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 […]

Book | Knowledge Exchanges Between Portugal and Europe | By Nuno Luís Vila-Santa Braga Campos – Editor’s Note

30 March 2025

Following recent historiographical appeals on the need to study knowledge exchanges between European maritime rivals and their impact on overseas expansionist processes, this book makes this study for the Portuguese overseas empire between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. As the first European maritime power to systematically launch long-distance voyages, Portugal became a model worth emulation […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Books, Featured, Portugal, World

Book | Approaches to Teaching the Works of Fernando Pessoa | By Paulo de Medeiros & Jerónimo Pizarro – Editor’s Note 

30 March 2025

The writings of Fernando Pessoa, one of Portugal’s most renowned authors, stand alongside other significant works of modernist world literature and offer a view into the specific milieu of early-twentieth-century Lisbon. Writing under several identities known as heteronyms, Pessoa created works in many genres, including fragments that were assembled into his best-known text, The Book […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Books, Education, Featured, Portugal

Azores | Police seized vessel with 6’5 tonnes of cocaine – Portugal 

26 March 2025

Portuguese police have seized nearly 6.5 tonnes of cocaine from a semi-submersible “narco-submarine” intercepted about 500 nautical miles south of the Azores, Portugal’s judicial police said on Tuesday. The vessel was intercepted “in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, around 500 nautical miles (more than 900 kilometers)” south of Portugal’s Azores archipelago, the judicial police […]

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Posted in Azores, Featured, Portugal, World

Report | Portuguese people less happy in 2025 – Portugal

20 March 2025

According to the 2025 World Happiness Report, Portugal has dropped five positions in the global ranking after steadily improving its standing in recent years. In 2025, Portugal is ranked 60th with 6.013 points, among over 140 countries, against 6.030 points in the previous year. Meanwhile, Finland remains the happiest country in the world for the […]

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Posted in Azores, Community, Featured, Heritage, Madeira, Organizations, Portugal, World

Community | New partnership signed with UC Berkeley – Portugal

18 March 2025

The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) signed new cooperation agreements under the Portugal-Berkeley Program in January. Created in 2025, through a memorandum of understanding between the three institutions, the Portugal-Berkeley Program has as its main objective to promote academic exchange and scientific collaboration […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Community, Education, Featured, Organizations, Portugal, World

Book | Facilitating an Empire: The Jesuits in Portuguese Territories and Beyond (1540-1975) |  By Maria de Deus Beites Manso – Editor’s Note

15 March 2025

This book explores the Jesuit order of its origins, historical evolution, missionary endeavors, and global dynamics, with a specific focus on Portugal and the challenges arising from changes in the former Portuguese Empire. The narrative unfolds in three parts, with the initial section exploring the foundation of the Jesuit order in 1540, approved by Pope […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Books, Featured, Heritage, Politics, Portugal, Religion, World