“Making sure my family had a place to live and had food was my main goal and worry.”

My grandpa, Adilino Rodrigues, was born on April 21st, 1961. Adilino is his first name, but everyone knows him as Lino. The name Adilino comes from his godfather. He told me it was a bit of a tradition to be named after your godmother or father. Lino was born in Portugal, specifically Viana do Castelo.

When Adilino was in Portugal all he did was work, even from a young age he worked and worked. Yes, he went to school, but not for long. Lino even brought up one memory he had when he was younger, which is of him working and helping his father. I’m sure that because he worked so much as a kid, he became such a tough and hardworking man. The reason Lino works and works so much is because he wants to be able to provide for his family. He is very family-oriented, and he lives by that.

Although before Lino left to California he met my grandmother Emilea Decastro, they met at a very young age, and even married at a young age. They had a beautiful wedding in an all-gold church in Portugal. I hope one day I can see it in person.  But after they got married, they sadly could not stay in Portugal. My grandma had family matters to attend to, and my grandpa Lino did not want to let her go alone, so he left Portugal to live in California with her. That was the start of Lino’s life out of Portugal and in California.

Adelino is the first of his family to leave Portugal and live so far. He had a hard time at first, of course, because his English was very broken. Still, today, his English is not the best, but it is much better than before. Besides that, Lino had difficulty adapting to the way things were in California. And knowing my grandpa, he would want to look for work immediately. Like stated before, he is constantly working, he still works today at the age of 62 and I honestly do not know when he will stop working. As I said before, when he came to California, he wanted to ensure he was steady enough to provide for his family before he even had one.

When my grandpa did gradually have his family, he wanted to make sure they had a roof over their heads and plenty of food. He worked and still works nonstop to be there and provide for his big family now. My grandpa loves spending time with his family no matter what we are doing. Having quality time with his family is one of his favorite things. He loves to plan vacations so everyone can get together. Even during holidays, he makes every moment last; it means the world to him.

My avô loves to talk to his family about his culture. He loves to talk about how beautiful Portugal is and the festivals. I love hearing about all the different people and the gorgeous outfits and buildings in Portugal. Along with telling us about the culture, he also celebrities and keeps traditions going till this day. For example, every time we celebrate a birthday, we sing Happy Birthday in English and Portuguese. Another tradition we also do is during Christmas. Every Christmas Eve, everyone gathers at my grandparent’s house, and we open gifts they got for us. 

  Even though those traditions are a lot more fun, they still do small traditions and try to involve us in them. Every Friday, they try their best not to eat meat; instead, they eat fish. Along with that, Lino and my grandma Emilea are very religious. My grandpa loves to talk about Lady of Fátima and the three kids who saw her under an olive tree. Lino is very passionate when speaking about it and one day wishes to show me the tree that still stands there today.

To continue with his desire to show me the tree, he wants to show me Portugal all together. My grandpa goes to Portugal every year and always brings us something back! As he has said before, he tries to get Portugal to us, not just through gifts but also through pictures. He loves to explain what’s all in the photos, along with their deep history. 

Lino also talked about how different Portugal is compared to the US. A big thing he spoke about was race; people don’t see race in Portugal, at least not where he is from. In Portugal, you are seen as just another person, not as your skin color, and when he came to California, he was so confused about why people hated others of color so much. Another thing not only my grandpa brought up, but also my grandma’s, was how lovely it was to live off the land in Portugal. They spoke about how, as they walked home, they would hear beautiful singing from women cleaning clothes in a stream. Lino also talked about a type of schedule a family would live on, the husband would leave for work in the morning while the wife is at home cleaning and cooking, the husband would come home at 12:00 for lunch, then go again, not returning until dinner. The husband then takes his wife out to a coffee shop at times. They lived off the land because they did not make as much money as people did in the US.

In conclusion, Lino is a family-oriented Portuguese man who works to provide for his family and keeps the traditions, big and small, going on to this day. He loves being with his family and showing us all the things he wishes to show us in the future. And I can’t wait until the day comes when I can experience all the things he showed me.

Mikenzy Marie Rodrigues was a Portuguese Language and Culture Class student in the Spring of 2023. This project is part of the Central California Portuguese-American Oral History project at Fresno State. With our students and the Medica Communication and Journalism (MCJ) team, we recorded over 100 oral history interviews–our goal is to reach 200 by the end of the 2028-29 academic year.