Daniel Evangelho Gonçalves, 39, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is a descendant of people from Terceira. He was baptized in the church of São Bento, in Angra do Heroísmo, and grew up in Brazil with his Azorean roots very much in evidence. A year ago, he decided to move with his wife and daughter to the land that “awakens his passions,” he tells Diário da Lagoa (DL).

Curious to get to know the “Azorean carioca” better, we met him in the garden in front of the Conceição Palace in Ponta Delgada. The palace had hosted the Diaspora Council and the 5th Azores Brazil Meeting, in which Daniel Gonçalves took part.

In a relaxed conversation, he talked about his memories of the Azores from his youth: “I have wonderful memories. In fact, it was those memories that made me want to come here. I was baptized in the church of São Bento. I returned here several times as a teenager, discovering life and the Azores.” The first significant milestone in his life, he explains, was the Regional Directorate for Communities offering him a course to learn to play the Viola da Terra to support the Casa dos Açores folklore group in Rio de Janeiro when he was 18. On that trip to the Azores, he recalls, “I came across the culture a little more maturely and fell in love with it.”

After that, back in Brazil, he graduated in History. Always interested in emigration, he joined the Casa dos Açores do Rio de Janeiro as cultural director. He also worked as a teacher and was a historian in the Brazilian Air Force.

“Then, on my own two feet, I started creating events at the University of the Azores, coming here on business, giving lectures, and the interest in living here became greater and greater,” the carioca tells DL, who is currently finishing his doctorate at the University of the Azores, where he collaborates as a guest researcher.

The Portuguese-Brazilian has been studying emigration for 20 years: “I write articles, give lectures, always about emigration, because that’s what I like: why people leave their homeland; how they are welcomed. I usually focus on Azorean emigration to Rio de Janeiro, which is little studied. It gets mixed up with my story. My idea has always been to record memories for future generations because they are being lost. That’s my academic mission.

He has been the cultural director of the Casa dos Açores do Rio de Janeiro for 15 years: “We create events, attract people, and do our utmost to promote Azorean culture in Rio and for Azoreans to feel at home because that’s the focus of the Casa. I set up protocols with various universities, bringing a more academic side and making the House better known. Today it is already a hub of Azoreanity, mixed with Rio culture,” emphasizes the Portuguese-Brazilian. “I like to fight for our community, to bring things to Rio, to show that we exist, that we are big, that we are important, that we have maintained our traditions for over 70 years. It’s a big community. Today, if you count the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, there are almost a million descendants of Azoreans in Rio de Janeiro. The Azores have no idea how many roots they have left behind,” he says.

Since 2021, he has been a member of the Diaspora Council: “It’s a job I’ve been doing for many years, connecting people, creating projects, encouraging Azorean culture,” the historian points out.

He moved to Terceira just a year ago, where he chose to raise his daughters because of its “peace and security”.

In 2023, he launched the children’s book Nem de Cá, Nem de Lá, which is being presented in all schools in the Azores. The book, which intends to educate about emigration, tells the story of an Azorean from Terceira who fled the war overseas and settled in Brazil. The main character is called “João” and is a tribute to his two grandfathers.

Also here in the Azores, Daniel and his wife, Monique Vieira, a teacher, continue the work he started in Brazil: developing educational projects. “We create projects that transform people’s lives through education,” explains the Portuguese-Brazilian. We create programs and dynamics. We have various types of clients, and we still work for Brazil.” They currently work for Rede Valorizar.

“This is the mission of my life and that of my wife, to try, through education, to transform people and show that they can be happier by being more human. It’s in our difference, in all aspects, that we will see, with empathy, that we are all important, and we don’t need to compete for anything.” For the carioca with Azorean blood, living in the land of his father and grandparents is the realization of a dream: “I’m really enjoying living here, the peace, the security that this place has, but also waking up every day and looking at Monte Brasil, which was the place I dreamed of seeing every day. Now I wake up in the morning and look at it and feel a warmth in my heart,” he says.

In Diário da Lagoa, Clife Botelho-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.