1.      Please give us a brief biography: where you were born, your journey to where you are today, and your connection to the Portuguese and Lusophone world.

I was born in Oakland, California, and now I live in San Francisco with my wife, Alea, and my teenage children, Andrew and Sylvia. I am a cardiologist working in Burlingame. My training included four years of college at UCLA (where I earned an English degree), then eleven years of medical training (medical school, medical residency, and cardiology fellowship — all at UCSF).

Both of my parents, Louis and Barbara, were born of Portuguese immigrants from the north of Portugal, near Aveiro. They grew up in the Holy Ghost and Luso-American societies, dancing in Oakland Luso Youth Council #9 with a core group that included the Pelicas, Rosário, Chaves, Barroca, and other families. In the 1980s, the children of that generation, including me and my brother Jeff, helped resurrect YC #9 for a few last Convention performances. My first encounters with Alea were at YC #16 dances over in El Cerrito and the Luso Convention in Fresno in 1984. So I feel like I have grown up in the Society. Living in Marin County and then San Francisco, it has not always been easy to get to events, but the society is very close to my heart.

2.     How did you get involved in the Luso-American Education Foundation, and what has been your trajectory in this organization?

My mother, Barbara Angeja, was executive secretary for the Foundation throughout my childhood. I grew up stuffing and licking envelopes for the Education Conference and helping assemble the applications from students for scholarships. When I was a high school senior, I applied for and received my own Luso scholarship. In medical school, I took a summer internship in Brazil, joining medical students at the University of Campinas in Brazil; Luso provided a grant to help cover my travel costs. After participating in the golf fundraiser for a few years, I was invited to be on the fundraising committee to help organize that event for the last few years. I joined the Board two or three years ago.

3.     What is your vision for LAEF?  How do you see the organization’s relevance today compared to half a century ago? 

I would like to see the Foundation adapt to the next generation of Portuguese-Americans. Fifty years ago, with the influx of recent immigrants, the Portuguese societies had a mission to welcome the new arrivals. The Foundation promoted bilingual education for first-generation students who might have lacked opportunities in California. How do we engage the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those immigrants? A minority of families speak Portuguese at home; I admit that in our own house, we have not been diligent about speaking Portuguese with our own children. We are becoming more “American-Portuguese” than “Portuguese-American,” and our youth are engaged in the American side of that equation. How can we continue to make Portuguese heritage and language relevant to these subsequent generations? I think that is the challenge for all of the Portuguese societies. 

4.     What would you like to see as short and long-range goals for the organization?  Are there any particular changes you would want to see come to fruition at LAEF? 

In the short term, I encourage the Foundation to increase the size of their scholarship awards. College is more expensive than ever, and our awards have not kept up with inflation. On the Fundraising Committee, my obligation is to make sure that we raise enough money to give more — and larger — scholarships. Another immediate goal is to partner aggressively with other Portuguese organizations. I see a lot of independent groups working in parallel, but if we join forces and work together, we could reach more people, more efficiently. Why not share programs with PALCUS, with Holy Ghost? The Foundation has a successful partnership with PBBI at  Fresno State to sponsor the annual Education Conference; can’t we mimic this cooperation with programs at other universities?

In the long-term, I would like the scholarship winners to be more motivated to give back to Luso; to attend meetings and activities, to share their experiences with their elders, and to mentor youth growing up in the Luso community. We need to engage the youth. Why not leverage some of the language apps to promote learning Portuguese? Let’s provide content that is interesting and events that attract them to participate in the Portuguese side of the equation — in the language and community of their rich heritage.

           5. Can you briefly reflect and summarize your thoughts on the Portuguese and Lusophone Diasporas in California, considering that immigration, at least in significant numbers, ended over 40 years ago?   What challenges and opportunities do you see for our Portuguese and Lusophone diasporas in California?  

There were two major California waves of Portuguese immigration: the first around the turn of the 20th century; and the second in the 1960s (ie, after the Capelinhos eruption). Descendants of the Portuguese immigrants in the early- and mid-1900s have completely integrated into society. Living in San Francisco, I meet people who have a Portuguese last name, who might vaguely remember an avô from Portugal, but they no longer identify as Portuguese. San Francisco provides a glimpse of what will happen within a generation or two in the outer Bay Area and the Central Valley. The descendants of that “second wave” in the 60s will similarly dilute their heritage and no longer identify as Portuguese — unless we continue to make heritage a priority. We are victims of our own success; the success of our ancestors, who fully intended us to become successful American citizens. This is the natural history of every “hyphenated-American” community. Can we find ways to use the “American” side of the hyphen (technology, social media, entertainment) to promote the “Portuguese” side? Can we make the language, the history, the saudade, relevant to our youth? I think we can. That is our challenge.

Empowering Tomorrow is a segment of NOVIDADES by Bruma Publications from PBBI-Fresno State, featuring the directors of the Luso-American Education Foundation.