Portuguese American Journal

Portuguese American Journal

Featured Stories
Honor | Writer João Pedro Vala recipient of the PEN/O. Henry Award Space | Portugal launches satellites honoring national literary figures Community | 2026 International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA)  Community | Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho remains on paid leave FLAD | Carlos Costa Neves appointed director of the Luso-American Development Foundation
 

Honor | Writer João Pedro Vala recipient of the PEN/O. Henry Award – New York, NY

Portuguese writer João Pedro Vala has been awarded a prestigious PEN/O. Henry Award for his short story “Inês,” a recognition widely regarded as one of the highest honors in English-language short fiction. The first Portuguese author to receive that distinction, his short story ‘Inês’ was selected for inclusion in the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories anthology. […]

Space | Portugal launches satellites honoring national literary figures – Santa Barbara, CA

Portugal successfully launched six satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, US. The mission reinforces Portugal’s growing role in the global space economy, while also strengthening strategic, scientific, and economic links across the Atlantic. Among the satellites are four named after some of the nation’s most celebrated literary figures […]

Community | 2026 International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA)  – Providence, RI

The International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA) will return on Saturday, April 25, 2026, for its 14th annual edition at the Providence Performing Arts Center, bringing together leading artists from across the global Portuguese-speaking world.  The event, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and hosted by Daniella Ruah and Ricardo Farias, will be broadcast internationally, continuing its mission […]

Community | Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho remains on paid leave – Los Angeles, CA

Alberto M. Carvalho, the Portuguese-American superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), remains on paid administrative leave following a federal investigation involving the nation’s second-largest school system.  The move comes after agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed search warrants at Carvalho’s residence and district offices in late February 2026, in […]

FLAD | Carlos Costa Neves appointed director of the Luso-American Development Foundation – Portugal

The Board of Trustees of Lisbon based, Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) appointed Dr. Carlos Henrique da Costa Neves, 72, to the Executive Board, chaired since January 15, 2026, by José Manuel Durão Barroso. Born in Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, Azores,  Costa Neves holds a degree in Law from the University of Lisbon. He has held […]

Extreme weather: More than 500 dead may be related to heatwave – Portugal

09 August 2018

The Director General of Health, Graça Freitas, said Wednesday that there were more than 500 dead, between Sunday and Tuesday (August 5, 6 and 7), that could be related to the heatwave that has hit the country in recent days. Stressing that it is necessary to determine the causes of these deaths, and exercise caution […]

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Posted in Featured, Organizations, People, Portugal

Opinion: America is my home because of DACA – by Rodrigo Pimentel

08 August 2018

I emigrated to the United States from Portugal at ten months of age, accompanied by my undocumented parents. I took my first steps here, in America. Later, I got my first driver’s license and my first job here. Ours is the nation where I have made lifelong friends, volunteered in my community, and crossed the […]

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Posted in Community, Featured, Heritage, Organizations, People, Politics

Book: ‘The Tenth Island’ by Diana Marcum – Editor’s Note

04 August 2018

From a Pulitzer Prize–winning writer comes an exuberant memoir of personal loss and longing, and finding connection on the remote Azorean Islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Reporter Diana Marcum is in crisis. A long-buried personal sadness is enfolding her—and her career is stalled—when she stumbles upon an unusual group of immigrants living in rural California. […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Azores, Books, Community, Featured, Heritage, People, Travel

Weather Alert! Portugal bracing for four days of record breaking heatwave

30 July 2018

According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), starting on Wednesday, Portugal mainland will be hit by a four day long heatwave, with temperatures reaching 113 Fahrenheit or higher across the country. The above average temperatures are expected to have an impact on public health and fire propagation. The IPMA declared “code […]

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Posted in Featured, Heritage, Organizations, People, Portugal

Community: Cecilia Fatima finalist at the SSEP Conference- Smithsonian Institution

20 July 2018

Portuguese American Cecilia Fatima Louro Perez, was recently honored to speak at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as a Finalist of the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP). The SSEP is an international program organized by the National Center for Earth and Space Science exploration (NCESSE) in which students submit experiment proposals to be […]

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Posted in Awards, Community, Featured, Organizations, People, Portugal, World

Got Plastic? Marine pollution and the perils of microplastic – By Len Port

20 July 2018

While there is no doubt about the vast scale of the plastic pollution problem, it is far from clear how places like the Algarve, mainland Portugal, are going to cope with the crisis. Marine plastic pollution, particularly microplastic material, is a serious but as yet not fully understood threat to nature and to human health. […]

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Posted in Azores, Featured, Organizations, People, Portugal, World