Portuguese Heritage Month, officially recognized in June, celebrates the vibrant culture, traditions, and history of Portugal and its diaspora. Its most important date is June 10th, which marks Portugal Day and the 1580 death of Luís de Camões, Portugal’s national poet. It gives us an opportunity to appreciate Portuguese history, language, traditions, and the significant impact of Portuguese immigrants and their descendants on various countries worldwide.
This year, we were honored to have the presence of the Portuguese Ambassador to the United States, Francisco António Duarte Lopes, in California to celebrate with the Portuguese-American community at the various celebrations held. Here are some of the highlighted events that were held in San Francisco and San Jose that we attended.
A joint resolution recognizing Dia de Portugal and Dia dos Açores given on both the Assembly and Senate floors at the Sacramento State Capitol on June 9th with the proclamation presented to our Portuguese Ambassador to the United States, Francisco Duarte Lopes. Thank you to Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry for sponsoring the proclamation again and always being so supportive of our community, and Assembly member Alexandra Macedo who co-authored the proclamation. Thank you also to the magnificent Diniz Borges with Cliff Costa for organizing this annual event and the wonderful lunch reception at Brasserie do Monde hosted by the California Portuguese American Coalition (CPAC) prior to our short walk to the Capital.
On June 10th, in recognition of “Dia de Portugal, de Camões e das Comunidades Portuguesas” (Portugal’s National Day), the Portuguese flag was raised once again at San Francisco City Hall by Mayor Daniel Lurie and the Ambassador of Portugal to the United States, Francisco Duarte Lopes with June 10th proclaimed as “Portuguese-American Friendship and Heritage Day”. That evening, a lovely reception was held at the residence of San Francisco Portuguese Consul General Filipe Ramalheira. The San Francisco City Hall was also lit up with colors of Portugal in red, green, and yellow.
Coinciding in San Jose, council member Peter Ortiz and Mayor Matt Mahan also proclaimed June as Portuguese Heritage Month at their city council meeting. The Portuguese flag was raised at San Jose City Hall Plaza and colors of Portugal lit at the City Hall tower.