Austin David Serpa Interview
Item
Title
Austin David Serpa Interview
Interviewee, Interviewer
Serpa, Austin David
Ryan, Ally
Relation
Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute
Date
12/1/2019
Identifier
SCUAD_pbbi_00020
extracted text
1
00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:12,210
Speaker 1: My name is Ally Ryan and I will be interviewing Austin Serpa.
Austin, what is your full birth name?
2
00:00:12,540 --> 00:00:15,570
Speaker 2: Hi, my full birth name is Austin David Serpa.
3
00:00:16,590 --> 00:00:20,610
Speaker 1: were you named after anyone? Is there a story behind your
name?
4
00:00:21,540 --> 00:00:28,830
Speaker 2: No, there's no story behind my name. I think my dad wanted to
name me, Dre. So I don't know what Austin came from. But David is my
dad's name.
5
00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:31,360
Speaker 1: When were you born?
6
00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,360
Speaker 2: I was born on May 29 2000.
7
00:00:34,990 --> 00:00:35,950
Speaker 1: Where were you born?
8
00:00:36,310 --> 00:00:38,410
Speaker 2: I was born in Hanford, California.
9
00:00:39,610 --> 00:00:45,400
Speaker 1: What early memories do you have of a child in the Portuguese
American community?
10
00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:58,530
Speaker 2: A lot of early memories had to do with my family. I have a
huge family and my cousins met a lot of friends through different
Portuguese celebrations and bullfights and yeah.
11
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,850
Speaker 1: When did your family immigrated to the United States?
12
00:01:03,300 --> 00:01:13,680
Speaker 2: Oh, my maternal grandparents immigrated to America on April 27
1973. And then my paternal grandparents came in 1969.
13
00:01:14,460 --> 00:01:17,190
Speaker 1: Why did both of your families leave the Azores?
14
00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:29,160
Speaker 2: Both my family's left there and came here for more
opportunities for their family. And it created more opportunities for
their children and me.
15
00:01:30,410 --> 00:01:32,870
Speaker 1: Where did your family settle? Why there?
16
00:01:34,439 --> 00:01:46,499
Speaker 2: my maternal side of the family settled in Hanford, California.
And they settled there because there was job opportunity for my
grandparents.
17
00:01:53,530 --> 00:01:56,080
Speaker 1: Where did your father's family settle? And why?
18
00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:13,390
Speaker 2: they settled in Sanger and I don't even know why they settled
in Sanger but that's where landed, I think they all worked in a factory.
And so it was like a base shop where they started
making money. And then they all went off and did their own thing.
19
00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:25,090
Speaker 1: Did your grandparents and parents ever tell you what it was
like to adjust to a new life in a new country? What stories were passed
down to you regarding their early experiences?
20
00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:46,150
Speaker 2: They always told me that you had to work hard if you ever
wanted to have anything. And they always told me about how simple life
was over there. And how they only really went to school to
the fourth grade, and so after that, it was all work. So they always
taught me that nothing is going to be handed to you. And so whatever you
want to do, you're gonna have to work hard for it.
21
00:02:48,490 --> 00:03:00,220
Speaker 1: You are a member of the second generation of your family to be
born in the United States. How important was it to your parents that you
were to be raised with a strong Portuguese identity?
22
00:03:01,650 --> 00:03:09,270
Speaker 2: It was very important to them. They always wanted me to be
able to learn how to speak Portuguese, and follow some of the values that
my grandparents taught them.
23
00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:19,140
Speaker 1: How was this identity expressed their language foods,
traditions and festivals?
24
00:03:20,380 --> 00:03:33,850
Speaker 2: This identity was expressed a lot through a lot of cultural
and religious events, Portuguese celebrations honoring different saints,
as well as other cultural events like the bullfights and
dances.
25
00:03:35,940 --> 00:03:41,520
Speaker 1: What cultural traditions have you maintained? Why has it been
important to you to maintain them?
26
00:03:42,950 --> 00:04:14,060
Speaker 2: I couldn't I go to church every week and practice my faith.
