ALMA SENTIDA ❤️ SENTIMENTAL SOUL By Marisa Silva Rocha

Alma Sentida will be where I will share moments that
touch the heartstrings. It will be a mix of things
including celebrations of life, special community
member spotlights, poems, songs, interesting facts,
recipes, and more!
This will also be a place for any special shout-outs an
individual may want to submit or special
announcements. Feel free to message me any time to
include your special passage in Alma Sentida!

Contact: Email @ marisarod89@gmail.com

Meus Sentimentos : “Tia Diva” – a Heart of Gold

When I found out the news, my heart was broken. You were beautiful inside and out. Very kind, very sweet, patient, thoughtful, always smiling, laughing, joking… It’s like they always say, “God takes the good ones”, and Tia Diva, you were one of the very good ones. Life feels unfair. You will be deeply missed here, until we meet again, Amiga. May God bring comfort and strength to your family during these difficult times and may you rest in Eternal Glory with our Heavenly Father, Queen 👑 Always in my thoughts & prayers.

*Tia Diva pictured on the bottom right❤️

Continued Success : The Return of Georgie Reis – Extraordinary Musician

My fado story can never be complete without the mention of this extraordinary musician; Georgie Reis (Los Banos). He was the first to believe in me and encourage my “fado dream”.

Before I moved to the Central Valley 3 years ago, I made it a mission to regain contact with my friend. As soon as I moved, one of the first things I did was go visit him! It had been YEARS since we connected and I just followed my heart; what felt right ~ and I’m glad I did. That first year, I would visit every couple months, and make sure HE KNEW how much he was wanted, loved, valued and truly missed in our community  ~ that his friends never forgot him and always wished him well.

After a decade or so, without playing music for the Portuguese community, Georgie is back in action! He has been playing for the “Bodo de Leites”/Pezinho and I continue to see his name come up on festa programs – my heart is full – and I am SO PROUD of my sweet friend. So happy that he has returned to play music for our community. We have all missed him so much. God bless and protect you always in your musical journey; you are a beautiful soul. Never underestimate the power of God, nor the true power of MUSIC!.

Coming Soon : Documentary – The “Untold Stories” (of the Portuguese Community)

Professor Diniz Borges writes: “Our Central California Portuguese-American Oral History project from PBBI – Fresno State, continues.  Besides the 16 oral histories by our students, and a few others, we are also doing interviews with our partners at MCJ as part of our next documentary: Untold Stories: Arts in the Portuguese-American Community in Central California.  Our amazing team was in Hilmar today.  Fifteen artists will be interviewed for this project, from writers to singers, from musicians to visual artists.  Today our team was inspired by Marisa Silva Rocha.”    

Alison Da Silva : NEW TALENT Nominee WINNER of the International Portuguese Music Awards 2024

CONGRATULATIONS to Fadista Alison Da Silva, 19 year-old Fadista, from Massachusetts for winning this year’s New Talent award at the IPMA’s (International Portuguese Music Awards)! I had discovered Alison, on facebook, in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic. At that time, she was only 15 years old with an EXTRAORDINARY “vozão” (i.e. POWERful & beautiful voice)! Right away, I became a huge fan of her voice AND her! I KNEW this girl had something special and WAS going to go far. We grew our friendship online, and even did a few smule karaoke videos at the time (Carminho’s Meu amor, Marinheiro & Billie Ellish’s Ocean Eyes). In 2021 I had the opportunity to invite a Fadista “de fora” for Petisco’s (San Jose) 1st Fado Night and I invited Alison because I knew California needed to hear this amazing young talent! In 2023 she came back to California to share her voice in a new way; as “mestra” of her carnaval group. It was a proud moment to watch Alison shine on the stage (in Turlock) and think how far she came in such a short amount of time! This year, she won the New Talent award at the IPMA’s and I can not be more proud of the Fadista and woman she is becoming!

Congratulations Alison, you deserve it! Keep going, you are going to go far! This is just the beginning!!!

Remembering: John Melo – An amazing man, friend and musician

12 years ago, we lost our friend to a horrific accident ~ even though I did not see it happen, I can visualize it in my mind over & over.💔

He was such a beloved musician & member of our Portuguese community. His death shook our world. 2 hours before, he was struck by a car after leaving Grupo Carnaval. I had been parked in that parking lot.

Every Friday here on NOVIDADES, we have this unique weekly segment from Marisa Silva Rocha.