Vice-President invited by the California Portuguese-American Coalition as the guest of honor for the 2024 Resolution honoring the Azores, Portugal, and all Californians of Portuguese ancestry, most from the Azores and Madeira.

This Monday, June 24th, the Vice-President of the Regional Government of the Azores, Artur Lima, held a series of meetings with community and political leaders from the state of California to discuss opportunities for cooperation and strengthen ties between the region and the Azorean community living in this North American state.

“We had the opportunity to discuss points of view with the aim of involving California more in the process of developing the Azores and strengthening our presence among the Azorean-descendant community,” he said.

Artur Lima met with the leaders of the Democratic Party’s Parliamentary Caucus in the California State Assembly, Cecília Aguiar-Curry, Portuguese-American State Senator Henry Stern, and Robert Rivas, Speaker of the State Assembly.

According to Artur Lima, “direct contact with California’s political leaders” is a “step forward in institutional relations,” which allows us to “work more closely to achieve our common goals.”

“The Government of the Azores wants to reach the second and third generations of emigrants so that they can get to know the land of their parents and grandparents, which could generate new investment opportunities for the region,” he noted.

The Vice-President of the Government stressed that the aim is also “to get these generations of emigrants more involved in the social and cultural life of the Azores.”

As a guest of honor, Artur Lima also participated in the presentation session of a resolution dedicated to the month of Portuguese heritage in California, which simultaneously honors the day of the Azores and Portugal. This resolution is a full-fledged document that ascertains the many accomplishments of the Portuguese-American community, over 90% of which have roots in the Azores.

This resolution was presented on June 24 by Portuguese-descendant legislator Cecília Aguiar-Curry, with roots in Terceira island, at an event promoted by the California Portuguese-American Coalition (CPAC), which took place at the California State Assembly and the California State Senate.

The Vice president met with members of the Portuguese-American community in California. He had one-on-one conversations with the Speaker of the Assembly, Robert Rivas; the Majority Leader, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (Americans with roots in the Azores, Terceira island); Congressman Jim Costa; California State Senator Henry Stern; Manny Vieira, president of Luso_Financiala; and Micahel Fraha, president of PFSA. The Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute was also present. The first visit of the vice president to California in 2022 was at the invitation of the Portuguese Beyond Borders Insitute (PBBI) Fresno State. Vice-President Artur Lima was accompanied by Miguel Machado from the office of the President of the Azores.

The California Portuguese-Americna Coalition’s main mission is to unite Portuguese-American elected officials and civic leaders to facilitate stronger collaboration in advancing the interests of the Portuguese-American community in California.