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.” […]

Walk & Talk: Street Art Festival returns to São Miguel – Azores

11 July 2017

The 7th edition of the Walk & Talk Street Art Festival will be held from July 14 through July 29, on São Miguel Island, Azores, with events in Terceira Island from September 29 to October 6. The street arts festival connects the islands through the arts, with artistic residencies, new interventions in outdoor spaces, exhibitions, […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Azores, Books, Featured, Film, Heritage, Music, Organizations, Painting, People, Photography, São Miguel, Terceira

Book: ‘The Portuguese in the East’ by Silva Jayasuriya – Editor’s Note

11 July 2017

Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India in the late fifteenth century opened up new economic and cultural horizons for the Portuguese. Undertaken at the height of Portugal’s maritime influence, it helped to create an oceanic state ranging from the Cape of Good Hope to China. While Portugal’s direct political influence in Asia was comparatively short-lived, […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Books, Featured, Genealogy, Goa, Heritage, Portugal, World

FESTAS: Ponta Delgada shares Holy Spirit kindness – Azores

08 July 2017

The city of Ponta Delgada is celebrating this weekend the culmination of the Grandes Festas do Divino Espirito Santo [Great Feast of the Divine Holy Spirit] a festival inspired on the Azorean traditional devotion to the Holy Trinity. The devotion stems from the belief that the Holy Spirit dispenses graces upon graces and that those […]

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Posted in Azores, Community, Featured, Heritage, Organizations, People, Religion, São Miguel

Corvo: Home to the most unique flower in the world – Azores

07 July 2017

One of rarest flowers in the world, known as ‘Myosotis Azorica’, grows exclusively on the island of Corvo where it was found near extinction. Endemic to the Azores, the plant was identified for the first time in 1842 by British botanist H.C. Watson, on the islands of S. Jorge, Pico, Faial, and Flores. Since 2012 […]

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Posted in Azores, Corvo, Featured, Heritage, Organizations

Community: Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture gets five more years – UMass, Dartmouth

07 July 2017

University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan has approved the renewal of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture for an additional five years. In a prepared statement Chancellor Robert E. Johnson remarked, “the Center will continue to be the nation’s preeminent university-based organization devoted to promoting and sharing the culture of […]

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

Lisbon: European city with more cultural dynamism – Portugal

07 July 2017

Portugal’s capital was named the European city with more “cultural dynamism” by the “Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor” a project endorsed by the European Commission. The ranking, which will be updated every two years, covers 168 cities in 30 countries (28 in the European Union plus Switzerland and Norway). The project aims to help policy […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Entertainment, Featured, Heritage, Organizations, Portugal