Some expressions belong to a place, and “Àquela Uh!” is one of them. Heard often on the island of Terceira, it carries a sense of spontaneity and easy familiarity. Now, a young woman has given the expression a new life by choosing it as the name of a project with an ambitious purpose.
Created by Ana Rita, “Àquela Uh!” began in May. Since then, it has been bringing people together through painting, dancing, yoga on the beach, brunches, outings, adventures, and walks with dogs from the animal shelter. These may look like simple events, but they are more than that.
Between work, family, responsibilities, and crowded calendars, some people feel that something is missing. They miss conversation and the pleasure of discovering what is new. They want to meet people beyond their usual circles and try new experiences. They miss saying yes to an unexpected plan. Sometimes, they simply wish they had someone to go with.
Perhaps it was precisely this absence that Ana Rita recognized. After defending her master’s thesis, she found herself caught in the quickening rhythm of work and in the life we are taught to regard as personal fulfillment: study, work, move forward.
Yet she stepped outside her comfort zone. Instead of merely observing that something was missing, she decided to explore what might fill that space. She began to build a community.
“Àquela Uh!” has attracted mostly women, but its invitation is limited neither by gender nor by age. It is for everyone: for those weary of routine and for those who simply want to try something different.
One aspect deserves particular attention: the desire to make each gathering matter beyond the moment itself. During the walk with dogs from the shelter, for example, the money raised did more than support an enjoyable experience for the participants. It was turned into supplies for the animals, making the outing an act of solidarity as well. That choice says much about how a community can take shape when people come together and extend what they have created to those in need.
Perhaps this is among the project’s most compelling insights: we do not need to face a great crisis to need one another. We need not be alone to feel lonely, nor isolated to long for belonging. Our lives may take on another color when we make room for new people and new experiences.
We live in an age of constant connection and, paradoxically, do not always feel truly accompanied. Who sends us a message that says, “Are you coming?” Who draws us, for a few hours, away from the familiar journey between home, work, and home again?
This is where an idea like “Àquela Uh!” becomes more than a series of events. Creating experiences can also be a way of creating community. That was Ana Rita’s courage: she saw an empty space and decided to fill it. She came up with a name, created a page, arranged gatherings, and began calling people together. “Àquela Uh!”—as though calling to someone across the street. As though saying, come over. As though, at heart, saying, come and see.
And perhaps, at a time when so many people need a reason to leave the house, meet someone, or simply feel part of something again, a simple “Àquela Uh!” can be far more than an expression from Terceira. It can be an invitation. And sometimes, everything begins with an invitation.
Alexandra Manes is from Flores Island but lives on Terceira Island in the Azores. She is a regular contributor to several Azorean newspapers, a political and cultural activist, and has served in the Azorean Parliament.
NOVIDADES will feature occasional opinion pieces from leading thinkers and writers in the Azores, providing the diaspora and those interested in the current state of the Azores with a sense of the significant perspectives on some of the archipelago’s issues.
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).