Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute Collection

Paul Martins Interview

Martins, Paul

Lorenco, Suzanna

ENG

Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute

4/14/2021

SCUAD_pbbi_00033

Suzanna Lorenco: Hi my name is Suzanna Lorenco and I'm interviewing
Paul Martins for the oral history. So, question one Paul, what is your
full birth name?
Paul Martins: Full birth name is Paul [inaudible] Martins.
Suzanna Lorenco: Okay. And where were you named after someone or is
there a story behind your name?
Paul Martins: I was not actually, my mom according to my mom, my name
literally she her and my dad just liked it. So, there's no
significance in mind.
Suzanna Lorenco: All right. Next question, when were you born?
Paul Martins: I was born June 14, 1985.
Suzanna Lorenco: Okay, and where were you born?
Paul Martins: I was born in San Jose, California.
Suzanna Lorenco: In San Jose, California. Okay. Next question, what
early memories do you have of a child in a Portuguese American
community or in Portugal?
Paul Martins: Um well, as a child had been involved in Portuguese
cultural things since I was two years old. So, I have a lot of
memories as far as that goes. Um, I was born in the US, so, um I don't
have any childhood memories from the Azores. Um The only memories I
have of they're just going there during the summers and stuff like
that.
Suzanna Lorenco: Okay Paul, so when did your family immigrate to the
United States?
Paul Martins: My parents came to the US in 1976
exact after my dad had gotten back from the war
another year in Terceira, got married there and
1976. And that's when our-- the rest of us were

um, in February to be
and um, they spent
then came here in
born after that.

Suzanna Lorenco: Okay. Where did your family settle, and why there?
Paul Martins: So, when my parents came from the Azores, they settled
in Santa Maria, California um, because my dad's sister was already
living there and that's where um they, they kind of had it already set
up for them to just go stay there for a while and um yeah that's
actually where my oldest brother was born and those, that's where my
parents lived for a while. I'm not sure exactly how long. Um but they
were there long enough because they worked there and stuff. So yeah,
that's where we started off.

Suzanna Lorenco: Did your parents or grandparents ever tell you what
it was like to adjust to life in a new country? What stories were
passed down to you regarding their early experiences?
Paul Martins: Um mostly growing up I would just hear them talk about
like um obviously they didn't know the language, um how to them,
everything was like really expensive and You know back in the ‘70s
they didn't make that much money so they scrounged up quite a bit and
they worked really hard to save as much money as they could buy like
our family, our first family car um and uh to get into their own place
because they lived with my aunt when they got here. So mostly just
things like that, but to be honest like throughout time I really only
heard a lot of like fun stories, how much fun they had like being
together even though it was tougher for them, but they were kind of
everybody was just helping each other. So, I don't know, I never
really got like bad feedback I guess from it.
Suzanna Lorenco: You are a member of which the 1st, 2nd, Or 3rd
generation of your family to be born in the United States.
Paul Martins: I am first generation born here actually. Um, my
brothers and I were all born here from when my parents came actually
me, and all my first cousins are all first generation born here, so
most of our family is actually immediate descendants of Luso Americans
born here.
Suzanna Lorenco: And you were born in San Jose?
Paul Martins: Mhm.
Suzanna Lorenco: Okay um how important was it for your parents that
you be raised with a strong Portuguese identity?
Paul Martins: Extremely important. Um that was one thing my dad always
instilled in us was we didn't speak any English at home unless we were
talking to each other, my brothers, not my parents, not my aunts,
uncles, grandmas, grandpas nobody, it was always Portuguese to
everybody, so that really helped us um in the long run with our
Portuguese culture and stuff like that and we always did all the cool
stuff with matanzas and all that fun stuff so we always knew about all
the traditional things that that my parents used to do, we definitely
did all of it and spoke at all of it. So, we now can read, write, and
speak Portuguese fluently.
Suzanna Lorenco: Um was it important for your parents that you be
Catholic because it is a part of the Portuguese identity?
Paul Martins: In our family, I don't necessarily think it was
important for us to be catholic. Um we, growing up I don't really
remember practicing Catholicism, we would go to church and stuff every
once in a while, but it wasn't-- if we weren't like die hard about it,

