Portuguese People & Why We're Cool

Just a little while ago I was visiting Sierra and was totally fired up (excited) when SuzieQ and she were talking about Portuguese people, food, culture.. I mean, I had a smile from ear to ear!! Why is it that I was so happy to hear people talking about Portuguese things?I'm a Portuguese-American!! Okay.. my nationality is American (which I am proud to be and to prove it, I'm a Marine!) and my ethnicity/culture is Portuguese. Many times overseas people will ask, "What are you?", I answer.. "I'm American..", then they follow with.. "No, what are you?".. I chuckle and say.. "I'm Portuguese" again with the huge smile on my face. So here's the story...

The beach we hit...

Our "Villa"...

The view from the balcony...

My father is from a small island called Faial in the Azores, I believe the only Portuguese colony/territory that didn't rebel and become independent from the motherland. All of the islands are beautiful, I've visited most of them.. minus Madeira, but that's off the coast of Africa and not near the rest of them. In the late 50's, a volcano erupted in my father's town of Capelo and destroyed the town, the land, everything.. as a result, my family moved to the States to start a new life with nothing but their extremely strong work ethic and a will to survive.

36 years after he left Faial, my father returned with all of us (my mom and sisters). I was 7 the first time I visited the island and up until I left for the Marine Corps I visited every summer after that one. We now have a beautiful summer home, some pieces of land scattered around the island.. it's beautiful. What's more beautiful is the culture and the people. The Portuguese culture is very rich, deeply rooted in faith, hard work, love, and family. The most overt difference between the Azorean Portuguese culture and any of the Hispanic/Latino cultures, is that for the most part they are a laid back, peaceful, and harmonious bunch. I always say Latinos and Hispanics are a bit more "spicy".. which is a great thing too, just different from the Portuguese culture I grew up around.

So today, I reflect back on the beautiful ethnic bubble I grew up in. Sure we were slightly ethnocentric and a bit close minded at times, but we were in love with our heritage - can you blame us for that? I will be so lucky to raise children who are so in touch with their roots... it probably will be different though since in the history of my family lineage there has never been a marriage outside of Portuguese people.. I'm a "pure breed", certified Portuguee!! Isn't that neat? haha