Lino Manuel Amaral is a second-generation Portuguese American. His name, Lino, has been passed on in the family, and he is the third person to hold the name. Lino’s dad keeps the same name; to his understanding, his dad’s uncle also had the same name. Lino was precise, saying that Lino is not a short version of another name like many think. He states that people will assume that the name is short for things such as Nicolino, Marcelino, or even Robertolino. It is just Lino.

Born on December 17th, 1965, in San Pablo, California. Lino is the son of an immigrant dad from the island of Faial and a mother born and raised in the United States. Lino’s dad came to the United States at the age of seventeen, around the year 1959. Lino’s mother didn’t have to travel to the United States since she was born to immigrant parents in the United States.  Lino’s grandma and grandpa are both from mainland Portugal and came to the United States at different times. His grandma arrived in 1929 at age eight, while his grandpa didn’t come until a few years later, 1935 to be exact, at eighteen.  His grandparents from his mother’s side had settled down in Richmond, located in the Bay Area, where his mother was raised.

On the other hand, his father came to the Bay Area due to the volcanic eruption on the island of Faial in 1957-1958. Lino tells us that in 1958, the United States allowed a law named the Azorean Refuge Act, supported by then-senator J.F. Kennedy. The law allowed people from the island of Faial to legally immigrate to the states.   At this point, his grandmother decided to have his dad make the journey to the US because of fear that the situation on the island would worsen.  His two older brothers were already living in Fremont, part of the Eastbay. Lino points out that people from the island fell into specific categories, and some fishermen gravitated to the bay area, where fishing was prevalent. The dairymen would gravitate towards the valley, where they could work on farms. Regardless, both his mother and father ended up in the Bay Area, and in the years that followed, they would go to events held by the Portuguese communities.  It was at these events that his parents met. A few years after meeting, they eventually got married.

Lino tells us that he didn’t get much information from his parents about their experiences before coming to a new country.  He knows that his mom was born and raised in the United States, so she did not have to experience assimilating into a new environment. His father had to assimilate since he did not come to the United States until he was seventeen. He came to this country without knowing English, so he had to rely heavily on his brothers and sisters, who had already lived there before him. Eventually, he met his future wife, and she prioritized helping his father assimilate to the new country. She helped him understand things that were different compared to the islands.

Lino mentions how his parents made him speak Portuguese when he was home. It was a rule that they lived by in his household. He explains that looking back at it, since there weren’t many people who spoke Portuguese at his high school, he really enjoyed knowing what he felt at the time was a secret language. During high school, he played sports, participated in the holy ghost festivals, and was part of a band, so it was like an alter ego that no one knew about. The food growing up was another big piece of his upbringing. His parents and grandfather were part of many Portuguese groups, and Lino was part of a Portuguese wine import company.

He hopes to pass down these things that have been part of his life to his kids. Lino tries really hard to keep his kids connected to their heritage.   His kids speak the language to an extent, mainly they understand the language. They also attend and participate in the festas. They even know how to dance Portuguese folklore. His son actually wears a Portuguese soccer jersey once or twice a week.

Lino has had many experiences in Portuguese American communities in the United States and has fond memories of his visits to the Azores. He has visited mainland Portugal a few times but has more memories of visiting the islands. Lino remembers riding donkeys in the Azores. Like many other kids, he also remembers drinking milk directly from the cow. He informs us that, unlike the other islands with bulls running loose as a tradition during the fiestas, the island his father was from did not partake in those festivities. He remembers arriving in the Azores in the 70’s, and his cousins would be walking barefoot. His family there did not have a car. Things there he recalls were not modern, people bought milk from the guy down the street that rode around on a donkey.  He remembers that after a few years, he saw significant changes, like the family getting a restroom inside the house. The 80s, as he explains, is when everything really changed.  Portugal had entered the European Union, which led to significant changes when he returned. In the ’90s, he saw more people on the islands with cell phones, which he found odd since people walked around barefoot only a few decades earlier. More cars were on the island than he had seen years prior.

Lino’s upbringing is why he is heavily involved in the Portuguese American community.  At one point, he was CEO of the largest Portuguese fraternal benefits organization and traveled significantly because of it. “Life is about learning; there are plenty of things I learned when I was forty-five that I didn’t know.” Lino enjoys life as he constantly experiences new situations.  He is proud to have met the president of Portugal and the prime minister. More importantly, he is proud of the values he and his wife have instilled into their children. Lino is proud to be American but also incredibly proud of being Portuguese. He explains that his roots, like a tree, are Portuguese, but the remaining part of him, like the leaves and branches, are American.  Many people will see that he is American, but deep down, the Portuguese inside him shaped who he is.

Portuguese-American Oral History Project @ Fresno State