Maria Silveira Interview
Item
Title
Maria Silveira Interview
Description
Maria Hortênsia Silveira, was born in the island of Pico and emigrated to the US as a teenager with her parents. She climbed the ladder of America’s corporate world and became Vice-President for Human Resources for Foster Farms, while simultaneously she continued her cultural activities in the Portuguese-American community being at the outset of various organizations in the Valley.
Creator
Silveira, Maria
McCoy, Kelley
Relation
Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute
Identifier
SCUAD_pbbi_00008
Date
09-24-2019
extracted text
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Maria Silveira: Maria Ortensia Silveira.
Kelley McCoy: Were you named after anyone?
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Maria Silveira: I was named about the
Portuguese, the national [inaudible] flower,
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which is hydrangea in English.
Kelley McCoy: When were you born?
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Maria Silveira: May 1st.
Kelley McCoy: And where were you born?
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Maria Silveira: I was born in a small village
of Piedad, island of Pico Azores.
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Kelley McCoy: When did your family
immigrate to the United States?
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Maria Silveira: We immigrated in 1967.
Kelley McCoy: And how old were you?
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Maria Silveira: I was 15.
Kelley McCoy: How many of you immigrated?
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Maria Silveira: My whole family. The four of
us. My father, my mother, my brother and I.
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Kelley McCoy: So, was your
brother younger or older?
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Maria Silveira: Younger.
Kelley McCoy: Why did your
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family leave the Azores?
Maria Silveira: Well, I'm the culprit.
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I started learning French when I was 7 years
old and so at an age of 13 I told my parents
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I wanted to go to France and learn French. Then I
started learning English, a little bit of grammar,
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not much and my parents, of course,
said, no, we're not going to France.
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But your father has a sister, Tia Audia [assumed
spelling] that lives in California and we'll
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talk to her, maybe she can do the papers
for us. And so that is really the reason,
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that's how the idea began. And, so,
my aunt did the papers for us and,
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so, in 1967 it was approved and we
immigrated to the United States of America
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through the entry of the city of Boston.
Kelley McCoy: So what possessions did your family
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and you bring with you?
Maria Silveira:
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What do you mean possessions?
Kelley McCoy: Well, I mean, did you
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have a special toy, books, clothes?
Maria Silveira: We brought, I think,
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one suitcase that wasn't full. As I remember,
I had one pair of shoes that I was wearing
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and I think that was the same thing for
my father, my mother and my brother.
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Maybe a couple of changes of
clothes. Not much money. My parents
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at the time borrowed money to buy our tickets
to come here. So we didn't have much.
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Kelley McCoy: So you say you landed
in Boston, Tia lived in California,
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so where did you actually wind up?
Maria Silveira: In California. We -- you know,
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we landed in Boston, TWA and took another flight
to San Francisco. We got to San Francisco,
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my parents called my aunt. She didn't drive and
she had married an older gentlemen, a widower,
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that couldn't drive to San Francisco
either. So they took the bus.
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We waited at the airport. So basically we got
to San Francisco, as I remember, about 10:30 pm
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and they didn't arrive until the next morning.
And, so -- and then we took bus home to Turlock.
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We got home Good Friday to Turlock.
Kelley McCoy: So what were your first
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impressions of this country you have? First I
imagine, your first impressions were in Boston,
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then waiting for your aunt and your uncle and then
you wind up in the small town of Turlock.
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Maria Silveira: Not a very positive
impression. I was very tired.
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I remember when I lived in the Azores our belief
of America was that it was just -- it was heaven.
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You know, money came down -- you know, fell
down the trees and -- so we came to Turlock,
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my aunt lived in a very modest home. It was kind
of a dirt road in the front. And I remember eating
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when we got home and then went to bed upstairs
looking out the window and suddenly I started
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crying. And my -- my mother heard me sobbing
and she came up and she says, "What's wrong?"
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And she -- and I said, "Well, I'm scared." And
she said, "Everything is going to be okay, we're
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going to be fine." But it wasn't very positive at
first. And, of course, I was young, left all my
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friends behind and, you know, was tired. So.
Kelley McCoy: Do you remember what it
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was specifically that scared you?
Maria Silveira: I think -- I didn't know anything.
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I didn't know a street, I didn't
recognize -- I didn't know anyone.
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And then the other thing that scared me was, we
were born and raised in the Azores and everyone
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was pretty much Catholic and so the next day was
Saturday before Easter. And, so, my aunt said,
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"You know, Salvador," which was her husband's
daughter, "is going to church tomorrow,
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because she could tell I was sad. So, and we were
used to going to Mass every Sunday, you go to
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church with them. And, so, all the churches in the
Azores were Catholic as far as I knew, so we went
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to this church and it was Born Again Christian
Church, I believe. And, so, we went there and
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there were many people playing guitars and singing
-- which I think it's beautiful today, but then,
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you know, we went to church, was very formal and
I got there and people were singing, then all of
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a sudden they fell on the floor and I thought, "Oh
my god, you know, what is this, you know, what did
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these people bring -- bring me to?" And, so, I was
pretty scared. And -- and then I started laughing.
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I just started laughing. All of a sudden I got
scared and I started laughing. Then I came home
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and talked to my aunt about it and I said, "I
don't know what church I -- there was no saints,
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there was no priest and people were screaming
in the church and you're not supposed to talk."
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And, so, she said, "Well, that's a different
religion, but it doesn't matter as long as
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you're praying -- you're praying to the same god."
I said, "Okay." I did go back to that church.
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Kelley McCoy: So, did you immediately
-- you and your brother immediately
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enroll in school when you arrived?
Maria Silveira: Yes. The same lady that
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took me to the church took me to the school,
enrolled me in the school. And that was another
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experience. I was a very good student in the
Azores. I was the top student in my class.
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And I went to school, you know, I was registered,
started going into high school, they put me as
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a junior, because I was already attending -- I
was in college there. It was different system.
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And -- and, so, I went to class and I
couldn't understand the teacher and I thought,
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"What am I doing here?" And I walked home from
school every day and I would say to myself, "I'm
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going to convince mom and dad, I convinced them to
come here and I have to convince them to go back."
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And, so, mom said, "Everything will be -- we'll
stay for a six months to a year, we'll go back."
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That's what she would tell me. But I would go
to bed every night and I would pray and turn the
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alarm to wake me up the next day and I would wake
up and go again. And I did this for a long time.
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After those first three months and school,
then the following year was a lot better and
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I'm glad I didn't quit. But it was -- it was
very -- that was my biggest big challenge,
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real challenge in this country was school.
Kelley McCoy: What specifically was it
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about school that was challenging?
Maria Silveira: Not understanding the teacher
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and not being able to read the books and studying.
You know, I was able to go to class and listen to
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the teachers and come home and read the books
and be prepared to take a test and get an A.
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And I couldn't understand the teacher, I couldn't
understand the books. And then I took this French
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class, the highest, it was a senior class that
I took and, so, I could speak French, actually I
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could speak better than the teacher at the time
and there were some girls in that class that
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were fascinated that I could speak -- I
could speak pretty well French at the time.
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And, so, they began to visit my aunt's house to
visit me and they started talking French. I would
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speak with them so they could learn. And then
I took a Spanish class. I didn't know Spanish,
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but I began to -- it was easy for me because
of the Portuguese, all Latin languages. And,
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so, then I began to make some friends
and after that then it was fine. I think
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it was the first years, those months, it
was very hard and maybe the first couple,
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two to three months and then after that I took
English as second language and I did good. I -- I
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don't remember what my GPA was, but I was able
to go from there to California State University.
