Luis Gabriel Rebelo was named after his father. Luis was born in 1993 in Visalia, California. Luis grew up here in the Tulare Portuguese community. His parents were heavily involved with the Portuguese community in Tulare by doing folklore groups, carnival groups, and soccer groups, which led him to grow up around this community as a kid, making friends and meeting people. Naturally, he became a part of the folklore group and the band. His mom and her family immigrated in the mid-70s. She came here as a teen, and his dad immigrated here in the 80s ten years later. He’s always grown up in Tulare. His mom left the Azores because they were one of the poorer families there. His mom’s uncle was already living here in California, so they decided to come here for more opportunities, better ones; they had a connection here with his great-uncle. His father moved here because his brother moved here, so he came here to find work and build a better life.

They settled in Tulare because of the industry here; there were diaries and construction for both parents’ families, and it was cheaper. There are stories about the language barrier and the issues that came with it. His grandparents did not learn English and relied on their kids to help them with translations. There are always living adjustments with food and everything. One story he was told as a kid was that when his godmother(mom’s sister), the only words she knew were fries and apple pie, which led her to eat those items in the coming weeks. When you come here to America, it’s a lot bigger, and things are different; in Terceira, you can go around the entire island in less than three hours. He and his sister are first-generation Americans. He speaks more Portuguese than most do; he says to his dad, grandparents, and others in Portuguese. Regarding food, all kinds of different Portuguese foods have been part of his life.

His Portuguese identity revolves around folklore dancing (Saudade do Bravo), playing music with the band (Filarmónica Portuguesa de Tulare), and going to Portuguese festas. Some cultural traditions he has kept and is proud to be part of are folklore and carnaval (Terceira style danças and bailinhos-Grupo Carnavalesco de Tulare); these are some things he wants to maintain. He’s been a folklore group Saudade do Bravo director for around 10 years. Most of his motivation for why maintaining those cultural aspects and maintaining them alive is that he thinks there’s this idea that there’s still a lot there for people or future kids to get involved and make these memories and friendships, which is an important aspect for him. He also has a nephew who will grow up in the community. Hence, he wants to maintain those cultural aspects so he can experience them, enjoy them, and expand them for future members of the Portuguese community.

Luis has gone a dozen times to the Azores. The Azores have always been the vacation destination because his parents’ families live there. His experience there is good; he only remembers good memories of visiting the Azores. Some aspects are different, such as the lifestyle; there’s always a rush in America, and in the Azores, it’s more laid back with a different atmosphere. The food and the music are always nice to experience from the source. Being the director of the folklore group has been an important project and an accomplishment. His greatest accomplishment on his own personal level was growing that folklore group and seeing where it came from. Being Portuguese has been a big part of his life; it’s where he has made those close friendships, and it shapes his interests, such as music and different organizations.

Being Portuguese American to Luis means upholding and trying to maintain those important Portuguese cultural aspects and introducing and reshaping them to fit the American landscape. It brings those cultural aspects and makes them known to a bigger audience in California. He thinks it’s fun seeing how Portuguese and American cultures mix and become unique. In his opinion, seeing these traditions and values and adapting to the American way of life has been interesting. The Portuguese American community is not the same everywhere and throughout California; according to him, there are areas where it’s slowly dying away and others where it’s maintaining its long and proud tradition.

Geovanni Valentin 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.