Portuguese American Journal

Portuguese American Journal

Featured Stories
Azores Honor | Ana Paula Ribeiro Tavares Awarded the 2025 Camões Prize for Literature Update | Portuguese activists detained by Israel safely returned Book | The Cartographer of Absences: A Novel | By Mia Couto Pico | CORDAS World Music Festival
 

Azores – María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace laureate, could be of Portuguese ancestry – Venezuela

Although not established, genealogical research may link the ancestry of María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate from Venezuela, to Portuguese ancestry. Apparently, through Portuguese migrants to South America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, she descends from the Machado Zuloaga family, a prominent Venezuelan lineage. Her paternal ancestry can be […]

Honor | Ana Paula Ribeiro Tavares Awarded the 2025 Camões Prize for Literature – Portugal 

The Angolan poet, historian, and essayist Ana Paula Ribeiro Tavares is the winner of the 2025 Camões Prize, the most prestigious literary distinction in the Portuguese-speaking world. Born in Lubango, Huíla, Angola, in 1952, Ana Paula Tavares is regarded as one of the most influential voices in Lusophone African literature. Recognized for “her fruitful and […]

Update | Portuguese activists detained by Israel safely returned – Portugal

The four Portuguese citizens detained by Israeli authorities during the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza — Mariana Mortágua, Sofia Aparício, Miguel Duarte, and Diogo Chaves — have safely returned to Portugal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel,  confirmed their arrival at Lisbon Airport at 10:40 p.m. on Sunday, following diplomatic coordination […]

Book | The Cartographer of Absences: A Novel | By Mia Couto – Editor’s Note

Diogo Santiago is a celebrated Mozambican poet and intellectual, a well-known professor at the university in his country’s capital. In 2019, on the eve of a cyclone that will devastate the East African coast, he returns to his hometown of Beira to receive a tribute from his fellow citizens. As he travels across Mozambique, his […]

Pico | CORDAS World Music Festival – Azores

On its 10th edition, Madalena do Pico, Azores, once again presents the CORDAS World Music Festival, from October 1–11 across multiple venues. The festival reaffirms Pico’s growing reputation as a creative hub in the Atlantic, drawing artists from Europe, the Americas, and beyond. Organized by MiratecArts, CORDAS continues its mission of uniting artists and audiences […]

Community: The second season of “Maria’s Portuguese Table” to debut in April – Rhode Island PBS

28 March 2023

The highly anticipated second season of “Maria’s Portuguese Table” will debut on Sunday, April 3, at 7 p.m. on Rhode Island PBS. The season will consist of eight episodes, with four episodes showcasing the cuisine and culture of the New England area, including Cape Cod and Boston, and the other four episodes exploring the central […]

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Posted in Azores, Books, Community, Featured, Food & Wine, Heritage, People, World

Book | Portugal – Culture Smart | by Sandy Pinto Basto – Editor’s Note

23 March 2023

Legend has it that when Caesar’s general arrived on Portuguese soil in the first century CE, he claimed to have discovered a country blessed with a mild climate and a beautiful coastline, but whose inhabitants were ungoverned and ungovernable. Today, the Portuguese are still impulsive, set in their ways, and resistant to change, yet they […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Books, Featured, Heritage, Portugal, Travel

Appointed: Officer Peter Moreira to be Police Chief of Durban – Ontario, Canada

20 March 2023

Portuguese Canadian, Peter Moreira, was appointed Police Chief of the Police Force of the Durham region, east of Toronto, in southern Ontario, Canada. The son of emigrants from São Miguel, he was born in Canada. He is the first Police Chief of Portuguese descent to take the post. A former superintendent of the Toronto Police, […]

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Posted in Azores, Community, Featured, Heritage, People, São Miguel, World

Community: Rhode Island Senate honors former  President Teresa Paiva Weed – Providence, RI

20 March 2023

The Rhode Island Senate approved legislation to rename the Community College of Rhode Island’s Newport campus in honor of former Portuguese American Senate President Maria Teresa Paiva Weed. The granddaughter of Azorean immigrants, she is the daughter of Arthur J. and Marie Paiva.  “Teresa is a trailblazer who has made a powerful, positive difference for […]

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

Opinion | Madeleine McCann mystery and madness |- By Len Port

20 March 2023

There have been a great many reported sightings of Madeleine McCann since her disappearance in 2007, but the claim by a young woman that she is probably Madeleine is getting enormous media coverage worldwide and prompting yet more bizarre speculation. The latest claim could be proven in the coming days or weeks, though it seems […]

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Posted in Featured, People, Portugal, World

Book | Africa’s Gold Coast Through Portuguese Sources 1469-1680 | by Kwasi Konadu – Editor’s Note

19 March 2023

The Portuguese produced the earliest records for regions in West Africa, none more important than the Gold Coast. This edited volume provides a unique collection of sources written in Portuguese, Latin, Italian, French, and Spanish for Africa’s Gold Coast, from the late 15th to 17th century. Students, scholars, and professionals with an avid interest in […]

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