On the one hand, the festivals play a fundamental role in creating bonds and support networks among compatriots and in affirming an Azorean identity in the multicultural American society. On the other hand, they also reflect the connection to the American culture to which they belong and which has brought new dynamics and elements to the rituals, such as the figure of the queen and the misses in the parades and main rituals.

Anthropologist and curator Catarina Faria will lead a guided tour of the photographic exhibition “Between the Dove and the Eagle – The Feasts of the Holy Spirit in New England,” on display at the Azores Autonomy Center of the Carlos Machado Museum. The tours will take place today and on August 14, at 2:00 p.m.

The exhibition is the result of a research project carried out between 2011 and 2012, in which Catarina Faria traveled along the east coast of the United States (from north to south New England) to map the Holy Spirit Festivals among the emigrated Azorean communities.

This photographic exhibition aims to provide an opportunity to immerse oneself in the richness of the festivals in North America and broaden the perspective on this ritual phenomenon as a living heritage, which takes on new lives and meanings in its circulation in the diaspora and in its encounter with new human, cultural, and social landscapes.

On the one hand, the festivals play a fundamental role in creating bonds and support networks among compatriots and in affirming an Azorean identity in the multicultural US society. On the other hand, they also reflect the connection to the American culture to which they belong and which has brought new dynamics and elements to the rituals, such as the figure of the queen and the misses in the parades and main rituals.

*Catarina Faria is an anthropologist with a degree from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the New University of Lisbon, a master’s degree in Visual Cultures from the same faculty, and a PhD in Anthropology: Politics and Images of Culture and Museology. She also graduated in Photography from the Center for Art and Visual Communication (Ar.Co) in Lisbon. She has been focusing on the theme of migration, more specifically, Portuguese emigration from mainland Portugal and the Azores, always combining anthropology and the study of culture with her interest in the visual and artistic components.

in Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, 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.