Portuguese in California, Regional Oral History Office

Antonio J. Cardoso ranch, 1870s, La Grange, Stanislaus County, from History of Stanislaus County, California (San Francisco: Elliott and Moore, 1881)

This continuing project records the stories of Portuguese immigrants and their descendants in the San Francisco Bay Area who represent various aspects of the history of this early immigrant group. Portuguese began arriving in California aboard American whaling ships—upon which many served--in the 1820s and 1830s and especially after the discovery of gold in 1848. Although settling in urban areas as well, Portuguese since that time have traditionally preferred to follow agricultural pursuits, where they have been especially active in the state’s dairy industry.

Immigration from Portugal (mainly the Atlantic archipelagoes of the Azores and Madeira) peaked in the first years of the past century and then again in a second wave in the 1960s and 1970s. It is the voices of these people and their children that have been the target of this oral history series, which began in the fall of 2002.

Video Excerpts [Multimedia Help]
Oral History Transcripts
	Carlos Almeida A Lifetime of Service to the Portuguese American Communities of California and Nevada Interviewer: Don Warrin The two sessions of this interview were completed in November and December of 2002. We met each time in the library of the U.P.E.C. in San Leandro. Carlos Almeida spoke at length about his early life as a student in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, under the Salazar regime and his subsequent emigration, first to Canada and then to California. The interview sessions were recorded on minidisc, then transcribed and lightly edited. They were also recorded on video disc with the assistance of UC Berkeley students Sam Schramski and Jenny Velazco.
	Stella Adoa Baptista Recollections on Life in the Canneries Interviewers: Don Warrin and Deolinda Adao This interview took place in the home of Stella Baptista in February of 2004. Many Portuguese and Portuguese Americans, especially women, worked in the canneries in various parts of California, and so we wanted to get a sense of this experience. Stella followed her mother in this occupation. In this interview she talks about her childhood, growing up with immigrant parents, first in Sausalito and then Oakland. Stella talks about life in the canneries during the War Effort (World War II) and also discusses the effects of unionization on the work experience. She also discusses several aspects of life in a Portuguese immigrant community.
	Helio and Maria das Dores Beirao Music and Poetry: An Odyssey from Terceira, Azores, to the Napa Valley Interviewers: Don Warrin and Deolinda Adao On March 12, 2004, I traveled to the Napa Valley for a series of interview sessions with Mr. and Mrs. Beirao. Deolinda Adao assisted with occasional questions, and UC Berkeley student Tammy Elrod handled the video camera. Maria Beirao elected to be the first interviewee, followed by her husband. A third short session was dedicated to the performance of these two immigrant artists from the island of Terceira, Azores. Helio played a song of his own composition on his unique Terceiran guitar. This was followed by the recital of one of her poems by Maria das Dores.
Photo by Dianne Hagaman	Rose Peters Emery A Nonagenarian Looks Back on Ranch Life in San Ramon, California Interviewer: Don Warrin In December, 2002, I traveled with Deolinda Adao to San Francisco to interview Rose Peters Emery. At that time Mrs. Emery was 98 years old and both mentally and physically active. She was about to publish a very interesting volume of memoirs, still walked the City’s hills, and was enrolled in a writing class. Deolinda handled the video camera during the session. Rose’s daughter Helen Giambruni was also present, and her voice can be heard from time to time assisting her mother with an answer. I had had the opportunity to read the manuscript of her forthcoming book, and so was able to pursue some topics raised in her text.The interview is short but reveals quite a bit about rural immigrant life at the beginning of the last century. For further details I highly suggest reading her book: Footprints in the Soil: A Portugues-Californian Remembers (San Jose, Calif.: Portuguese Heritage Publications, 2003).