That was a big thing that my grandma always taught us. We have to go to
church. I participate in any other events that might take
place in our community and I don't know. They always said it was
important to follow what your ancestors did. So it's a big part of my
life. And that's what I try to follow every day.
27
00:04:15,410 --> 00:04:19,460
Speaker 1: Have you been to the Azores? What was that experience like for
you?
28
00:04:20,620 --> 00:04:53,380
Speaker 2: Yes, I've been to the Azores three times. I first went when I
was seven. I don't really remember that trip. And then I went again when
I was 11. And I was able to see where my family was
from, where they were born, where they played, where they grew up, where
their first job was. I got to meet a lot of people that talked about
family that I never got to meet. And it showed me where my
family was from.
29
00:05:11,070 --> 00:05:13,500
Speaker 1: What was the experience when you went back for your third
time?
30
00:05:14,740 --> 00:05:43,510
Speaker 2: When I went back to my third time? I don't know, I have to
restart. When I went back for my third time I had missed it. And so it
was a lot of fun because I was able to take my girlfriend
with me and I was able to show her what the island was like. I was 18
years old, so I really remembered it and I was grown. So it was fun.
1
00:00:01,500 --> 00:00:09,960
Speaker 1: My name is Ally Ryan and I will be interviewing Austin David
Serpa. What is your full birth name?
2
00:00:10,350 --> 00:00:12,930
Speaker 2: My full birth name is Austin David Serpa.
3
00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:17,670
Speaker 1: Are you named after anyone? Is there a story behind your name?
4
00:00:18,330 --> 00:00:24,600
Speaker 2: Um, my middle name is after my dad David. And Serpa is my
paternal sides last name.
5
00:00:26,130 --> 00:00:27,120
Speaker 1: When were you born?
6
00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,330
Speaker 2: I was born on May 29 2000.
7
00:00:31,050 --> 00:00:32,010
Speaker 1: Where were you born?
8
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,590
Speaker 2: I was born in Hanford, California.
9
00:00:36,180 --> 00:00:40,860
Speaker 1: What early memories Do you have as a child in the Portuguese
American community?
10
00:00:41,470 --> 00:01:13,900
Speaker 2: As a child I was always a part of being in all the festivals
and all the celebrations, Holy Communion, receiving all my sacraments in
church because my family's big in being Catholic and
following our faith, bold late, the bullfight as Early memories my
parents were always working. So I spent a lot of time at my grandparents
house. And so they taught me how to speak Portuguese. And I
was able to do that quickly because they only spoke Portuguese. So we had
to communicate somehow. So I was able to learn that quickly.
11
00:01:15,330 --> 00:01:19,200
Speaker 1: When did your family immigrate to the United States?
12
00:01:19,510 --> 00:01:33,430
Speaker 2: My maternal grandparents immigrated to America on April 27
1973 from the Fertado. And my paternal grandparents came in 1969 from
Santa Marta model.
13
00:01:34,350 --> 00:01:36,360
Speaker 1: Why did your family leave the Azores?
14
00:01:37,110 --> 00:02:04,080
Speaker 2: They left the Azores to give more opportunity to their
children and to me, because life over there is simple and not full
opportunity. And my father's side of the family, they had 18
children. So they came to America to give opportunity to a lot more
people and so they left to Tusada. They came here, and they gave
opportunity to all their children.
15
00:02:06,660 --> 00:02:09,090
Speaker 1: Where did your families settle? why there?
16
00:02:10,140 --> 00:02:38,190
Speaker 2: So my grandparents on my mother's side settled in Hanford,
California because my grandpa got a job at a dairy. So that's where they
pretty much started everything off. They had a house here
in Hanford on the dairy, and he was able to make money to support the
family. And then my father side, moved to Sanger to work at a factory and
he got all of his children jobs at the factory. So they
were able to create their families and make money to support all their
family.
17
00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:52,020
Speaker 1: Did your parents and grandparents ever tell you what it was
like to adjust to a new life in a new country? What stories are passed
down to you regarding their early experiences?