you know we were just we were just brought up that way so it was kind
of normal, excuse me to be um to be catholic and just to go to a
catholic church that was kind of just normal, you know.
Suzanna Lorenco: All right. How was this identity expressed through
language, foods, traditions and or festivals?
Paul Martins: Well, growing up that way of like of my parents really
instilled in them to us. We did everything Portuguese, everything was
Portuguese, we ate Portuguese traditional food every single day at
home. We go to all the festas, we were involved in all the festas in
some way or another. Um we, I don't know like we just always did
Portuguese things, it didn't matter what it was. I did more Portuguese
things growing up than I ever did like American stuff, I didn't play
sports, I didn't do any of that stuff, we never went camping or
anything like that, we just always did something Portuguese, but that
was that's like one of the main reasons why I've been able to now as
I'm older to be able to continue them and I love them, I love doing it
so much and I love everything about the culture because of it. So, I'm
really thankful for that.
Suzanna Lorenco: Alright Paul, our next question is what cultural
traditions have you maintained? Why has it been important to you to
maintain them?
Paul Martins: This one is kind of a long list um I started doing
danças carnival when I was two years old, I've continued that to date
um and I'm 35 years old now, so I've been doing it for quite some
time, that was one of the main things that we always did. My dad was
really known for doing Carnaval in San Jose, so our family was pretty
much known for that, so that was something that we very much did and
then um from that we branched off, I'm also doing um traditional
folklore um Azorean folklore, um and we did that for a very long time,
so I’ve always-- I continue to do that today um which I'm super proud
of. Um even with carnival in my later years I was able to start my own
carnival group with a bunch of friends and it's still going to date.
Um and then later on in life I played in filarmônicas in San Jose and
in Escalon. Um I've played for [inaudible] singing Portuguese music
for the festas. When I got older, I did that for 15 years and um and
then my latest endeavor with the culture was bullfighting, I was, I
was a forcado for six years um in Turlock for the group of [inaudible]
and I wore that jacket for six years like I said and I was able had
the opportunity to grab bulls in every single praça [assumed spelling]
in California and Terceira, Graciosa, I got to do that too and that
one was um probably one of my bigger accomplishments, while doing that
because not most people want to do it and a lot of Portuguese
families, especially here in in California, in the States, they don't
really push their kids or want their kids to be involved in that
aspect of the tradition. Um but, I gained a lot from everything that

I've done, I loved it, and I really enjoyed it and some of them I
still, I still do today, but bullfighting was one of the things that I
really, really enjoyed doing because we are so few and far between,
especially in the states that do it and that was a huge opportunity. I
met a lot of people doing that and had a lot of good and bad
experiences. But in the end, I would never take a bag for nothing. So
that was a lot of the, a lot of the things that I enjoyed doing, were,
were definitely the things that I still get to do today except for
bull fighting, because I had to retire eventually had to eventually
retire from that after a broken face and reconstructive surgery. That
one did it for me, but I still love it, I still enjoy it and I still
definitely support it even now, now that I'm not able to do it.
Suzanna Lorenco: Alright Paul, have you been to the Azores? And if so,
what was that experience like for you when you went?
Paul Martins: I've actually been fortunate enough to visit the Azores
multiple times. Um I think, counting this year if we get to go it'll
be 11 or 12 times for me. Um every experience has been different, um
for the most part you know I've been-- I started going when I was
really little and I would go with my grandparents just kind of like
for the summer, hang out with my avó and avô and really just do family
stuff, things like that. And then um I got to go three times in the
wintertime actually for Carnaval when my dad took a danças over there.
So, I got to experience that. That was really fun. It was very
different to see the Azores in the wintertime. Most people only want
to experience it in the summer, and they only know it in the summer
but I actually I'm almost 50/50 as many times as I've experienced it
in the winter. I've now experienced in the summer and as I've gotten
older, you know I've gone I started going on my own more and even
going on my own. I never really did um like touristy stuff. I always
just go to visit family, I still have immediate family that lives
there, so we go pretty much just to see them, and I don't know, I
kinda Terceira is kind of like a second home for me. So, when I'm
there I make myself at home really, I just kind of do my own thing,
but I also had the experience of going two times um with [inaudible]
and that was definitely an experience of a lifetime. Um got to go by
boat from Terceira to Graciosa, that was really cool. I've never done
that before. Um I visited, I visited Saint George, did some touristy
stuff there, I think I've done more touristy things in Saint George,
than I actually did in Terceira, so I was there for like a day and a
half or two days, something like that. And then I went to Graciosa for
four days. Um that was really cool just to see how, even though
they're all, you know, part of the same archipelago of islands,
they're just all so different and unique in their own way. And it's
really cool to see, especially not being from there, like being born
in the States, when you get to go there and go see that kind of stuff,
it’s really cool. So that was fun to experience. And then recently
I've been going to Terceira a lot more um now, so that's kind of just,

