“Heritage Portugal” trip hosted by PALCUS

Conversation with Sara Moline of Maryland, who was a participant of the first trip
conducted ~ Who found PALCUS through social media back in 2023, while researching
Portuguese related accounts. She expressed that she unfortunately was disconnected
from the Portuguese community due to her grandparents not wanting to pass down the
language when they immigrated and settled in the East Coast. Sara explained that she
does a lot of family tree research but could not find much information on her Portuguese
side. Her grandmother was the last of her siblings to pass away in 2009, so she never
got to meet her great aunts nor great uncles, as well as any of their families.
When she discovered PALCUS, she had seen a post they had made about hosting their
first ever heritage-based trip to Portugal and the Azores. Sara applied and was
accepted, so she got to live her dream of visiting last May of 2024! Love that! “It was
incredible and I was very excited to go to São Miguel, where my great grandpa came
from. My great grandmother was from São Jorge. I have a fine arts background and as
a hobby I enjoy singing, but definitely am no professional. I loved our experiences
seeing two Fado performances on the trip.” The trip was an amazing opportunity for
Sara to not only learn the Portuguese language, but it was a chance to connect deeper
with her Portuguese heritage. Going on the trip was a life-changing experience for Sara,
as it has been for me as well, and many others alike! Portugal and our islands are
VERY Magical places ~ full of rich history and enchantment!
I had no idea that PALCUS did such a trip and was very intrigued by what Sara was
telling me! “My understanding is that the organizers of PALCUS had come up with this
idea for a heritage-based trip, which they call Heritage Portugal, and 2024 was when it
came to fruition. They set up the agenda and the participants had to apply, but we did

not know the agenda until we were selected. It was open from ages 18-35 and I just
made the cut before I would have aged out. To apply, they requested a school
transcript, resume, a personal essay, a letter of recommendation, a bio, a headshot,
and consent to be photographed/published in promotional materials, as well as a $500
participation fee. Twelve people from all across the U.S. were selected. We went for two
weeks in May as follows: Lisbon, Obidos, Batalha, Fatima, Coimbra, Porto and São
Miguel Azores. They took us to all sorts of places to give us a rounded understanding of
the land and culture. We went to educational establishments, businesses, places of
worship, major landmarks, environmental destinations, cultural experiences like seeing
fado performances and traditional dancers, a visit to the Museum of Immigration in São
Miguel, various restaurants and more! We got to explore on some free time as well.
They mostly wanted to introduce Luso-Americans to the possibilities of reconnecting
with Portugal and hopefully lead to future partnerships. I know one participant ended up
moving there months after our trip to pursue an educational opportunity as is now
employed with a law firm, I believe. I would recommend checking out the program and
their website.”
https://palcus.org/pages/heritage
Lets help PALCUS spread the word about this amazing program, as they are starting to
fundraise for their next trip!
It was a pleasant conversation with Sara, and I definitely learned something new and
fascinating! She explains that she was “most excited to see São Miguel, because that
was where my heritage is. I would also love to visit São Jorge, but we didn’t go on this
trip. They do plan to let the trip be fluid and come up with different agendas based on
feedback my cohort gave them based on our experiences, so I would say that it would
not be in the exact same places on the next trip.”
I was very happy to connect with Sara via LinkedIn ( I know, super random ), through
the PALCUS account, furthering our connection to Facebook! What is meant to be, will
be! Right?! Cheers to our culture and connecting with new friends because of it! That is
special!

Marisa Silva Rocha is a fadista and very dedicated Portuguese-American cultural activist.