On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, LUSO-AMERICANO, the historic Newark, New Jersey-based newspaper that continues to serve Portuguese-American communities, offers a special tribute to the nine men of Portuguese origin who lost their lives at the World Trade Center. It is an act of journalism, but also one of communal remembrance.
Twenty-five years have passed since the morning when ordinary routines became history. People left home for work, said goodbye to spouses and children, boarded trains, crossed bridges and entered offices believing that September 11, 2001, would be another Tuesday. Among the thousands whose lives were taken that morning were nine men of Portuguese origin—nine members of the larger Portuguese-American story whose families, dreams and futures became inseparable from one of the darkest days in modern American history.
In a special commemorative edition marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks, LUSO-AMERICANO returns to their stories with the solemnity they deserve. The newspaper reminds us of something easily lost when history is reduced to statistics: behind every number there was a name, and behind every name an entire human geography of parents and children, marriages and friendships, work and sacrifice, immigrant beginnings and American aspirations. These were men connected to Portugal by ancestry, family and memory who had built their lives in the United States. On that September morning, they left their homes and never returned.
There is particular significance in having this remembrance undertaken by LUSO-AMERICANO. Based in Newark, New Jersey, the newspaper has long served as one of the journalistic voices of Portuguese America, chronicling not merely major historical events but the everyday life of a community spread across generations. Newspapers such as this become archives of belonging. They record celebrations and achievements, immigration and politics, cultural life and community institutions—but they must also preserve the names of those lost in moments of collective tragedy.
That is why this special edition deserves attention beyond the anniversary itself. At a time when community newspapers confront enormous economic and technological pressures, LUSO-AMERICANO continues the essential work of telling Portuguese-American stories from within the community itself. Its 9/11 tribute demonstrates precisely why such journalism matters. National history records the attack on America; community journalism allows us to understand how that history entered particular homes, families and neighborhoods.
The newspaper’s insistence on remembering these nine men individually is especially meaningful. Twenty-five years can transform lived experience into textbook history. Children born after the attacks are now adults. Yet for the families of those who died, September 11 has never been simply a historical date. The passage of a quarter century does not erase an empty chair, a missing father, son, husband, brother or friend. Memory becomes an obligation undertaken by those who remain.
This is therefore an edition worth seeking out and preserving. LUSO-AMERICANO has created not simply a retrospective on September 11, but a Portuguese-American document of memory—a reminder that our community was present in the tragedy of that day, just as Portuguese immigrants and their descendants have been present throughout the broader American experience.
Our congratulations and gratitude go to News Editor Henrique Mano for this important journalistic undertaking, and to the Martinho family for continuing the work of LUSO-AMERICANO and its commitment to Portuguese-American life. At its finest, a community newspaper does more than report what happened yesterday. It decides what must still be remembered tomorrow.
On this 25th anniversary, nine Portuguese-American lives return to the page.
Nine names. Nine families. Nine unfinished futures.
And through the patient work of memory, nine lives that remain part of our collective story.
Based on a stroy in Luso-Americano. The photo is also from LA.