18
00:02:52,540 --> 00:03:16,210
Speaker 2: Well, my grandma, my grandma's sister immigrated here before
she did and she told her that life over here was really nice. They miss
home, and that it was hard at first but that they like
it, and that it was gonna be worth it in the end. My grandma always tells
me stories about how it was hard coming here. But she liked she said it
was for the best and she doesn't regret it.
19
00:03:18,430 --> 00:03:29,530
Speaker 1: You are a member of the second generation of your family to be
born in the United States. How important was it to your parents, I you
were to be raised with a strong Portuguese identity?
20
00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:55,430
Speaker 2: It was very important for my parents to raise us with a strong
Portuguese identity and they started this early by putting me and my
brother in Catholic school. So we were able to practice
our faith every day. We learn how to speak Portuguese at a young age like
I said, and we followed all the traditions and values with close family
and this was carried on through the rest of our life
till now we still practice these things.
21
00:03:57,610 --> 00:04:03,310
Speaker 1: How is that this identity expressed through Language, foods,
traditions and festivals?
22
00:04:03,780 --> 00:04:50,880
Speaker 2: This identity was expressed through all those things. Like I
said language, I learned how to speak Portuguese at a young age, and I
still speak it. So we were able to carry that. And then
in food through the holidays, and every time I go to my grandma's house,
she always makes her sweet bread, different pastries. And she's famous
for those things. So everybody knows that her food is
famous traditions like the festa communion. And family's a big thing like
being a godparent. I was a godparent this year for the first time and
that was like a big thing for my grandma. And festivals
like the bullfights and different things where everybody can just meet up
and see each other again and have a good time.
23
00:04:52,790 --> 00:04:58,730
Speaker 1: What cultural traditions have you maintained? Why has it been
important to you to maintain them?
24
00:05:01,610 --> 00:05:23,690
Speaker 2: Um, yeah, traditions like going to the festa being a part of
them supporting the church. Just things that you don't necessarily get
paid for you just do it because that's what your
ancestors did. And maybe I'm I, I don't really maintain them because I'm
still young. But when I'm older, I'll be sure to teach my kids the same
way that my parents did.
25
00:05:26,060 --> 00:05:29,720
Speaker 1: Have you been to the Azores? What was that experience like for
you?
26
00:05:31,010 --> 00:06:17,570
Speaker 2: Yes, I've been to a source three times. The first time I was
seven, we went to Tusada all three times. The first time I don't really
remember it. The second time. I do remember it. It was
nice to see my family that all lives there still go to the different
islands and the different villages that my family's from. Eat the food
there. Do the same thing that we practice here, but it's
different because it's like Authentic there. And then I went again when I
was 18. And it was nice to see that family again, everybody is older. And
it was nice to go back as a adult, because you can
kind of see things from their perspective.
27
00:06:21,270 --> 00:06:28,950
Speaker 1: Trace, if you will, some of your experiences growing up in the
Portuguese American community, in the valley throughout your life.
28
00:06:32,380 --> 00:06:57,130
Speaker 2: Growing up, we'd go to different different communities like we
would go to Tulare or we go to Layton, Modesto. And it's nice to see that
you can go to different towns, and everybody's still
practices the same faith and traditions. So no matter where you are in
the valley, everybody kind of practices the same thing. And everybody
seems to know everybody, so it's nice.
29
00:06:58,750 --> 00:07:05,320
Speaker 1: Of all you have accomplished What are you most proud of? What
proud moments do you remember in the Portuguese American community?
30
00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:33,040
Speaker 2: The one thing that I'm most proud of is that my grandparents
and family immigrated here to give their family opportunity. And so I'm
the second generation college student in my family. So
I'm able to pursue whatever they came here to do for us and give my
children opportunity one day and just work hard like they teach me to.
31
00:07:33,250 --> 00:07:34,810
Speaker 1: what is your college major?
32
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:44,350
Speaker 2: I major in civil engineering, and I hope to work for Caltrans
one day.
33
00:07:48,250 --> 00:07:55,150
Speaker 1: To what extent do you believe being Portuguese American has
shaped the way you have moved through life both professionally and
personally?