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Then go to a junior college. So,
I think I got -- I had above the
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average when I graduated from high school.
Kelley McCoy: So was there a large Portuguese
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community here in Turlock at the time?
Maria Silveira: Yes. There was. And they made
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it easier, because then I found the real Catholic
Church and that actually had a Portuguese priest
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and I still pray in Portuguese today. So,
I'd go to mass and I began singing in the
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choir and then I got involved and then actually
started a youth group at the church and I was
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the leader for the girls. Then -- and so
I began to get involved. Started going to
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Portuguese Festas and made friends and it was -it was fun. It began to be -- you know. But the
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first three years I missed -- I missed home very
much. And after I went back, which was three years
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later, but I realized that this -- America was
my place and this was where I wanted to be.
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Kelley McCoy: So, now, tell me what your
father was doing when you moved here.
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Maria Silveira: My father went to milk cows
at first. He had never -- I don't know that
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he had touched a cow in the Azores, but he
went to milk cows for about three months.
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And then at the same time mom heard of some
people in Turlock that would go pick fruit.
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So we would get up, all of us, all four
of us would get up at 4 in the morning
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and we would go pick fruit. Before I even went
to school. And my brother at the beginning didn't
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go and then he went and then my father would milk
cows so that we would have the money in the summer
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add it to the, you know, our salaries. Then after
three months he went to apply at Foster Farms. A
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friend told him that there was this place
and you didn't have to get up at midnight
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to go milk cows. So he went to work for Foster
Farms and that's where he worked for 20 years.
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Retired at 62 from Foster Farms.
Kelley McCoy: So when he moved on to Foster
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Farms is that when the family stopped
getting up in the mornings, you and
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your brother before school and going out?
Maria Silveira: Yes, yes. He basically worked
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Monday through Friday. Mom got a job at a
nursing home in Turlock. She worked swing
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shift. Which I actually also worked there
with her while I was going to school. And
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so life became easier then and we began to
-- on weekends, you know, as I said earlier,
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we would go to the Portuguese Festas. So it was,
you know, we begin to have a life similar to the
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fun part we used to have in the Azores.
Kelley McCoy: So I would imagine that having
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a dynamic Portuguese community in place
certainly helped, but do you recall,
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were there ever any difficulties that you had with
people who weren't Portuguese, being an immigrant,
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a newcomer to the United States?
Maria Silveira: You know, I was very very
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fortunate right from the beginning. I had -I met great people. You know, there were great
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students, you know, girls and boys that I met
in school who were very helpful. I remember one
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day I was at the cafeteria, it was lunch
time, I wanted to buy an apple, and, so,
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I went to the window and I kept -- I thought I
was saying apple, but I was saying something else
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and they couldn't understand. And some Portuguese
girl, like 4th or 5th back, she heard me and she
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knew I was Portuguese and she said, "She wants
an apple." So, people were very very nice.
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At school, at work, when I went to
work at the nursing home with my mom,
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with my mom the same way, they were very nice to
my mom, everyone was. Then when I went -- worked
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for Foster Farms it was the same thing. I just
have met -- I can't -- I can't even think of
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anyone that I thought wasn't nice to me. Everybody
was nice. You know, just great people. I've been
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very very fortunate that I've met a lot of great
people that have helped me along the way.
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Kelley McCoy: So, you went
to Cal State Stanislaus.
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Maria Silveira: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: Why did you decide
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to go there and what did you major in?
Maria Silveira: Well, it was more convenience.
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I would have loved to have gone to a big
school and I could have gone to a, you know,
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I -- as far as academics I could have gone. But
I didn't have a car and we didn't have money.
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And, so, Turlock I could live at home, so we
didn't have that expense. And as far as the
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transportation it wasn't very far. So, my
aunt bought me a car when I graduated from
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high school. So, I was able to drive
and then had a job locally. And, so,
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and also I had a professor at the high school,
Mrs. Wavonno [assumed spelling], she was my P
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teacher and I owe her very much. And every time I
see her I tell her she's the main reason why I am
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where I am today. Because one day I was in my P.E.
class and I heard some girls were talking to her
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about going somewhere the following Wednesday and
I said, "Hey, guys, I want to go," just joking.
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And I probably then said exactly this way, because
my English wasn't great, but I -- by then I
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was speaking. I felt comfortable and she said,
"Oh, she can go." It was a test that -- it was
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at the Stanislaus State and they were
going to allow some students and provide
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financial aid. But there were some tests yet to
take and her husband taught at the university. So,
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I went with her and I went with these girls
and there were three other girls. And, so,
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I also received, you know, the -- you know, I
got a scholarship and I got some financial aid,
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so it made it easier for me.
Kelley McCoy: So, what did
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you major in?
Maria Silveira: French
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and Spanish, I had double major.
Kelley McCoy: And what was it that attracted
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you to foreign languages, why that?
Maria Silveira: You know, I had a cousin
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in the Azores that was studying to be a French
teacher and became a French teacher. Her name was
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Antoinita [assumed spelling]. And she would open a
book and read French in front of me and I was just
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amazed. Anyone that could say anything other, you
know, any words other than Portuguese I was just
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fascinated. So, I asked her to teach me French.
That's how it started. And, so, I was fascinated
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with French and then I learned Spanish and
then English and then I learned Italian. And,
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so, I was just fascinated with
languages. I just love languages.
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And, so, that's how I -- that's what -- I'm not
sure why, other than I just love languages. Anyone
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speak a different language I was fascinated.
And it was easy for me. It was very easy.
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Languages are always been very easy for me.
Kelley McCoy: Now, did you ever think that
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you might go into teaching?
Maria Silveira: Well, originally
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that's what I was going to do. I wanted to
be a professor at a school, at a big school.
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And, so, I was going to go into Masters
and PhD and be a teacher. That was my goal.
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And meanwhile, because my father worked at
Foster Farms, I went to work there in the summer,
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because -- well actually, right out of high -when I was still in high school I went to work
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there, because they paid more money than at the
nursing home. And, so, I got the job there and
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the -- that was the second summer I worked.
Because I used -- I went one summer, then I
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went back to school and worked the nursing home.
The second summer I went back and there was some
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issues there, labor issues with United Farm
Workers. They had the United -- they had the UFCW
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Union there and the United Farm Workers was
trying to kick him out in command. And, so,
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the superintendent of Foster Farms at the time was
Viz Peanalto [assumed spelling]. And he talking
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to me, you know, when I went to work and I was
a young girl from the Azores, then, you know,
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he'd talk to me. And he -- you know, I told him
I spoke Spanish and French and Portuguese and so
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one day he called and he said, "Hey, the
union is asking if there's someone that
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could speak different languages, that they
need help. Do you want to work with them?"
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And I said, "Sure, how much they pay?" And he
says, "Well, pay the same that you're making
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here at Foster Farms, you know, you just
help them." I said, "Sure." So, I went to
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work with them -- I was working for UFCW.
And then UFW was trying to kick him out. So,
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there was an election and -- but
when the union official talked to me
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I asked him, you know, what he needed me to do and
he said, "Well, here's the issues that we have."
