Untamed Dreams – Faces of America
Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, is pleased to announce the release of its latest publication, Untamed Dreams – Faces of America, which will be available for sale at our booth at “Dia de Portugal” Festival, at San Jose Park, 1650 Senter Road, San Jose, California. For your convenience, you may also order it online at: https://portuguesebooks.org/books/untamed-dreams-faces-of-america/.
Untamed Dreams – Faces of America is designed as a 393 page semi-hard cover, profusely illustrated, limited edition book that brings together individual immigrant’s life stories that represent the qualities that have long distinguished the Portuguese community of California.
In today’s political climate in which immigration seems to be at the very center of our political discord, we are very proud to bring to you the profiles of individual immigrants, many of whom lived or are living very quiet lives away from the public eye, but whose actions, determination and caring character make every one of them a good example of the great human qualities that make America this very special place on earth.
Portuguese Heritage Publications is an all volunteer based, non-profit organization, created to research, preserve and disseminate for educational purposes, vanishing memories and current relevant events about the Portuguese presence in California.
Contact us:
Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, Inc.
P.O. Box 32056
San Jose, CA 95152
By Phone: (408) 272-1222 or, email: info@portuguesebooks.org
THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS GIFT
“As I am reading your wonderful book, I am thinking about my Tia Lucy, my Mom’s sister and only living sibling of 7 children, who lived in San José for many years and went to the Five Wounds Church. She was married there also. My Tia Lucy is 90 years old now and is still very alert and healthy. I know she would love to read your book.” wrote a book reader, Diane from Stanislaus County, California.
This is a common reaction from hundreds of readers who have purchased the Five Wounds Portuguese National Parish’s centennial book,A Vestibule to Heaven. Authored by Miguel Valle Ávila, edited by Lúcia Soares, and designed by Roberto Ávila, the book was printed locally by Spectrum Lithograph, a Bay Area award-winning Portuguese-American owned business and published by the Portuguese Heritage Publications of California. The deluxe, hardbound edition contains 314 color photographs across 192 pages. The book includes a historical perspective of San José at the turn of the 20th century, the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition and its relationship to Five Wounds Church, and the parish history between 1914 and 2014. The book is further embellished by photos of the church and “A Day in the Life of the Parish” with photos of events that bring the parish to life.
“Uma Entrada para o Céu” (An Entrance to Heaven) was columnist and poet José Raposo’s title for his biweekly column. Raposo stated that “I can affirm that this book should be proudly displayed in the homes of any Portuguese or his/her descendants and there should be no home without it.”A Vestibule to Heaven is available for sale from the Five Wounds Portuguese National Parish office (www.FiveWoundsChurch.org) and online at www.PortugueseBooks.org. All proceeds benefit the Five Wounds Portuguese National Parish.
Portuguese-Americans in Tulare: A time for celebration and reflection
By Diniz (Dennis) Borges Special to the Tulare Voice
The Portuguese-American community in Tulare is changing. Our immigration began in the 19th century and had two strong waves in the 20th century: from 1902 to 1921 and again from 1959 to 1978.
As the community integrates, and rightly so, into America’s mainstream, and as the younger generations become more American and less Portuguese, our associations and cultural organizations also must adapt and transform.
So as we celebrate the numerous events of 2013, we must also put forth a reflected and ambitious plan for 2014 and beyond.
Ask anyone in Tulare about the activities of the Portuguese-American and you will get a similar response: Festas. These traditional events have been part of the religious and cultural idiosyncrasies of our community since we came from the Azores islands.
This year, one of the most remarkable events was indeed the Portuguese Holy Ghost Celebration (Festa do Divino Espírito Santo). Held in Tulare for more than 100 years, most of the celebrations have been under the auspices of the TDES hall.
This year’s event was an exceptional celebration put forth by a large committee lead by Manuel and Alda Lawrence, both emigrants from the Azores, who came to America at a very young age. Through their vision, leadership and community unity, they were able to conjugate an amalgam of activists and groups, constructing a weeklong event that celebrated a 700 year old tradition.
They were able to congregate folks of all age groups from students to senior citizens. The Lawrences certainly took an important and much needed step in making the Festa (as it is popularly known) a celebration that involved the entire community. Kudos to the Lawrences for their significant contribution and leadership.
Our next step must be in the direction of making sure the Festa is part of our mainstream social and cultural calendar, with more visibility and totally opened to all the ethnic and racial groups that compose our truly unique human mosaic.
Tulare’s Portuguese-American community had an array of events in 2013, mostly social and gastronomical, celebrating some cyclical traditions brought over from the Azores islands. Amongst them were:
- Matança do Porco (Killing of the Pig) at Tulare-Angrense Athletic Club in March.