34
00:07:56,410 --> 00:08:44,800
Speaker 2: Being Portuguese American has been the focal point of My life,
I always try to do things like my grandparents would do, or my parents
would do attend church every Sunday. I try to be
professional and everything that I do. I'm able to speak Portuguese and
communicate to a lot of different people because you meet a lot of people
at all these events. I'm able to speak a little bit of
Spanish because it's kind of the same thing. So I'm able to make a lot of
connections and hopefully, that could help me out when I'm older because
today it's kind of who you know, and whatever that
you're doing so I'm able to know a lot of people.
35
00:08:49,780 --> 00:08:59,890
Speaker 1: What does being Portuguese American mean to you? See that what
is being Portuguese American mean to you?
36
00:09:02,110 --> 00:09:11,290
Speaker 2: Being Portuguese American means a lot to me because I'm trying
to just pursue whatever opportunities my grandparents came here to give
me.
37
00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,960
Speaker 1: How do you see the Portuguese American community today?
38
00:09:18,550 --> 00:09:40,210
Speaker 2: The Portuguese American community today has a strong faith.
And you can tell that the older generation tries to carry on all these
traditions and values when it seems like the younger
generation is kind of dwindling away from that. So hopefully, when
they're older, they're able to pass it on to their families and keep it
going.
39
00:09:42,340 --> 00:09:47,200
Speaker 1: Is there anything we didn't cover today that you would like to
share about being Portuguese American?
40
00:09:53,780 --> 00:11:46,190
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think we pretty much covered everything other than my
grandmother always said to work hard and whatever you do, and don't let
this Don't let the tradition and what we believe in,
don't let anybody make you believe in something different. And to just
always have faith and practice all the things that they had taught us.
Another thing I didn't cover was that my dad's side of the
family is really big. So the best time of the year is around Christmas
time, when my aunt has her Christmas party and gets gets everybody
together. And so we're able to see all of our close family
that we don't get to see in a long time. Um, another thing on my dad's
side of the family is my dad's father passed away at a young age so my
grandma had to raise that whole family by herself. So my
dad was able to shape me kind of into the same young man that he was
because he really didn't have a father. So he was able to be successful
and raise us to be successful young men without him having
a father figure. So kind of putting myself in his shoes. I'm very lucky
to have a dad, because without one, it would have been hard. So he gives
me I don't know, he gives me kind of a perspective of
what kind of guy I need to be and there's nothing else I would like to
share.
41
00:11:47,580 --> 00:11:48,360
Speaker 1: Thank you.
00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:12,210
Speaker 1: My name is Ally Ryan and I will be interviewing Austin Serpa.
Austin, what is your full birth name?
2
00:00:12,540 --> 00:00:15,570
Speaker 2: Hi, my full birth name is Austin David Serpa.
3
00:00:16,590 --> 00:00:20,610
Speaker 1: were you named after anyone? Is there a story behind your
name?
4
00:00:21,540 --> 00:00:28,830
Speaker 2: No, there's no story behind my name. I think my dad wanted to
name me, Dre. So I don't know what Austin came from. But David is my
dad's name.
5
00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:31,360
Speaker 1: When were you born?
6
00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,360
Speaker 2: I was born on May 29 2000.
7
00:00:34,990 --> 00:00:35,950
Speaker 1: Where were you born?
8
00:00:36,310 --> 00:00:38,410
Speaker 2: I was born in Hanford, California.
9
00:00:39,610 --> 00:00:45,400
Speaker 1: What early memories do you have of a child in the Portuguese
American community?
10
00:00:46,500 --> 00:00:58,530
Speaker 2: A lot of early memories had to do with my family. I have a
huge family and my cousins met a lot of friends through different
Portuguese celebrations and bullfights and yeah.
11
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,850
Speaker 1: When did your family immigrated to the United States?