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And I remember sitting in the break room and
hearing people talk and complain about this
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and complain about that. And one -- one thing that
was amazing to me, that there was no one there to
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listen to them and answer their questions. And
I heard people complain and about -- you know,
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unhappy about -- and I just looked around and I
thought, "This is odd," but I never said anything.
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So he said, "You know, we don't have anyone speaks
Portuguese, we don't have anyone speak Spanish
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in the union, so we need someone to help us."
And by then I could speak Spanish pretty well.
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And I remember telling him, "No problem, I can
take care of it for you." I had no idea how to do
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it, but I just knew I'd figure out a way and. So,
anyway, there was an election, UFCW won. And, so,
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it was time to go back to school, it was -- I went
back to the line after the election was over. And
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a few days before, Paul Foster was the president
at the time, and so the superintendent came up to
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me, Mr. Peanalto, and said that Paul Foster wanted
to see me. I went to see him at his office and I
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still remember I was on the line working and I
said, "Oh, I'll go see him after work." He said,
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"No, you need to go now." He was the president,
right. And, so, I went there and he said, "Hey,
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are you going to get a -- you know, are you going
to go to work while you go back to -- while you're
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in school and I said, "Yes, I'm going to go back
to the nursing home." And he said, "Would you like
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to work for us?" And I said, "Yes, you know, but
doing what?" And he said, "What would you like
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to do?" And I said, "Well, I'm going to school to
be a language professor, but I enjoy working with
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people, I enjoyed working -- doing what I did,
you know, that was fun. And he said, 'I'm going to
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have you talk to Mr. Higdon,"
he was the direction of H -- human resources,
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"and he'll find something for you." And I said,
"That's wonderful, may I ask you a question?
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You know, I'm flattered and I don't want you to
think I'm not thankful, but I was wondering why
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you're asking me to stay and work?" And he said,
"Well, the leaders of United Farm Workers here
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in the plant came to see me and told me, you
know, they wanted to know if there were going
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to be repercussions because they had started the
movement?" And I said, "No, I actually respected
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them and admired them for doing what they
believed." And - but I - -and then I asked him,
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"You know, you guys had good momentum, what
happened the last election, what happened?" And
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they told me, "Well, you know, if it wasn't for
that little Portuguese girl we would have won."
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And he said, "You know, if you were able to do so
much in such a short period of time, here's --" I
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quote his words, "there's a hell of a lot more you
can do." I'll never forget that word. Those words.
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Any time in my life that I ran into a brick wall,
which we all do once or twice or more, I always
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thought of those words and I'd figure out a way to
get onto the other side of the wall. So that's how
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I kind of changed from going from languages into
management. So, then I started working there and
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finished my double major, but then went back to
school and got a degree in business administration
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with a concentration human resources. And that's
how I kind of -- I realized that I wanted to be
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where the action was. I did teach night school
for several years. But I -- I enjoyed being
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where the action is and I realized that.
Kelley McCoy: So how old were you when Mr.
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Foster called you into his office?
Maria Silveira: Well, I believe -223
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I think I was -- I was 18 years old at that time.
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Yeah, that was right when I -- that was just
before I started. I had just started college
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or started college at that time.
Kelley McCoy: Now, you refer to
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working on the line, for people who don't
know what Foster Farms is—poultry—can
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you describe what it was that you were doing?
Maria Silveira: Sure. It's a manufacturing plant
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and this is where you manufacture the
chickens, you know, you bring them in,
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you know, the chickens are hung by its feet on
an assembly line and they come in and they go
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through the process. And, so, I worked in one
of the departments, it was called Ice Pack.
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At the time 70% of our production was whole
body. Now it's the other way, it's mostly cut up
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product. And, so, I was an Ice -- you know,
I worked in this department where there was a
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whole body chicken that would come on an assembly
line and I would place a logo on the wing that
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indicated that if you bought a chicken -- it
was called the Golden Guarantee. If you bought
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a chicken and you weren't happy with the chicken
we would give you two chickens for free. And, so,
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I was placing the logo. It was a little Foster
Farms logo with a string and I would place it in
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the wing. And so that's what I did. The chicken
-- the line was going 112 birds a minute.
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So, I had to do 61 birds per minute.
Kelley McCoy: I would imagine having that
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experience though really informed -- once you
moved into administration, because you would never
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forget the people that you worked with.
Maria Silveira: Absolutely. You know,
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that was the best thing that ever happened to me,
because in the job that I -- jobs that I've had
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and the job that I have currently, when people
come in the office and they would complain,
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you know, that their hand would hurt or their
back hurt or their arm hurt, I knew exactly what
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they were talking about. I could feel what they
were feeling. And, so, you -- it just make things
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much easier for me and it also contribute
to the success that I've had in my jobs.
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Because I could understand the people. I
knew what they were talking about.
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Kelley McCoy: Now, you recently celebrated
47 years with Foster Farms.
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Maria Silveira: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: And you are currently president
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or vice president of Labor Relations.
Maria Silveira: And human resources, yes.
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Kelley McCoy: So, what exactly do you do now?
Maria Silveira: Okay. So, Foster Farms
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we have 12,000 employees at Foster Farms in many,
you know, in many states. I'm directly -- I have
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the direct responsibility for 600 employee -- for
6000 of the 12,000 from the human resources and
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labor relations. I have 24 people that work
for me in my department in multiple states.
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And the plants and ranches and hatcheries and
feed mills and I can give you those numbers
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if you like, in multiple states. I have indirect
responsibility for labor relations for the whole
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company. For the other 6000. So, we currently have
-- I'm responsible for 11 manufacturing plants,
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three hatcheries, over 80 turkey ranches,
four truck shops, three feed mills,
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four prepared foods plants and -- and,
of course, two distribution centers.
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And then I have indirect responsibility for
three addition -- four additional plants, a
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100 some ranches on the chicken side, three other
hatcheries, three feed mills and the sales and
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marketing group and accounting and finance. That's
for the labor -- for the labor relations part.
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I also negotiate all contracts with the unions.
There's 11 unions I -- I'm sorry, 10 unions and
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I negotiate 11 contracts for Foster Farms. And
I'm very proud to say, I have a great staff,
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just wonderful staff, great people.
But I have never negotiated a contract
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that we had the disruption, a labor disruption,
what you call strikes, never had one. So I'm
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very proud. Now, I'm negotiating two contracts
currently. One in Oregon for a plant that we have
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in Corvallis, Oregon. And I just started
negotiating the contract for the Livingston plant,
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which is 2400 employees. And, so, those are the
last I'm going to do before I retired. I hope
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there is no disruption so I go out with
a perfect record. I'm very proud of that.
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But I credit my staff, they're great people.
I've got great people working for me.
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Kelley McCoy: So, let's go back a little bit to
the Azores, because you go back quite often.
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Maria Silveira: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: Now,
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you still have family there.
Maria Silveira: Yes. I love the Azores.
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[phone ringing] I -- I call the Azores.
Candace Egan: I'm sorry, we have to -275
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someone's phone is going off.
Maria Silveira: Yes. It's mine. Are you
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going to turn it off?
Candace Egan: Or you can.
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Maria Silveira: I'm sorry.
Kelley McCoy: That's okay.
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Maria Silveira: I should have --.
[ phone ringing ]
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Maria Silveira: I apologize.
Kelley McCoy: Hey, so long as they're
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not calling for a strike we're good.
Maria Silveira: No. [laughter]. So, I'm sorry.
