The Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) is a center to enrich the connections between students and the Portuguese-American community, promoting the Portuguese-speaking world through language, history, culture, and influence. Through oral history collection and Bruma Publications, the institute will capture the stories, people, and impact of the Portuguese-American experience in California. Through the invaluable art of storytelling, connecting multiple generations to the history, culture, and perseverance of Portuguese-Americans, we educate and prepare Fresno State students in the technic and craft of collecting oral histories. The Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute is the hub of cultural, literary, and pedagogical resources to promote the Portuguese legacy in the Valley. 

PBBI, through Bruma Publications, will create possibilities for registering immigrant experiences and the cultural connections between the Portuguese-American community and the myriad of cultures in our region, connecting our students through print and digital publications to the contributions Californians of Portuguese ancestry have made to the Valley and the State, as well as bring awareness of creativity within the Portuguese-American students. The Portuguese literature to our students through translation will enrich our students and build bridges with the local communities.    

Bruma Publications has published 3 works and has three others in the works, publishing a digital cultural magazine and a newsletter.  We will also have a reading series for our students, faculty, and community. 

The oral history project is working on constantly updating our archives, and soon, it will be the largest Portuguese archive for oral history in any California university. 

By helping PBBI with our annual community-based grassroots crowdfunding, you are helping us archive many of our projects to register and disseminate the Portuguese-American experience and our connections to the Azores in Central California and throughout the state.

Last year, almost 200 contributors came together from various parts of the Valley and the State. We also had contributors from another 8 states in the Union, Canada, and Portugal. PBBI hopes to achieve 22 thousand dollars this year.

Here is the link to contribute safely online

bit.ly/46fdNIo

You can also use this QR code

What we were able to collect from generous donors in 2022