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.” […]

BREAKING NEWS! Benfica invites rescued Thai players to train at academy – Portugal

10 July 2018

Portuguese club Sport Lisboa and Benfica (Benfica) has invited the 12 rescued Thai young soccer players and their soccer coach to spend an all-expenses-paid week in Portugal, at their Seixal training academy, Reuters reported. The boys were rescued from a vast cavernous system in northern Thailand on a complex three-day operation. Rescuers completed the rescue […]

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

Parliament: Portuguese lawmakers reject bill banning bullfights – Portugal

06 July 2018

Portuguese lawmakers rejected a bill banning bullfights, submited by PAN, the People-Animals-Nature party. The bill was rejected by all major parties with few abstentions.  During the debate, Deputy André Silva of the PAN, a party represented by a single deputy, defended that bullfighting is execrable fun, based on torture, “consisting in showing the most abject […]

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

Porto: President Barack Obama guest speaker at climate change summit – Portugal

05 July 2018

The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, will be the keynote speaker at a conference titled ‘Climate Change Leadership Porto 2018 Summit’ taking place on Friday, July 6, at the Porto Coliseum. The event will address environmental issues focusing on climate change and solutions. Climate change was one of President Obama’s main concerns […]

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

Travel: Portugal ‘Best European Destination’ by the World Travel Awards – Athens, Greece

02 July 2018

Portugal was voted for the second consecutive year the ‘Best European Destination’ for travelers at the 25the World Travel Awards (WTA), known as the ‘World Tourism Oscars.’ With Portugal, Lisbon and Madeira Island also received international recognition. Lisbon was voted the ‘Best City Destination’ in Europe for the third consecutive year and for ‘Best European […]

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Posted in Awards, Featured, Heritage, Madeira, Organizations, Portugal, World

Book: ‘The Portuguese of Trinidad and Tobago’ by Jo-Anne S. Ferreira – Editor’s Note

30 June 2018

Traditionally a navigating and migratory people, Portuguese settlers came to the Caribbean as early as the seventeenth century. The ancestors of the modern Portuguese community in Trinidad and Tobago hailed from the archipelago of Madeira, fleeing their homeland in search of an economic and religious haven from the 1830s onwards. They came neither to explore […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Azores, Books, Community, Featured, Heritage, Madeira, People, Portugal, World

Elected: António Vitorino Director of International Organization for Migration – Geneva

30 June 2018

Portuguese carrier politician, António Vitorino, former European Union commissioner, was elected on Friday, as the next Director General for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Elected by acclamation by the 169 IOM member states, he bypassed United States nomenee, Ken Isaacs, President Donald Trump’s pick for the post.  Current IOM Deputy Chief Laura Thompson of […]

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