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So you have to start over again, right?
Candace Egan: No, so, no we just -- you can start
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your answer [inaudible] prompt.
Maria Silveira: Okay, so,
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yes. I go to the Azores every year.
I love the Azores, I love Portugal.
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It's -- I guess the way I describe it,
it's my biological mother gave me life.
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And I look as America as being my step-mother that
opened me with opened arms and treated me like one
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of its own. Only America this can happen, truly.
But, yeah, I go to Portugal every year. I have
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summer homes there and I just started
building a vega, where we call it, it's
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kind of a -- I guess you call it a winery, we call
it a vega, on the other side of the island. It's
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a beautiful country. The water is beautiful
blue. The air is very clean and beautiful.
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The island is the second largest of the nine
islands in the Azores. And it's just got beautiful
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hills and the greenery and the birds and the,
you know, the love fish and the fish is so good.
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I do have cousins and many many friends.
And, so, every year I go in the summer
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and after I retire I hope to go more.
Kelley McCoy: Here in the United States are
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there any customs and traditions that
you've maintained from the Azores?
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Maria Silveira: Absolutely. [laughter] I still
pray in Portuguese, I cook Portuguese food almost
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all the food that I cook is mainly portages. I
listen to Portuguese music, I go to the Portuguese
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Festas, I love the Fado, which is a very famous
Portuguese sound, in English it means destiny.
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I just love everything that is Portuguese. You
know, the Portuguese are, you know, we -- we kind
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of began and lead the explorations in the 15th
century. And, so, we're -- we're very -- we're
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fighters, you know, we're hard working
people, we want more, we -- if we, you know,
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we, you know, we're just -- we're
-- we just love to do, you know,
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no matter what it is you want to do something.
But we're also very friendly people and we always
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like to help each other and others, you know. And,
so, yeah, I love everything about the Portuguese.
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I'm very proud of being Portuguese.
Kelley McCoy: So, to what extent do you
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believe that being Portuguese American has shaped
the way that you've moved through your life,
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professionally as well as personally?
Maria Silveira: Well, it's this grit,
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you know, that the Portuguese people have.
This resolve, this strong character of
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working very hard, no matter what it is
that you do. You always want to do the best,
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you know, at anything you do. Not to be
better than the next person, but just to do
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your best. I just think that, you know, it's
this burning passion inside of us that, you know,
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you just want to do great. And no matter
what it is and you want to do more.
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And I think it goes back to the Portuguese,
you know, getting in a, you know,
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in a boat -- in the, you know, go in the ocean and
just take off and some of them didn't make it, but
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it didn't matter and didn't stop anyone else from
doing it, you know, themselves. And I think it's
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in us, you know, it's this determination, this
burning passion to, you know, to do more and to
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do well no matter what it is that we do.
Kelley McCoy: So this last question might be
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something that you've already answered or
maybe you might even have something more -318
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a little different, a little more specific to
the question, but in the end then, what does
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being Portuguese American mean to you?
Maria Silveira: It means -- it means that you
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have to make a difference, that you're here for a
purpose and you need to leave behind a legacy and
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for me I want to be remembered. Not how much
money I made, but how good of a daughter I was,
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how good of a sister or an aunt, a wife, a friend.
That's what it really means to me, you know. Just
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be remembered as being a good person. Someone
that made a difference. And someone that helped
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whoever came your way that needed your help and
you did something for them. I guess that's what
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I think my mission is always been and that's been
since I was a little girl. You know, in the Azores
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if my grandmother needed help, I would help
her. If the teacher needed help, I would help
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the teacher. If a neighbor needed something, I
would help. And I started from very little doing
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that. That's what I saw my mother do, that's what
I saw my grandmother, my aunts, my father. And I
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came here and we continued to do that. And it's -that's what it is all about, to help others.
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Kelley McCoy: Thank you so much. Maybe another
question. Yeah, I know. I was just -- there was
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one other question, I wanted to
make sure though that we got through
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with the flow of the interview. You mentioned
being into Portuguese music, do you listen to
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the radio station out of Los Banos?
Maria Silveira: Yes, I do. Absolutely do.
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If you go into my car right now and you turn on
the radio, it goes to 1 -- 1330, which is KLBS.
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And I've got a CD that is Portuguese.
So, I love Portuguese music.
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Kelley McCoy: So did you -- because, you
know, we interviewed him as well for the
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oral history project, loved him. So, did you
start listening when you first arrived, because
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the radio station's been going forever?
Maria Silveira: It's a funny story, I got to tell
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you. When I first came KLBS didn't exist yet.
But there was a radio program here in Turlock
340
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and it's a great story that I learned a lot from.
And Mr. Mandelsa is the one who
341
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spoke on the radio. And the name of the program
was, "Franklin Speaking," his name was Frank.
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And, so, I was with my aunt's house -- with
my aunt at her house and she had the radio
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on all the time and this gentlemen is speaking
and he's talking about going to Stephenson and
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he met this guy and he wasn't sure if it was him
or his sister, because his hair was so long. And
345
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I said, "Tia, who is this man?" "Oh, he speaks
Portuguese very well and he's got a radio program
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and we all listen to it." And I came from
Portugal, you didn't speak in a radio unless
347
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you were a professional. I said, "Tia, but he
doesn't speak well enough to speak on the radio."
348
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And she says, "Well, he speaks very well,
he taught me English. I got my citizenship
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papers so I could bring you here and he
speaks very well." So I learned - I later
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met the gentlemen, he's a great man and
he'd been here for many years. But...
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Kelley McCoy: His name was Franklin?
Maria Silveira: Frank Mandelsa, but the
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name of his program was "Franklin
Speaking." And what that taught me was,
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no matter how many years I stayed in this country,
I would never forget how to speak Portuguese well.
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And because of that, I listened to his
Portuguese and I didn't think it was very well,
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very good. And, so, I have managed to keep -- to
keep the Portuguese. But the story about the radio
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program. But eventually KLBS opened, Mr. Viarra
[assumed spelling] owns it and great gentlemen.
357
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I know it's not a great business, but he
does it for the community and for the people.
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And I admire that. And, so, yeah, I listened to
it all the time. And they have great programs.
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And the people that speak on the radio there speak
very well Portuguese and, yeah, I love it.
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00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:41,920
Kelley McCoy: Thank you. Is there anything
that we didn't touch on in the interview that
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you think maybe should be included?
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Maria Silveira: I don't know. I guess one
of the things that people always ask is,
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what do you recommend that other young
-- you know, others -- you know, I was
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young once. I started when I was very young.
What do you recommend that young people do
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00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:15,120
to be, you know, whether Portuguese or anybody,
but I don't know that it's important to you, but
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I always tell young people that, never give up
and just have burning passion for whatever you do.
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It doesn't matter what it is that you do, just
do your best and you're going to be successful.
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So I like young people to be successful.
Kelley McCoy: So do we. [laughter]
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Thank you so much.
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Maria Silveira: Well, thank you. This is fun.
Kelley McCoy: Yeah, very good, very good.
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Maria Silveira: Oh, thank you.
00:00:06,624 --> 00:00:10,880
Maria Silveira: Maria Ortensia Silveira.
Kelley McCoy: Were you named after anyone?
2
00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:16,800
Maria Silveira: I was named about the
Portuguese, the national [inaudible] flower,
3
00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:21,120
which is hydrangea in English.
Kelley McCoy: When were you born?