12
00:01:03,300 --> 00:01:13,680
Speaker 2: Oh, my maternal grandparents immigrated to America on April 27
1973. And then my paternal grandparents came in 1969.
13
00:01:14,460 --> 00:01:17,190
Speaker 1: Why did both of your families leave the Azores?
14
00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:29,160
Speaker 2: Both my family's left there and came here for more
opportunities for their family. And it created more opportunities for
their children and me.
15
00:01:30,410 --> 00:01:32,870
Speaker 1: Where did your family settle? Why there?
16
00:01:34,439 --> 00:01:46,499
Speaker 2: my maternal side of the family settled in Hanford, California.
And they settled there because there was job opportunity for my
grandparents.
17
00:01:53,530 --> 00:01:56,080
Speaker 1: Where did your father's family settle? And why?
18
00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:13,390
Speaker 2: they settled in Sanger and I don't even know why they settled
in Sanger but that's where landed, I think they all worked in a factory.
And so it was like a base shop where they started
making money. And then they all went off and did their own thing.
19
00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:25,090
Speaker 1: Did your grandparents and parents ever tell you what it was
like to adjust to a new life in a new country? What stories were passed
down to you regarding their early experiences?
20
00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:46,150
Speaker 2: They always told me that you had to work hard if you ever
wanted to have anything. And they always told me about how simple life
was over there. And how they only really went to school to
the fourth grade, and so after that, it was all work. So they always
taught me that nothing is going to be handed to you. And so whatever you
want to do, you're gonna have to work hard for it.
21
00:02:48,490 --> 00:03:00,220
Speaker 1: You are a member of the second generation of your family to be
born in the United States. How important was it to your parents that you
were to be raised with a strong Portuguese identity?
22
00:03:01,650 --> 00:03:09,270
Speaker 2: It was very important to them. They always wanted me to be
able to learn how to speak Portuguese, and follow some of the values that
my grandparents taught them.
23
00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:19,140
Speaker 1: How was this identity expressed their language foods,
traditions and festivals?
24
00:03:20,380 --> 00:03:33,850
Speaker 2: This identity was expressed a lot through a lot of cultural
and religious events, Portuguese celebrations honoring different saints,
as well as other cultural events like the bullfights and
dances.
25
00:03:35,940 --> 00:03:41,520
Speaker 1: What cultural traditions have you maintained? Why has it been
important to you to maintain them?
26
00:03:42,950 --> 00:04:14,060
Speaker 2: I couldn't I go to church every week and practice my faith.
That was a big thing that my grandma always taught us. We have to go to
church. I participate in any other events that might take
place in our community and I don't know. They always said it was
important to follow what your ancestors did. So it's a big part of my
life. And that's what I try to follow every day.
27
00:04:15,410 --> 00:04:19,460
Speaker 1: Have you been to the Azores? What was that experience like for
you?
28
00:04:20,620 --> 00:04:53,380
Speaker 2: Yes, I've been to the Azores three times. I first went when I
was seven. I don't really remember that trip. And then I went again when
I was 11. And I was able to see where my family was
from, where they were born, where they played, where they grew up, where
their first job was. I got to meet a lot of people that talked about
family that I never got to meet. And it showed me where my
family was from.
29
00:05:11,070 --> 00:05:13,500
Speaker 1: What was the experience when you went back for your third
time?
30
00:05:14,740 --> 00:05:43,510
Speaker 2: When I went back to my third time? I don't know, I have to
restart. When I went back for my third time I had missed it. And so it
was a lot of fun because I was able to take my girlfriend
with me and I was able to show her what the island was like. I was 18
years old, so I really remembered it and I was grown. So it was fun.
1
00:00:01,500 --> 00:00:09,960
Speaker 1: My name is Ally Ryan and I will be interviewing Austin David
Serpa. What is your full birth name?
2
00:00:10,350 --> 00:00:12,930
Speaker 2: My full birth name is Austin David Serpa.
3
00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:17,670
Speaker 1: Are you named after anyone? Is there a story behind your name?
4
00:00:18,330 --> 00:00:24,600
Speaker 2: Um, my middle name is after my dad David. And Serpa is my
paternal sides last name.
