The Vice-President of the Regional Government of the Azores, Artur Lima, will participate as the guest of honor in a presentation session dedicated to Portuguese Heritage Month on June 24th.
This event, celebrating June as Portuguese Heritage Month in California and honoring the Day of the Azores and Portugal, is sponsored by the California Portuguese-American Coalition (CPAC) and will take place at the California Assembly and Senate in Sacramento.
Throughout the day, Artur Lima will meet with community leaders, including those from two fraternal societies linked to the Portuguese American community, to discuss potential investments in the Azores. He will also meet with the Director of International Relations at the California Chamber of Commerce, a key entity in the state’s economic sector.
In addition to his role as the guest of honor at the resolution presentation, Artur Lima will highlight the contributions of Azoreans to the economy and cultural diversity of California. He will hold meetings with prominent state officials, including the President of the State Assembly, Robert Rivas, the President of the State Senate, Mike McGuire, and the leader of the parliamentary group in the Assembly, Cecília Aguiar-Curry, who is of Azorean descent.
Artur Lima’s visit aims to establish closer cooperation between the Azores and California and explore new opportunities for economic development. This trip is coordinated by CPAC, through its president Diniz Borges, and the director responsible for Sacramento contacts, Cliff Costa. The Councilor of the Azorean Diaspora in California, Zeto Carvalho, will accompany him.
Source: Press Release: Portal.Azores.gov
The Azores (population 250,000) is a region of Portugal composed of nine islands. The archipelago discovered by Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, became an Autonomous Region of Portugal in 1976. The government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores includes the Legislative Assembly, composed of 57 elected deputies, elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term; the Regional Government and Presidency, with parliamentary legitimacy, composed of a President, a Vice-President and seven Regional Secretaries responsible for the Regional Government executive operations. The Autonomous Region of the Azores is represented in the Council of Ministers of the Central Government by a representative appointed by the President of Portugal. According to the latest US census over 1.3 million individuals of Portuguese descent live in the United States, the majority with roots in the Azores. It is estimated that over 20,000 US citizens live in Portugal.