4
00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,800
Maria Silveira: May 1st.
Kelley McCoy: And where were you born?
5
00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:30,800
Maria Silveira: I was born in a small village
of Piedad, island of Pico Azores.
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Kelley McCoy: When did your family
immigrate to the United States?
7
00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:40,000
Maria Silveira: We immigrated in 1967.
Kelley McCoy: And how old were you?
8
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,840
Maria Silveira: I was 15.
Kelley McCoy: How many of you immigrated?
9
00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:52,080
Maria Silveira: My whole family. The four of
us. My father, my mother, my brother and I.
10
00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:54,857
Kelley McCoy: So, was your
brother younger or older?
11
00:00:54,857 --> 00:00:57,040
Maria Silveira: Younger.
Kelley McCoy: Why did your
12
00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,960
family leave the Azores?
Maria Silveira: Well, I'm the culprit.
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I started learning French when I was 7 years
old and so at an age of 13 I told my parents
14
00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:19,520
I wanted to go to France and learn French. Then I
started learning English, a little bit of grammar,
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not much and my parents, of course,
said, no, we're not going to France.
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But your father has a sister, Tia Audia [assumed
spelling] that lives in California and we'll
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00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:39,120
talk to her, maybe she can do the papers
for us. And so that is really the reason,
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that's how the idea began. And, so,
my aunt did the papers for us and,
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so, in 1967 it was approved and we
immigrated to the United States of America
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00:01:54,320 --> 00:02:00,080
through the entry of the city of Boston.
Kelley McCoy: So what possessions did your family
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00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,880
and you bring with you?
Maria Silveira:
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00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,040
What do you mean possessions?
Kelley McCoy: Well, I mean, did you
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have a special toy, books, clothes?
Maria Silveira: We brought, I think,
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00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:22,240
one suitcase that wasn't full. As I remember,
I had one pair of shoes that I was wearing
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00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,160
and I think that was the same thing for
my father, my mother and my brother.
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00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:35,840
Maybe a couple of changes of
clothes. Not much money. My parents
27
00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:42,320
at the time borrowed money to buy our tickets
to come here. So we didn't have much.
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Kelley McCoy: So you say you landed
in Boston, Tia lived in California,
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so where did you actually wind up?
Maria Silveira: In California. We -- you know,
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we landed in Boston, TWA and took another flight
to San Francisco. We got to San Francisco,
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00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:13,440
my parents called my aunt. She didn't drive and
she had married an older gentlemen, a widower,
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that couldn't drive to San Francisco
either. So they took the bus.
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We waited at the airport. So basically we got
to San Francisco, as I remember, about 10:30 pm
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and they didn't arrive until the next morning.
And, so -- and then we took bus home to Turlock.
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We got home Good Friday to Turlock.
Kelley McCoy: So what were your first
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00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:45,200
impressions of this country you have? First I
imagine, your first impressions were in Boston,
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then waiting for your aunt and your uncle and then
you wind up in the small town of Turlock.
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Maria Silveira: Not a very positive
impression. I was very tired.
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00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:07,360
I remember when I lived in the Azores our belief
of America was that it was just -- it was heaven.
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00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:14,160
You know, money came down -- you know, fell
down the trees and -- so we came to Turlock,
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my aunt lived in a very modest home. It was kind
of a dirt road in the front. And I remember eating
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when we got home and then went to bed upstairs
looking out the window and suddenly I started
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crying. And my -- my mother heard me sobbing
and she came up and she says, "What's wrong?"
44
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And she -- and I said, "Well, I'm scared." And
she said, "Everything is going to be okay, we're
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00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:50,000
going to be fine." But it wasn't very positive at
first. And, of course, I was young, left all my
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friends behind and, you know, was tired. So.
Kelley McCoy: Do you remember what it
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00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:06,560
was specifically that scared you?
Maria Silveira: I think -- I didn't know anything.
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I didn't know a street, I didn't
recognize -- I didn't know anyone.
49
00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:17,520
And then the other thing that scared me was, we
were born and raised in the Azores and everyone
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was pretty much Catholic and so the next day was
Saturday before Easter. And, so, my aunt said,
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"You know, Salvador," which was her husband's
daughter, "is going to church tomorrow,
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because she could tell I was sad. So, and we were
used to going to Mass every Sunday, you go to
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church with them. And, so, all the churches in the
Azores were Catholic as far as I knew, so we went
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to this church and it was Born Again Christian
Church, I believe. And, so, we went there and
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there were many people playing guitars and singing
-- which I think it's beautiful today, but then,
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you know, we went to church, was very formal and
I got there and people were singing, then all of
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a sudden they fell on the floor and I thought, "Oh
my god, you know, what is this, you know, what did
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these people bring -- bring me to?" And, so, I was
pretty scared. And -- and then I started laughing.
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I just started laughing. All of a sudden I got
scared and I started laughing. Then I came home
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00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:20,720
and talked to my aunt about it and I said, "I
don't know what church I -- there was no saints,
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there was no priest and people were screaming
in the church and you're not supposed to talk."
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And, so, she said, "Well, that's a different
religion, but it doesn't matter as long as
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you're praying -- you're praying to the same god."
I said, "Okay." I did go back to that church.
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Kelley McCoy: So, did you immediately
-- you and your brother immediately
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enroll in school when you arrived?
Maria Silveira: Yes. The same lady that
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took me to the church took me to the school,
enrolled me in the school. And that was another
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experience. I was a very good student in the
Azores. I was the top student in my class.
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And I went to school, you know, I was registered,
started going into high school, they put me as
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a junior, because I was already attending -- I
was in college there. It was different system.
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And -- and, so, I went to class and I
couldn't understand the teacher and I thought,
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"What am I doing here?" And I walked home from
school every day and I would say to myself, "I'm
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going to convince mom and dad, I convinced them to
come here and I have to convince them to go back."
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And, so, mom said, "Everything will be -- we'll
stay for a six months to a year, we'll go back."
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That's what she would tell me. But I would go
to bed every night and I would pray and turn the
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alarm to wake me up the next day and I would wake
up and go again. And I did this for a long time.
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After those first three months and school,
then the following year was a lot better and
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I'm glad I didn't quit. But it was -- it was
very -- that was my biggest big challenge,
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real challenge in this country was school.
Kelley McCoy: What specifically was it
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about school that was challenging?
Maria Silveira: Not understanding the teacher
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and not being able to read the books and studying.
You know, I was able to go to class and listen to
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the teachers and come home and read the books
and be prepared to take a test and get an A.
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And I couldn't understand the teacher, I couldn't
understand the books. And then I took this French
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class, the highest, it was a senior class that
I took and, so, I could speak French, actually I
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could speak better than the teacher at the time
and there were some girls in that class that
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were fascinated that I could speak -- I
could speak pretty well French at the time.
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And, so, they began to visit my aunt's house to
visit me and they started talking French. I would
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speak with them so they could learn. And then
I took a Spanish class. I didn't know Spanish,
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but I began to -- it was easy for me because
of the Portuguese, all Latin languages. And,
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so, then I began to make some friends
and after that then it was fine. I think
90
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it was the first years, those months, it
was very hard and maybe the first couple,
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two to three months and then after that I took
English as second language and I did good. I -- I
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don't remember what my GPA was, but I was able
to go from there to California State University.
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Then go to a junior college. So,
I think I got -- I had above the
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average when I graduated from high school.