5
00:00:26,130 --> 00:00:27,120
Speaker 1: When were you born?
6
00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,330
Speaker 2: I was born on May 29 2000.
7
00:00:31,050 --> 00:00:32,010
Speaker 1: Where were you born?
8
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,590
Speaker 2: I was born in Hanford, California.
9
00:00:36,180 --> 00:00:40,860
Speaker 1: What early memories Do you have as a child in the Portuguese
American community?
10
00:00:41,470 --> 00:01:13,900
Speaker 2: As a child I was always a part of being in all the festivals
and all the celebrations, Holy Communion, receiving all my sacraments in
church because my family's big in being Catholic and
following our faith, bold late, the bullfight as Early memories my
parents were always working. So I spent a lot of time at my grandparents
house. And so they taught me how to speak Portuguese. And I
was able to do that quickly because they only spoke Portuguese. So we had
to communicate somehow. So I was able to learn that quickly.
11
00:01:15,330 --> 00:01:19,200
Speaker 1: When did your family immigrate to the United States?
12
00:01:19,510 --> 00:01:33,430
Speaker 2: My maternal grandparents immigrated to America on April 27
1973 from the Fertado. And my paternal grandparents came in 1969 from
Santa Marta model.
13
00:01:34,350 --> 00:01:36,360
Speaker 1: Why did your family leave the Azores?
14
00:01:37,110 --> 00:02:04,080
Speaker 2: They left the Azores to give more opportunity to their
children and to me, because life over there is simple and not full
opportunity. And my father's side of the family, they had 18
children. So they came to America to give opportunity to a lot more
people and so they left to Tusada. They came here, and they gave
opportunity to all their children.
15
00:02:06,660 --> 00:02:09,090
Speaker 1: Where did your families settle? why there?
16
00:02:10,140 --> 00:02:38,190
Speaker 2: So my grandparents on my mother's side settled in Hanford,
California because my grandpa got a job at a dairy. So that's where they
pretty much started everything off. They had a house here
in Hanford on the dairy, and he was able to make money to support the
family. And then my father side, moved to Sanger to work at a factory and
he got all of his children jobs at the factory. So they
were able to create their families and make money to support all their
family.
17
00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:52,020
Speaker 1: Did your parents and grandparents ever tell you what it was
like to adjust to a new life in a new country? What stories are passed
down to you regarding their early experiences?
18
00:02:52,540 --> 00:03:16,210
Speaker 2: Well, my grandma, my grandma's sister immigrated here before
she did and she told her that life over here was really nice. They miss
home, and that it was hard at first but that they like
it, and that it was gonna be worth it in the end. My grandma always tells
me stories about how it was hard coming here. But she liked she said it
was for the best and she doesn't regret it.
19
00:03:18,430 --> 00:03:29,530
Speaker 1: You are a member of the second generation of your family to be
born in the United States. How important was it to your parents, I you
were to be raised with a strong Portuguese identity?
20
00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:55,430
Speaker 2: It was very important for my parents to raise us with a strong
Portuguese identity and they started this early by putting me and my
brother in Catholic school. So we were able to practice
our faith every day. We learn how to speak Portuguese at a young age like
I said, and we followed all the traditions and values with close family
and this was carried on through the rest of our life
till now we still practice these things.
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Speaker 1: How is that this identity expressed through Language, foods,
traditions and festivals?
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Speaker 2: This identity was expressed through all those things. Like I
said language, I learned how to speak Portuguese at a young age, and I
still speak it. So we were able to carry that. And then
in food through the holidays, and every time I go to my grandma's house,
she always makes her sweet bread, different pastries. And she's famous
for those things. So everybody knows that her food is
famous traditions like the festa communion. And family's a big thing like
being a godparent. I was a godparent this year for the first time and
that was like a big thing for my grandma. And festivals
like the bullfights and different things where everybody can just meet up
and see each other again and have a good time.
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Speaker 1: What cultural traditions have you maintained? Why has it been
important to you to maintain them?
