Every year, around the 29th of June, many Portuguese cities prepare for the festival of São Pedro. Although many parts of the country celebrate in similar ways, it is said that the cities of Sintra and Évora host the largest, most elaborate celebrations in Pedro’s name. São Pedro is an important saint to the Portuguese. Several coastal […]
The following blog entry has been extracted from the booklet ’60 Years of Immigration’, which tells the stories of several Portuguese-Canadian immigrants who’ve settled in Oshawa, Ontario. This work was put together by David Ganhão, with the help of some friends. No dia 31 de Outubro de 1975, parti de São Miguel para vir para […]
Every year, during the week of June 10, the Portuguese-Canadian community in Toronto comes together to celebrate Portugal’s national day. Since the initial migration of Portuguese people to Toronto, the community has doubled in size, resulting in a larger celebration to commemorate their origins each year. In Toronto, celebrations in honour of Portugal Day began in […]
Serra da Estrela is one of Portugal’s hidden treasures. While the Serra itself is not hidden, it is not known by many. Standing at around 1933 M at its highest point in Torre, the Serra is one of the tallest mountains in Portugal (1). It is filled with beautiful landscapes and rare views, of which many photos can […]
I had a chance to sit down with a friendly neighbour a few weeks back to chat about his experience of emigrating from Portugal to Canada, his hardships, successes, and what life is like for him living in Toronto today. Andrea da Costa: Where were you born? Frank Rodrigues: I was born in Funchal on Madeira […]
Francisco da Silva Marques Nascimento: 1941 Naturalidade: Seia – São Romão Residência: Brasil – Rio de Janeiro “Até aos meus 15 anos vivi com os meus pais e cinco irmãos em São Romão (Serra da Estrela). O meu pai era tecelão e a minha mãe doméstica. Viajou sozinho para o Brasil e, passados quatro anos, […]
Much like the story of Romeo and Juliet, Inês de Castro and Dom Pedro were fated to die for their love, except that their love story wasn’t fictional. The story begins with an arranged marriage between Dom Pedro, the son of King Dom Afonso IV, and a woman of good social standing in the Portuguese […]
In addition to sharing excepts from the late José Mário Coelho’s book, based on the lives of the Portuguese who emigrated to Canada, we also thought it would be nice to broaden the scope a bit to discuss the experiences of Portuguese people who have emigrated to other parts of the world. These entries will be extracted […]
Eduardo da Costa Resende was born in the village of Fajã de Baixo, district of Ponta Delgada, in São Miguel, Azores, on May 4, 1942. In 1959, he applied to become a volunteer for Portugal’s Air Force. The first commission to be sent to the Portuguese overseas mission in Africa took off from Portugal on March […]
Quando procurava um novo tópico para escrever, lembrei-me que mês era: Abril. Vários meses são importantes para história portuguesa. Por exemplo Dezembro, no seu primeiro dia existe as comorações da restauração da independência ou em Junho que existe o dia de Camões ou até mesmo Outubro com o dia da instauração da república. Mas possivelmente […]