Kelley McCoy: So was there a large Portuguese
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community here in Turlock at the time?
Maria Silveira: Yes. There was. And they made
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it easier, because then I found the real Catholic
Church and that actually had a Portuguese priest
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and I still pray in Portuguese today. So,
I'd go to mass and I began singing in the
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choir and then I got involved and then actually
started a youth group at the church and I was
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the leader for the girls. Then -- and so
I began to get involved. Started going to
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Portuguese Festas and made friends and it was -it was fun. It began to be -- you know. But the
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first three years I missed -- I missed home very
much. And after I went back, which was three years
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later, but I realized that this -- America was
my place and this was where I wanted to be.
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Kelley McCoy: So, now, tell me what your
father was doing when you moved here.
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Maria Silveira: My father went to milk cows
at first. He had never -- I don't know that
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he had touched a cow in the Azores, but he
went to milk cows for about three months.
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And then at the same time mom heard of some
people in Turlock that would go pick fruit.
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So we would get up, all of us, all four
of us would get up at 4 in the morning
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and we would go pick fruit. Before I even went
to school. And my brother at the beginning didn't
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go and then he went and then my father would milk
cows so that we would have the money in the summer
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00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:17,600
add it to the, you know, our salaries. Then after
three months he went to apply at Foster Farms. A
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friend told him that there was this place
and you didn't have to get up at midnight
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00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:28,480
to go milk cows. So he went to work for Foster
Farms and that's where he worked for 20 years.
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Retired at 62 from Foster Farms.
Kelley McCoy: So when he moved on to Foster
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Farms is that when the family stopped
getting up in the mornings, you and
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your brother before school and going out?
Maria Silveira: Yes, yes. He basically worked
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Monday through Friday. Mom got a job at a
nursing home in Turlock. She worked swing
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shift. Which I actually also worked there
with her while I was going to school. And
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so life became easier then and we began to
-- on weekends, you know, as I said earlier,
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we would go to the Portuguese Festas. So it was,
you know, we begin to have a life similar to the
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fun part we used to have in the Azores.
Kelley McCoy: So I would imagine that having
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a dynamic Portuguese community in place
certainly helped, but do you recall,
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were there ever any difficulties that you had with
people who weren't Portuguese, being an immigrant,
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a newcomer to the United States?
Maria Silveira: You know, I was very very
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fortunate right from the beginning. I had -I met great people. You know, there were great
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students, you know, girls and boys that I met
in school who were very helpful. I remember one
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day I was at the cafeteria, it was lunch
time, I wanted to buy an apple, and, so,
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I went to the window and I kept -- I thought I
was saying apple, but I was saying something else
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and they couldn't understand. And some Portuguese
girl, like 4th or 5th back, she heard me and she
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knew I was Portuguese and she said, "She wants
an apple." So, people were very very nice.
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At school, at work, when I went to
work at the nursing home with my mom,
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with my mom the same way, they were very nice to
my mom, everyone was. Then when I went -- worked
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for Foster Farms it was the same thing. I just
have met -- I can't -- I can't even think of
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anyone that I thought wasn't nice to me. Everybody
was nice. You know, just great people. I've been
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00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:35,600
very very fortunate that I've met a lot of great
people that have helped me along the way.
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00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:38,240
Kelley McCoy: So, you went
to Cal State Stanislaus.
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Maria Silveira: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: Why did you decide
137
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:45,600
to go there and what did you major in?
Maria Silveira: Well, it was more convenience.
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00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:50,240
I would have loved to have gone to a big
school and I could have gone to a, you know,
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00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:58,880
I -- as far as academics I could have gone. But
I didn't have a car and we didn't have money.
140
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And, so, Turlock I could live at home, so we
didn't have that expense. And as far as the
141
00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:14,160
transportation it wasn't very far. So, my
aunt bought me a car when I graduated from
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00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:21,200
high school. So, I was able to drive
and then had a job locally. And, so,
143
00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:28,080
and also I had a professor at the high school,
Mrs. Wavonno [assumed spelling], she was my P
144
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:37,120
teacher and I owe her very much. And every time I
see her I tell her she's the main reason why I am
145
00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:43,440
where I am today. Because one day I was in my P.E.
class and I heard some girls were talking to her
146
00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:49,440
about going somewhere the following Wednesday and
I said, "Hey, guys, I want to go," just joking.
147
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,720
And I probably then said exactly this way, because
my English wasn't great, but I -- by then I
148
00:14:54,720 --> 00:15:01,600
was speaking. I felt comfortable and she said,
"Oh, she can go." It was a test that -- it was
149
00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:07,520
at the Stanislaus State and they were
going to allow some students and provide
150
00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:17,920
financial aid. But there were some tests yet to
take and her husband taught at the university. So,
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00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:23,760
I went with her and I went with these girls
and there were three other girls. And, so,
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I also received, you know, the -- you know, I
got a scholarship and I got some financial aid,
153
00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,960
so it made it easier for me.
Kelley McCoy: So, what did
154
00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:34,800
you major in?
Maria Silveira: French
155
00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:39,200
and Spanish, I had double major.
Kelley McCoy: And what was it that attracted
156
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:44,320
you to foreign languages, why that?
Maria Silveira: You know, I had a cousin
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00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:50,720
in the Azores that was studying to be a French
teacher and became a French teacher. Her name was
158
00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:56,880
Antoinita [assumed spelling]. And she would open a
book and read French in front of me and I was just
159
00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:02,960
amazed. Anyone that could say anything other, you
know, any words other than Portuguese I was just
160
00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:11,200
fascinated. So, I asked her to teach me French.
That's how it started. And, so, I was fascinated
161
00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:16,080
with French and then I learned Spanish and
then English and then I learned Italian. And,
162
00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:22,320
so, I was just fascinated with
languages. I just love languages.
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00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:28,880
And, so, that's how I -- that's what -- I'm not
sure why, other than I just love languages. Anyone
164
00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:34,080
speak a different language I was fascinated.
And it was easy for me. It was very easy.
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00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:38,160
Languages are always been very easy for me.
Kelley McCoy: Now, did you ever think that
166
00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,520
you might go into teaching?
Maria Silveira: Well, originally
167
00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:46,880
that's what I was going to do. I wanted to
be a professor at a school, at a big school.
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And, so, I was going to go into Masters
and PhD and be a teacher. That was my goal.
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And meanwhile, because my father worked at
Foster Farms, I went to work there in the summer,
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because -- well actually, right out of high -when I was still in high school I went to work
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there, because they paid more money than at the
nursing home. And, so, I got the job there and
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the -- that was the second summer I worked.
Because I used -- I went one summer, then I
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went back to school and worked the nursing home.
The second summer I went back and there was some
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issues there, labor issues with United Farm
Workers. They had the United -- they had the UFCW
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Union there and the United Farm Workers was
trying to kick him out in command. And, so,
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the superintendent of Foster Farms at the time was
Viz Peanalto [assumed spelling]. And he talking
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to me, you know, when I went to work and I was
a young girl from the Azores, then, you know,
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he'd talk to me. And he -- you know, I told him
I spoke Spanish and French and Portuguese and so
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one day he called and he said, "Hey, the
union is asking if there's someone that
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could speak different languages, that they
need help. Do you want to work with them?"
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And I said, "Sure, how much they pay?" And he
says, "Well, pay the same that you're making
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here at Foster Farms, you know, you just
help them." I said, "Sure." So, I went to
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work with them -- I was working for UFCW.