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Speaker 2: Um, yeah, traditions like going to the festa being a part of
them supporting the church. Just things that you don't necessarily get
paid for you just do it because that's what your
ancestors did. And maybe I'm I, I don't really maintain them because I'm
still young. But when I'm older, I'll be sure to teach my kids the same
way that my parents did.
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Speaker 1: Have you been to the Azores? What was that experience like for
you?
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Speaker 2: Yes, I've been to a source three times. The first time I was
seven, we went to Tusada all three times. The first time I don't really
remember it. The second time. I do remember it. It was
nice to see my family that all lives there still go to the different
islands and the different villages that my family's from. Eat the food
there. Do the same thing that we practice here, but it's
different because it's like Authentic there. And then I went again when I
was 18. And it was nice to see that family again, everybody is older. And
it was nice to go back as a adult, because you can
kind of see things from their perspective.
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Speaker 1: Trace, if you will, some of your experiences growing up in the
Portuguese American community, in the valley throughout your life.
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Speaker 2: Growing up, we'd go to different different communities like we
would go to Tulare or we go to Layton, Modesto. And it's nice to see that
you can go to different towns, and everybody's still
practices the same faith and traditions. So no matter where you are in
the valley, everybody kind of practices the same thing. And everybody
seems to know everybody, so it's nice.
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Speaker 1: Of all you have accomplished What are you most proud of? What
proud moments do you remember in the Portuguese American community?
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Speaker 2: The one thing that I'm most proud of is that my grandparents
and family immigrated here to give their family opportunity. And so I'm
the second generation college student in my family. So
I'm able to pursue whatever they came here to do for us and give my
children opportunity one day and just work hard like they teach me to.
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Speaker 1: what is your college major?
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Speaker 2: I major in civil engineering, and I hope to work for Caltrans
one day.
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Speaker 1: To what extent do you believe being Portuguese American has
shaped the way you have moved through life both professionally and
personally?
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Speaker 2: Being Portuguese American has been the focal point of My life,
I always try to do things like my grandparents would do, or my parents
would do attend church every Sunday. I try to be
professional and everything that I do. I'm able to speak Portuguese and
communicate to a lot of different people because you meet a lot of people
at all these events. I'm able to speak a little bit of
Spanish because it's kind of the same thing. So I'm able to make a lot of
connections and hopefully, that could help me out when I'm older because
today it's kind of who you know, and whatever that
you're doing so I'm able to know a lot of people.
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Speaker 1: What does being Portuguese American mean to you? See that what
is being Portuguese American mean to you?
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Speaker 2: Being Portuguese American means a lot to me because I'm trying
to just pursue whatever opportunities my grandparents came here to give
me.
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Speaker 1: How do you see the Portuguese American community today?
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Speaker 2: The Portuguese American community today has a strong faith.
And you can tell that the older generation tries to carry on all these
traditions and values when it seems like the younger
generation is kind of dwindling away from that. So hopefully, when
they're older, they're able to pass it on to their families and keep it
going.
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Speaker 1: Is there anything we didn't cover today that you would like to
share about being Portuguese American?
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Speaker 2: Yeah. I think we pretty much covered everything other than my
grandmother always said to work hard and whatever you do, and don't let
this Don't let the tradition and what we believe in,
don't let anybody make you believe in something different. And to just
always have faith and practice all the things that they had taught us.
Another thing I didn't cover was that my dad's side of the
family is really big. So the best time of the year is around Christmas
time, when my aunt has her Christmas party and gets gets everybody
together. And so we're able to see all of our close family
that we don't get to see in a long time. Um, another thing on my dad's
side of the family is my dad's father passed away at a young age so my
grandma had to raise that whole family by herself. So my
dad was able to shape me kind of into the same young man that he was
because he really didn't have a father. So he was able to be successful
and raise us to be successful young men without him having
a father figure. So kind of putting myself in his shoes. I'm very lucky
to have a dad, because without one, it would have been hard. So he gives
me I don't know, he gives me kind of a perspective of
what kind of guy I need to be and there's nothing else I would like to
share.
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Speaker 1: Thank you.