	Lionel and Bernadine Goularte Reflections on the Azorean Portuguese Communities of Southern Alameda County, California Interviewer: Don Warrin In order to record these sessions, I met with the Goulartes at their home in Fremont in October and November of 2002. It was decided that Bernadine would be the first interviewed, followed by Lionel, and that subsequently there would be a joint interview with the two of them. Following their individual stories of growing up in rural southern Alameda County , the couple discussed their substantial joint efforts assisting Portuguese immigrants and ultimately thos from many different cultures. The interview was recorded on minidisc, then transcribed and lightly edited.
	Alberto S. Lemos Publisher of the Jornal Português* (Portuguese Journal), 1957-1994* Interviewer: Don Warrin The interview took place at the home of Mr. Lemos on January 21, 2008. We talked about his growing up in Portugal, his education, and his employment before emigrating to this country. Much of the interview was spent discussing his experience with the newspaper, his contacts with community leaders and consular officials, and his relations with the Portuguese-American community.
	Fr. David Orique Reflections of a Portuguese American Priest Interviewer: Kathleen Zvonovic-Higbee Father David Orique is a priest in the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church. In June of 2003, Kathy Zvanovec-Higbee traveled to Eugene, Oregon, for this interview with him. Fr. Orique begins by talking about his early childhood and its Portuguese influence. His continuing interest in his cultural background becomes clear as he speaks of a recent summer class in the Azores, the land of his immigrant grandfather. The interview soon turns philosophical, as he discusses religion, the Church, Bartolomé de las Casas, and so forth—never neglecting, however, to forge a link back to the Portuguese.
	Manuel Reis Portuguese Community Leader Interviewer: Don Warrin This series of interviews was conducted over a two-week period in November and December of 2002. We met each time in the apartment of Manuel Reis near Lake Merritt in Oakland. Unfortunately, Mr. Reis had slowed down considerably and was soon to pass away the following February at the age of 101. “If you had only talked to me last year,” he lamented at the time, “many things would have been clearer in my mind.” Nevertheless, in spite of their hesitancies and moments of confusion, these three sessions help to round out a portrait of a man who was intimately connected with various of the Portuguese American community organizations since shortly after his arrival from Lisbon in 1925. Most revealing of the personality of Manuel Reis, perhaps, was his singular and longheld desire to unite the people of Portuguese descent of northern California in one overarching organization, a dream repeatedly expressed here, but that ultimately would be frustrated.
Related Oral History Transcripts
	Elsie Casina Adams Elsie Casina Adams, Granddaughter of Pt. Hope, Alaska, Settler, Joseph Ferreira On August 3, 2005, I met with Elsie Adams at her home in Anchorage, Alaska. Also present was her niece, Carolyn Harris. Mrs. Adams is the granddaughter of Joseph Ferreira, who immigrated from the Cape Verde Islands to Massachusetts at an early age and later became a whaler. His father was apparently from the Azores, and his mother was Cape Verdean. Ferreira came to the North Slope of Alaska at the end of the nineteenth century, settling down as a shore whaler and marrying an Inupiat woman. Mrs. Adams’s contacts with her grandfather were limited, but she related what she remembered of him. Much of the interview concerns her growing up in the native environment of Arctic Alaska.
Major Vítor Alves, at the command post of the Movimento das Forças Armadas, on the morning of April 26, 1974, announcing to the world the Program of the Movement	Col. Vítor Alves Col. Vítor Manuel Rodrigues Alves, Member of the Movimento das Forças Armadas, and one of the leaders of the Portuguese Revolution of April 25, 1974 Interviewer: Don Warrin and Deolinda Adao In April, 2004, retired Col. Vítor Alves was invited to attend the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Portuguese Revolution of April 25, 1974. The occasion was the annual meeting of the Luso-American Education Foundation, held that year on the UC Berkeley campus. On Monday, April 26, Deolinda Adao and I sat down with Col. Alves to discuss briefly his major role in the Revolution and its aftermath. He also talked a bit about his formative years and the influence they had on his career.
Links UC Berkeley Portuguese Studies Program, Institute of European Studies Lusaweb, a Portuguese Ancestry Community ROHO Student Projects on Portuguese and Brazilian Communities in California