And then UFW was trying to kick him out. So,
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there was an election and -- but
when the union official talked to me
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I asked him, you know, what he needed me to do and
he said, "Well, here's the issues that we have."
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And I remember sitting in the break room and
hearing people talk and complain about this
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and complain about that. And one -- one thing that
was amazing to me, that there was no one there to
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listen to them and answer their questions. And
I heard people complain and about -- you know,
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unhappy about -- and I just looked around and I
thought, "This is odd," but I never said anything.
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So he said, "You know, we don't have anyone speaks
Portuguese, we don't have anyone speak Spanish
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in the union, so we need someone to help us."
And by then I could speak Spanish pretty well.
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And I remember telling him, "No problem, I can
take care of it for you." I had no idea how to do
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it, but I just knew I'd figure out a way and. So,
anyway, there was an election, UFCW won. And, so,
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it was time to go back to school, it was -- I went
back to the line after the election was over. And
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a few days before, Paul Foster was the president
at the time, and so the superintendent came up to
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me, Mr. Peanalto, and said that Paul Foster wanted
to see me. I went to see him at his office and I
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still remember I was on the line working and I
said, "Oh, I'll go see him after work." He said,
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"No, you need to go now." He was the president,
right. And, so, I went there and he said, "Hey,
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are you going to get a -- you know, are you going
to go to work while you go back to -- while you're
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in school and I said, "Yes, I'm going to go back
to the nursing home." And he said, "Would you like
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to work for us?" And I said, "Yes, you know, but
doing what?" And he said, "What would you like
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to do?" And I said, "Well, I'm going to school to
be a language professor, but I enjoy working with
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people, I enjoyed working -- doing what I did,
you know, that was fun. And he said, 'I'm going to
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have you talk to Mr. Higdon,"
he was the direction of H -- human resources,
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"and he'll find something for you." And I said,
"That's wonderful, may I ask you a question?
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You know, I'm flattered and I don't want you to
think I'm not thankful, but I was wondering why
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you're asking me to stay and work?" And he said,
"Well, the leaders of United Farm Workers here
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in the plant came to see me and told me, you
know, they wanted to know if there were going
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to be repercussions because they had started the
movement?" And I said, "No, I actually respected
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them and admired them for doing what they
believed." And - but I - -and then I asked him,
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"You know, you guys had good momentum, what
happened the last election, what happened?" And
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they told me, "Well, you know, if it wasn't for
that little Portuguese girl we would have won."
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And he said, "You know, if you were able to do so
much in such a short period of time, here's --" I
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quote his words, "there's a hell of a lot more you
can do." I'll never forget that word. Those words.
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Any time in my life that I ran into a brick wall,
which we all do once or twice or more, I always
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thought of those words and I'd figure out a way to
get onto the other side of the wall. So that's how
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I kind of changed from going from languages into
management. So, then I started working there and
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finished my double major, but then went back to
school and got a degree in business administration
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with a concentration human resources. And that's
how I kind of -- I realized that I wanted to be
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where the action was. I did teach night school
for several years. But I -- I enjoyed being
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where the action is and I realized that.
Kelley McCoy: So how old were you when Mr.
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Foster called you into his office?
Maria Silveira: Well, I believe -223
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I think I was -- I was 18 years old at that time.
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Yeah, that was right when I -- that was just
before I started. I had just started college
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or started college at that time.
Kelley McCoy: Now, you refer to
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working on the line, for people who don't
know what Foster Farms is—poultry—can
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you describe what it was that you were doing?
Maria Silveira: Sure. It's a manufacturing plant
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and this is where you manufacture the
chickens, you know, you bring them in,
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you know, the chickens are hung by its feet on
an assembly line and they come in and they go
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through the process. And, so, I worked in one
of the departments, it was called Ice Pack.
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At the time 70% of our production was whole
body. Now it's the other way, it's mostly cut up
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product. And, so, I was an Ice -- you know,
I worked in this department where there was a
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whole body chicken that would come on an assembly
line and I would place a logo on the wing that
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indicated that if you bought a chicken -- it
was called the Golden Guarantee. If you bought
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a chicken and you weren't happy with the chicken
we would give you two chickens for free. And, so,
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I was placing the logo. It was a little Foster
Farms logo with a string and I would place it in
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the wing. And so that's what I did. The chicken
-- the line was going 112 birds a minute.
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So, I had to do 61 birds per minute.
Kelley McCoy: I would imagine having that
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experience though really informed -- once you
moved into administration, because you would never
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forget the people that you worked with.
Maria Silveira: Absolutely. You know,
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that was the best thing that ever happened to me,
because in the job that I -- jobs that I've had
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and the job that I have currently, when people
come in the office and they would complain,
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you know, that their hand would hurt or their
back hurt or their arm hurt, I knew exactly what
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they were talking about. I could feel what they
were feeling. And, so, you -- it just make things
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much easier for me and it also contribute
to the success that I've had in my jobs.
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Because I could understand the people. I
knew what they were talking about.
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Kelley McCoy: Now, you recently celebrated
47 years with Foster Farms.
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Maria Silveira: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: And you are currently president
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or vice president of Labor Relations.
Maria Silveira: And human resources, yes.
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Kelley McCoy: So, what exactly do you do now?
Maria Silveira: Okay. So, Foster Farms
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we have 12,000 employees at Foster Farms in many,
you know, in many states. I'm directly -- I have
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the direct responsibility for 600 employee -- for
6000 of the 12,000 from the human resources and
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labor relations. I have 24 people that work
for me in my department in multiple states.
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And the plants and ranches and hatcheries and
feed mills and I can give you those numbers
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if you like, in multiple states. I have indirect
responsibility for labor relations for the whole
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company. For the other 6000. So, we currently have
-- I'm responsible for 11 manufacturing plants,
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three hatcheries, over 80 turkey ranches,
four truck shops, three feed mills,
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four prepared foods plants and -- and,
of course, two distribution centers.
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And then I have indirect responsibility for
three addition -- four additional plants, a
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100 some ranches on the chicken side, three other
hatcheries, three feed mills and the sales and
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marketing group and accounting and finance. That's
for the labor -- for the labor relations part.
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I also negotiate all contracts with the unions.
There's 11 unions I -- I'm sorry, 10 unions and
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I negotiate 11 contracts for Foster Farms. And
I'm very proud to say, I have a great staff,
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just wonderful staff, great people.
But I have never negotiated a contract
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that we had the disruption, a labor disruption,
what you call strikes, never had one. So I'm
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very proud. Now, I'm negotiating two contracts
currently. One in Oregon for a plant that we have
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in Corvallis, Oregon. And I just started
negotiating the contract for the Livingston plant,
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which is 2400 employees. And, so, those are the
last I'm going to do before I retired. I hope
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there is no disruption so I go out with
a perfect record. I'm very proud of that.
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But I credit my staff, they're great people.
I've got great people working for me.
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Kelley McCoy: So, let's go back a little bit to
the Azores, because you go back quite often.
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Maria Silveira: Yes.
Kelley McCoy: Now,
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you still have family there.
Maria Silveira: Yes. I love the Azores.
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[phone ringing] I -- I call the Azores.
Candace Egan: I'm sorry, we have to -275
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someone's phone is going off.
Maria Silveira: Yes. It's mine. Are you
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going to turn it off?
