California is home to a large community of immigrants who, throughout the past 150 years, have made their way from the Azores islands in the North Atlantic to the fertile Central San Joaquin Valley. These immigrants and their descendants continued with their traditions and culture and incorporated elements of the “American dream” into the celebrations brought over by the various waves of immigration.
Fresno State’s Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute will premiere its new oral history film project, “Untold Stories: The Portuguese Festa in Central California,” during a showcase event at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at the Fresno State Library (Room 2206), with a livestream available on YouTube. The event is free and open to the public.
“Untold Stories: The Portuguese Festa in Central California” is a short documentary on the religious and cultural celebrations that, in many Central Valley towns, have become symbols of identity, cultural manifestations, solidarity, social bondage and bridges to connect with other cultures. A Catholic-based holy ghost celebration held late spring through early fall, the festa celebrates Queen Isabel, who sold the jewels of the crown to feed the poor during a period of famine in Portugal.
“This idea that we have a responsibility for our fellow human being, independent of one’s ideology, is the basis for the Holy Ghost Festa,” said Diniz Borges, director of the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute.
The documentary highlights the elements of a typical festa and how, through a strong alliance between tradition and innovation, a festival that began in Portugal in medieval times still has a strong presence in California’s 21st century. Borges said festas are a key part of maintaining Portuguese communities throughout the Valley, as they bring together people from all generations.
“It’s a way for the Portuguese to express who they are and share their cultural concepts with others.”
This is the second oral history film in the “Untold Stories” series, produced in collaboration between the institute and the Department of Media, Communications and Journalism faculty and students. The first, “Untold Stories: Portuguese Americans Along the 99 Corridor” by Borges, Candice Egan, Kelley McCoy and Savanna Torres, was released in 2021. It received silver in the 2021 Telly Awards in the non-broadcast history category.
At the showcase, books from the institute’s publishing arm, Bruma Publications, will be available, including “Portuguese Folktales from California,” by Manuel da Casta Fontes and “Into the Azorean Sea — Bilingual Anthology of Azorean Poetry” translated and organized by Borges.
The Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute is part of the College of Arts and Humanities, the Jordan College of Agriculture and Sciences Technology and the College of Social Sciences. The showcase is sponsored by the Luso-American Development Foundation and part of the Luso-American Education Foundation Conference hosted online Sept. 27-30.
