Portuguese American Journal

Portuguese American Journal

Featured Stories
100 years ago | Devastating earthquake shook Faial Island Sports | Fernando Pimenta world canoeing champion Community | 20th Anniversary of Portas da Cidade Celebration Community | The Holy Ghost Festival of New England returns Community | Judge Luis Matos nominated to Rhode Island Supreme Court
 

100 years ago | Devastating earthquake shook Faial Island – Azores

One hundred years ago today, on the morning of August 31, 1926, the island of Faial was violently shaken by one of the most destructive earthquakes in the modern history of the Azores.  A century later, the Museu da Horta is commemorating the disaster with historical photographs, educational activities and an earthquake-preparedness exercise involving about […]

Sports | Fernando Pimenta world canoeing champion – Poznan, Poland

Portuguese canoeing star Fernando Pimenta was crowned world champion in the K1 1000 meters, winning a dramatic final at the Canoe Sprint World Championships in Poznan, Poland, on August 29, 2026.  The achievement adds another historic chapter to the career of the athlete from Ponte de Lima, widely regarded as Portugal’s greatest canoeist. Pimenta currently […]

Community | 20th Anniversary of Portas da Cidade Celebration – Fall River, MA

Mayor Paul Coogan, in conjunction with the Portas da Cidade Advisory Committee and the Prince Henry Society, will host a special ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Portas da Cidade (City Gates), one of Fall River’s most recognizable symbols of its Azorean heritage.  The celebration will take place Monday, August 31, at 10:30 am […]

Community | The Holy Ghost Festival of New England returns – Fall River, MA

The Holy Ghost Festival of New England will be held in Kennedy Park in Fall River, Massachusetts, from August 26–30. Former Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is expected to visit Fall River as a guest of honor for the 40th-anniversary festival celebration, according to reports. The President of the Regional Government of the Azores, […]

Community | Judge Luis Matos nominated to Rhode Island Supreme Court – Providence, RI

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has nominated Superior Court Associate Justice Luis M. Matos, a Portuguese-born jurist with extensive state and federal experience, to serve on the Rhode Island Supreme Court.  Governor McKee said his responsibility was to select someone with “unquestionable qualifications, an impeccable reputation and a strong record in strong and fair judging.” […]

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

Parliament: Portuguese lawmakers approve gender change bill – Portugal

14 July 2018

The Portuguese parliament has approved a law allowing gender change and name change from the age of 16 without a medical report stating “identity disruption” or considering transgender identity as “an abnormal pathology or mental situation.” A previous law (2011) required transgender citizens to have a medical diagnosis that established ‘gender dysphonia’ when biological sex […]

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

Sports: Red Bull Cliff Diving competition returns to São Miguel – Azores

13 July 2018

For the seventh consecutive year, 16 world class cliff divers from 17 countries gathered in São Miguel, Azores, to participate in the third stop of the 2018 International Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. The competition includes 28 athletes men and women from 17 countries. This stop of the extreme sports event is being held July […]

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Posted in Azores, Featured, Organizations, People, São Miguel, Sports, World