Candace Egan: Or you can.
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Maria Silveira: I'm sorry.
Kelley McCoy: That's okay.
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Maria Silveira: I should have --.
[ phone ringing ]
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Maria Silveira: I apologize.
Kelley McCoy: Hey, so long as they're
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not calling for a strike we're good.
Maria Silveira: No. [laughter]. So, I'm sorry.
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So you have to start over again, right?
Candace Egan: No, so, no we just -- you can start
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your answer [inaudible] prompt.
Maria Silveira: Okay, so,
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yes. I go to the Azores every year.
I love the Azores, I love Portugal.
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It's -- I guess the way I describe it,
it's my biological mother gave me life.
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And I look as America as being my step-mother that
opened me with opened arms and treated me like one
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of its own. Only America this can happen, truly.
But, yeah, I go to Portugal every year. I have
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summer homes there and I just started
building a vega, where we call it, it's
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kind of a -- I guess you call it a winery, we call
it a vega, on the other side of the island. It's
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a beautiful country. The water is beautiful
blue. The air is very clean and beautiful.
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The island is the second largest of the nine
islands in the Azores. And it's just got beautiful
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hills and the greenery and the birds and the,
you know, the love fish and the fish is so good.
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I do have cousins and many many friends.
And, so, every year I go in the summer
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and after I retire I hope to go more.
Kelley McCoy: Here in the United States are
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there any customs and traditions that
you've maintained from the Azores?
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Maria Silveira: Absolutely. [laughter] I still
pray in Portuguese, I cook Portuguese food almost
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all the food that I cook is mainly portages. I
listen to Portuguese music, I go to the Portuguese
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Festas, I love the Fado, which is a very famous
Portuguese sound, in English it means destiny.
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I just love everything that is Portuguese. You
know, the Portuguese are, you know, we -- we kind
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of began and lead the explorations in the 15th
century. And, so, we're -- we're very -- we're
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fighters, you know, we're hard working
people, we want more, we -- if we, you know,
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we, you know, we're just -- we're
-- we just love to do, you know,
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no matter what it is you want to do something.
But we're also very friendly people and we always
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like to help each other and others, you know. And,
so, yeah, I love everything about the Portuguese.
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I'm very proud of being Portuguese.
Kelley McCoy: So, to what extent do you
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believe that being Portuguese American has shaped
the way that you've moved through your life,
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professionally as well as personally?
Maria Silveira: Well, it's this grit,
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you know, that the Portuguese people have.
This resolve, this strong character of
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working very hard, no matter what it is
that you do. You always want to do the best,
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you know, at anything you do. Not to be
better than the next person, but just to do
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your best. I just think that, you know, it's
this burning passion inside of us that, you know,
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you just want to do great. And no matter
what it is and you want to do more.
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And I think it goes back to the Portuguese,
you know, getting in a, you know,
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in a boat -- in the, you know, go in the ocean and
just take off and some of them didn't make it, but
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it didn't matter and didn't stop anyone else from
doing it, you know, themselves. And I think it's
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in us, you know, it's this determination, this
burning passion to, you know, to do more and to
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do well no matter what it is that we do.
Kelley McCoy: So this last question might be
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something that you've already answered or
maybe you might even have something more -318
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a little different, a little more specific to
the question, but in the end then, what does
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being Portuguese American mean to you?
Maria Silveira: It means -- it means that you
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have to make a difference, that you're here for a
purpose and you need to leave behind a legacy and
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for me I want to be remembered. Not how much
money I made, but how good of a daughter I was,
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how good of a sister or an aunt, a wife, a friend.
That's what it really means to me, you know. Just
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be remembered as being a good person. Someone
that made a difference. And someone that helped
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whoever came your way that needed your help and
you did something for them. I guess that's what
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I think my mission is always been and that's been
since I was a little girl. You know, in the Azores
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if my grandmother needed help, I would help
her. If the teacher needed help, I would help
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the teacher. If a neighbor needed something, I
would help. And I started from very little doing
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that. That's what I saw my mother do, that's what
I saw my grandmother, my aunts, my father. And I
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came here and we continued to do that. And it's -that's what it is all about, to help others.
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Kelley McCoy: Thank you so much. Maybe another
question. Yeah, I know. I was just -- there was
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one other question, I wanted to
make sure though that we got through
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with the flow of the interview. You mentioned
being into Portuguese music, do you listen to
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the radio station out of Los Banos?
Maria Silveira: Yes, I do. Absolutely do.
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If you go into my car right now and you turn on
the radio, it goes to 1 -- 1330, which is KLBS.
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And I've got a CD that is Portuguese.
So, I love Portuguese music.
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Kelley McCoy: So did you -- because, you
know, we interviewed him as well for the
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oral history project, loved him. So, did you
start listening when you first arrived, because
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the radio station's been going forever?
Maria Silveira: It's a funny story, I got to tell
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you. When I first came KLBS didn't exist yet.
But there was a radio program here in Turlock
340
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and it's a great story that I learned a lot from.
And Mr. Mandelsa is the one who
341
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spoke on the radio. And the name of the program
was, "Franklin Speaking," his name was Frank.
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And, so, I was with my aunt's house -- with
my aunt at her house and she had the radio
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on all the time and this gentlemen is speaking
and he's talking about going to Stephenson and
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he met this guy and he wasn't sure if it was him
or his sister, because his hair was so long. And
345
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I said, "Tia, who is this man?" "Oh, he speaks
Portuguese very well and he's got a radio program
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and we all listen to it." And I came from
Portugal, you didn't speak in a radio unless
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you were a professional. I said, "Tia, but he
doesn't speak well enough to speak on the radio."
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And she says, "Well, he speaks very well,
he taught me English. I got my citizenship
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papers so I could bring you here and he
speaks very well." So I learned - I later
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met the gentlemen, he's a great man and
he'd been here for many years. But...
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Kelley McCoy: His name was Franklin?
Maria Silveira: Frank Mandelsa, but the
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name of his program was "Franklin
Speaking." And what that taught me was,
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no matter how many years I stayed in this country,
I would never forget how to speak Portuguese well.
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And because of that, I listened to his
Portuguese and I didn't think it was very well,
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very good. And, so, I have managed to keep -- to
keep the Portuguese. But the story about the radio
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program. But eventually KLBS opened, Mr. Viarra
[assumed spelling] owns it and great gentlemen.
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I know it's not a great business, but he
does it for the community and for the people.
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And I admire that. And, so, yeah, I listened to
it all the time. And they have great programs.
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And the people that speak on the radio there speak
very well Portuguese and, yeah, I love it.
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Kelley McCoy: Thank you. Is there anything
that we didn't touch on in the interview that
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you think maybe should be included?
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Maria Silveira: I don't know. I guess one
of the things that people always ask is,
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what do you recommend that other young
-- you know, others -- you know, I was
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young once. I started when I was very young.
What do you recommend that young people do
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to be, you know, whether Portuguese or anybody,
but I don't know that it's important to you, but
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I always tell young people that, never give up
and just have burning passion for whatever you do.
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It doesn't matter what it is that you do, just
do your best and you're going to be successful.
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So I like young people to be successful.
Kelley McCoy: So do we. [laughter]
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Thank you so much.
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Maria Silveira: Well, thank you. This is fun.
Kelley McCoy: Yeah, very good, very good.
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Maria Silveira: Oh, thank you.