research, preserve and disseminate vanishing memories and current relevant events about the Portuguese presence in California, for educational purposes.

Conversely, you may purchase the book online at: http://portuguesebooks.org/books/power-of-the-spirit/ or by calling: (408) 272-1222. Power of the Spirit is also available for sale at Furtado Imports in San Jose.

Pictures by Anna Marie Daniels

Buhach community members in line to purchase our book Power of the Spirit

Buhach community members in line to purchase our book Power of the Spirit

Malassadas and other goodies

The always delicious “malassadas”
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POWER OF THE SPIRIT: A Portuguese Journey of Building Faith and Churches in California

November 21, 2012 By 1 Comment

Portuguese Heritage Publications of California (PHPC) announced the release of its new book Power of the Spirit: A Portuguese Journey of Building Churches and Faith in California.

Power of the Spirit, the latest work devoted to illuminating the history of the Portuguese in California, narrates the spiritual journey of the Portuguese immigrants in California who built many churches in their communities and of the clergy who lead them for over a century.  It reveals how the Portuguese immigrants established themselves and prospered in the various areas of this immensely diverse state, with an insight into their spirituality as they planted roots deep into the American soil. Power of the Spirit documents the odyssey of a people and its courageous clergy in a conjugation of effort of epic proportions. Such effort was essential to their constructing of the many beautiful and inspiring Church buildings and supporting the clergy and religious who provided for the spiritual guidance to the Portuguese immigrant community dispersed throughout the vast Californian territory.

Power of the Spirit, coordinated and researched by Joe Machado, Ferreira Moreno and José do Couto Rodrigues, has been several years in the making; through their efforts and those of dozens of volunteer researchers and photographers, this much anticipated publication is now available from Portuguese Heritage Publications of California. From the Church of Immaculate Conception, Hawkinsville, in the north, to the Church of St. Agnes, San Diego, in the south, this hard cover, deluxe edition, highly illustrated with many historic photographs tells the stirring history of this important solace for the Portuguese in California.

At the core of the Power of the Spirit is the Catholic Church. The Portuguese, and especially the Azoreans, are among the most Catholic people of Europe, and the Catholic Church was the main pillar of the Portuguese community in the Old Country. Throughout the history of immigration to California, as soon as the immigrant survived the early trials of a new life, he quickly turned his resources to the one institution that could create a new equilibrium for him in America: the Church.

Whether laymen or clergy, Power of the Spirit: A Portuguese Journey of Building Faith and Churches in California pays humble homage to the Portuguese pioneer immigrants and all they have done to enrich the spiritual lives of Californians.

Given the fast approaching Holiday Season, Power of the Spirit is a great gift for family and friends, one they will keep as a reference for a long, long time.

Books are now available for purchase online.

Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, Inc. is a non-profit organization 501 c (3), created to research, preserve and disseminate vanishing memories and current relevant events about the Portuguese presence in California, for educational purposes.

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Whale Watching in the Azores Islands

September 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
From whale hunting in the nineteenth century, to whale protecting in the twentieth century and whale watching in the twenty first century the Azores islands and surrounding marine habitat have become  a whale’s peaceful paradise. To get the flavor of the islands and appreciate these beautiful and peaceful animals, watch this video.

To learn about whaling in California by the Portuguese shore whalers from the 1850′s to early 1900′s, the majority of whom came from the Azores islands, please read our publication The Portuguese Shore Whalers of California, 1854-1904. By today’s standards, whaling is a cruel and heartless industry, pitting men and their equipment against these wonderful mammals of the sea. Yet whaling once played an important part in improving people’s standard of living in many areas of the world.

The Portuguese Shore Whalers of California 1854-1904
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Memoir: Philip Graham abroad in Lisbon – Interview

August 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Philip GrahamAn interview of Philip Graham, by Millicent Borges Accardi, for the Portuguese American Journal. Millicent is a Portuguese-American poet, the author of three books: Injuring Eternity, Woman on a Shaky Bridge, and Only More So (forthcoming from Salmon Press, Ireland). She is also an esteemed member of PHPC’s Board of Directors.

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“The Power of the Spirit” – A new book from Portuguese Heritage Publications of California

July 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

St. Agnes Catholic Church - San Diego

As the Power of the Spirit project rapidly approaches the printing stage, book reservations for this limited edition publication have already started, in anticipation of another high quality addition to the Heritage Collection of Portuguese Heritage Publications of California.

Enjoy a well documented historic perspective of the church buildings, their pastors, their congregation and how they came into existence. You are certain to appreciate the human stories, the drama, the sacrifices and indomitable spirit of the Portuguese communities in early California.

You may reserve your copy of the full color, Deluxe edition of The Power of the Spirit at: http://portuguesebooks.org/new-projects/ .

Don’t wait, reserve your book now: http://portuguesebooks.org/new-projects/

To review and/or purchase additional PHPC publications visit: www.PortugueseBooks.Org

Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, Inc. is a non-profit organization 501 c (3), created to research, preserve and disseminate vanishing memories and current relevant events about the Portuguese presence in California, for educational purposes.