- S. Martinho (celebrating the new wine) by the Portuguese Cultural and Evangelization Center in October.
- Danças do Carnaval (Mardi Gras) in February, a vaudeville type of performance that involves groups from various parts the state, at both TDES and TAAC halls.
- Epiphany celebration by the students at the Portuguese Language school Vitorino Nemésio at St. Aloysius Catholic Church.
- The yearly celebration of popular culture and philharmonic band presentation in August, promoted by the Tulare Portuguese Philharmonics Band.
- The Portuguese-American County Breakfast, Tastes and Sounds of the Azores, Azorean-American Cultural Week (in October); Portuguese Immigrant Week (March); Portuguese-American Heritage Days (April), Portuguese Education Day (Oct. 22) and the MVPA Awards promoted by the Society of Portuguese-American Students (SOPAS) with the collaboration of other Portuguese-American organizations such as: CPEC, TAAC and TDES.
The year was also manifested by cultural events put forth by the Tulare-Angra Sister City Foundation, including a performance by two Azorean poets and singers, co-sponsored by SOPAS, promoting the richness of the Portuguese poetry; and a book presentation co-sponsored by the Tulare Historical Museum.
The book, a first in the Portuguese-American community, was entitled: “California’s Portuguese Politicians: a Century of Legislative service.” It was researched and written by Dr. Alvin Graves, who worked for many years at the local Wells Fargo Bank, and features the individual and collective stories of several Portuguese-Americans who have served at the state and national level, in our state and national legislative bodies.
One of those featured, Tulare resident and Congressman Devin Nunes, was the keynote speaker at the book launching.
This very elegant, hard covered book, was published by the Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, the primary publishing house of the history of the Portuguese in this state and one of the foremost Portuguese-American publishers in the country. It was certainly an honor for our community to host the first and official launching in our city.
The Tulare-Angra Sister City Foundation also hosted, with the collaboration of other organizations, the visit of Dr. Paulo Teves, director of Azorean communities, and the Sanjoaninas Committee.
This yearly visit promotes the June SanJoaninas (St. John’s) celebration, the largest celebration Angra do Heroismo, Tulare’s Sister City on Terceira Island, holds.
As the Portuguese-American community continues its metamorphosis into the American mainstream, it must look into its celebrations and cultural events – some of them seeing fewer and fewer participants each year – and reflect seriously not only on which need to be maintained, but also on what needs to be worked and reworked in order to fit the acculturation process our community undergoing. This is a healthy and natural process in a community that 35 years ago ceased to have significant immigration.
In 2014, we in the Portuguese-American community must look into our soul and collectively reflect on how we are going to preserve and promote, within our families and with our neighbors and friends from other ethnic groups in Tulare, our traditions, our culture and our ties to the islands that we, or our forefathers, left in the middle of the North Atlantic.
Diniz (Dennis) Borges is a Portuguese language instructor at Tulare Union High School and College of the Sequoias. He is also president of the North American Portuguese Teacher’s Association and the secretary of the National Organization of Portuguese-Americans
Power of the Spirit – Named Finalist “Best Nonfiction, Multi-Author Publication of 2013”
Power of the Spirit – A Portuguese Journey of Building Faith and Churches in California, is a finalist in the 15th. Annual International Latino Book Awards, the largest awards in the USA celebrating achievements in Latino literature.
The International Latino Book Awards, allowed this year, for the first time, entries from Portuguese authors in either English or Portuguese language. The award recognizes Power of the Spirit as a finalist in the category of Best Non-Fiction – Multi-Author. The awards ceremony will be held the evening of May 30, 2013, at the Instituto Cervantes in New York City. This year, the awards are sponsored by Libros Publishing; Scholastic; the University of Arizona Press and Arte Publico Press.
Each year the International Latino Book Awards are held during Book Expo America, the largest publishing trade show in the USA. Last year the Awards honored 148 publishers and authors.
All finalists’ books will be displayed at a BookExpo booth. This event is attended by thousands of booksellers and the display is designed to help expose the winning titles to these booksellers. This year each individual finalist author and publisher will be filmed in an interview. These videos will be used to help promote the winning titles. There will be a special limited edition surprise gift for all finalists.
We congratulate the authors: Joe Machado, José Rodrigues and Ferreira Moreno, as well as all contributor volunteers who worked so hard on this project. We also thank our volunteer members who are sacrificing their personal time, working with parishes and at social events to make Power of the Spirit known throughout California.
To learn more about PHPC and how to acquire Power of the Spirit, please visit us at: www.PortugueseBooks.Org in addition, don’t forget to LIKE US on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/PortugueseHeritagePublications
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.