 

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Portuguese Teacher Needed in San Jose

June 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Language Trainers, with operations in the US and Canada was established in 2004. The company specializes in offering one-to-one and small group language training for business people and busy individuals who need language skills for work, travel and family needs.

Language Trainers currently has a part-time freelance teaching position available:

Location: San Jose

Course Length: 50 hours

Type of course: General

Number of students: 1 adult

Schedule: 3 times per week, mornings

Compensation will be negotiable depending on qualifications and experience.

To be eligible for this position. the candidate must have high written and oral language level and/or have a language degree and at least two years experience in teaching.

Interested candidates please reply to info@PortugueseBooks.Org for additional information.

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Corvo Documentary – 1st. Place at the 55th. San Francisco International Film Festival

May 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Since the beginning of the human colonization in Corvo until the end of the 20th century, this island lived secluded and totally self-dependent. A closed agricultural community with ancestral rituals and codes but open to the sea. Historical are the stories about their relationships, economical and social, with the sailors and the pirates that sailed around the coast of the island. The state of Portugal was distant, the world for Corvo was the international sea trade and Corvo was in the center of that trade.

Gonçalo Tocha was able to capture the uniqueness of life in Corvo and project it throughout Europe and the United States in his

Feature Documentary “It’s the Earth Not the Moon”.

The 55th. San Francisco International Film Festival is held each spring for 15 days. The International is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities, featuring 200 films, live events and 14 juried awards. The event included upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests and diverse and engaged audiences with more than 70,000 people in attendance.

The winners were announced at the Golden Gate Awards Ceremony and the awards presented by  the San Francisco Film Society. The documentary “It’s the Earth Not the Moon”, of filmmaker Gonçalo Tocha (Portugal 2011) was the winner in the Documentary Feature category. We congratulate Gonçalo and his team for a job well done!  

Caldeira do Corvo

Extracts from San Francisco’s Film Society Press Release; Edited by PHPC’s blogging staff

Visit: www.PortugueseBooks.Org for additional information

 

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GORREANA TEA – An European delicacy since 1883

April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The tea plantation Cha Gorreana is beautifully situated on the North coast of the  island Sao Miguel, near the little village of Maia, surrounded by green volcanic hills and the big blue of the Atlantic ocean, far away from any industrial pollution.

Family owned and operated for 5 generations, the Gorrean plantation is the only Euro Zone Region to grow tea. The estate measures approximately 45 hectares; 30 employees produce about 40 tons of tea annually, mainly consumed on the islands themselves and in the Portuguese mainland. Due to the special micro-climate in this part of Sao Miguel, with its constant high level of humidity throughout the year in combination with fertile volcanic soil, the Cha Gorreana plantation doesn’t have to fight against vermins of any kind. The tea plant – Camellia Sinensis – is grown organically here without any pesticides, herbicides and fungicides being used. During more than 125 years of successful tea growing the plants have adapted themselves to the sometimes rough and salty winds coming off the ocean and don’t need any additional shelter anymore. They are allowed to reproduce themselves the natural way. Pure and mild with a fine natural flavour, Gorreana tea is available as balck tea or green tea in different varieties.

Gorreana tea aficionados may enjoy a cup of their favorite tea on May 5th. at the Santa Monica International Tea Festival.

Sources: www.gorreanatea.com ; LA Times

Translated by: www.PortugueseBooks.Org

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National Literary Award Dias de Melo

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Municipality of Lajes do Pico/Ver Açor Editors

Translation: Portuguese Heritage Publications                                                                                              

DIAS DE MELO deals in his books, as did Vitorino Nemésio, with the profound Azorean insularity. Dias de Melo developed several of his novels in the South of the island of Pico, in the era of the whalers and the omnipresent sea. He socialized with Ferreira de Castro, Fernando Namora, Urbano Tavares Rodrigues, Armando Côrte- Rodrigues and many others.

It is the extraordinary literary dimension of one of the greatest Azorean writers, the largest in the whaling literature that justifies the promotion of the National Literary Award Dias de Melo, which has a meaning of great prestige for the Azorean Literature.

The National Literary Award Dias de Melo, promoted by the municipality of Lajes do Pico and by Ver Açor Editors, is intended to honor, biennially, a previously unpublished work or published in the previous year, in the categories of romance, novel, short story, chronic, or poetry, written in Portuguese language.

The jury is composed of five personalities of recognized merit: Daniel de Sá, Isabel Pires de Lima, Luis Fagundes Duarte, Manuel Tomás and Maria de Jesus Maciel. Each candidate work should be submitted to the Municipality of Lajes do Pico, by May 30, 2012.

The monetary value attributed to the National Literary Award Dias de Melo, is 5,000.00 euros. The selected work will then be published or reprinted by Ver Açor Editors. The prize winner will be announced at the official opening of the Whalers Week event.

www.PortugueseBooks.Org

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