I kind of just go there for fun and just see my family and hang out
and try to go to some festas and stuff like that. But even then, I'm
very much okay with just enjoying the beauty and relaxing and, and
soaking in everything that, that the islands have to offer. So yeah,
I've been pretty lucky to be able to go as many times as I've gone.
Suzanna Lorenco: Trace if you will, some of your experiences growing
up in the Portuguese American community in the valley throughout your
life.
Paul Martins: Well, like I mentioned before, um, living in San Jose
was primarily just doing um, Carnaval um, folklore and then I did band
filarmônica for a while and then as um, when I got older, I moved to
the Central Valley to the Turlock Hilmar area, and I still continued
to do Carnaval. Um, that was one thing I definitely never stopped
doing and that's when I picked up um, doing like being a forcado and
stuff like that and got into the different side of that, of that
culture aspect and then now where I reside in Tulare now, I still
continue to do folklore and Carnaval and plan on continuing to do it
for a long time. It's just the things that I started doing, I still
continue to do them, and I still continue to be involved in them.
Suzanna Lorenco: Of all you've accomplished, what are you most proud
of? What moments do you remember in the Portuguese community?
Paul Martins: For sure for me, the, the things that I'm proud of the
most were for one starting my own Carnaval group. I always dreamed of
doing it after my dad had passed and after he had, we had stopped
doing his group and stuff, I always dreamed of doing my own and I was
able to accomplish that with my really, really good friends and even
through that, through Carnaval and through other things, I am
definitely the most proud of encouraging other people and younger
generation to, to be involved, to stay involved, to want to get their
friends involved, even if they’re 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation Portuguese,
it doesn't matter. Um, I've always prided myself on that to just to be
able to be a voice of things that I've done and, and to show that to
other people and, and, and explain to them that all the positives that
have brought to my life um throughout the years and what they could do
what they could take from it if they just be involved in it,
regardless of what it is they want to be involved in whether it's
Carnaval, folklore, um filarmônicas, [inaudible], uh bullfighting um
doesn't matter. I feel like in any aspect that I've even been a part
of remotely, I've always prided myself on wanting to teach other
people what it is and what I've taken from it and what I've gained
from it, so that for sure is probably one of my biggest
accomplishments.
Suzanna Lorenco: To what extent do you believe being Portuguese
American has shaped the way you have moved through life, both
professionally and personally?

Paul Martins: Um I feel like it has a huge part in, in who I am now.
Um growing up we were four boys and my dad owned his own business and
he taught us um how to work hard and work hard for what we have and
work hard for what we want and um we, he always taught us to strive to
do, to do better, to be better and we were taught to be strong men,
not only mentally but physically, emotionally, everything. Um in my
personal life it's gotten me to where I am today just so happened that
my boss that hired me in my career was Portuguese um and I met him
through the Portuguese community and we, we had a very, we have, we
have a very good relationship, a very strong relationship through that
and I feel like throughout my years it's always helped me in some way
or another whether I noticed it or I didn't, um it's always got me to
where I wanted to go and frankly where I am today. So, I'm very
thankful for, for being a Portuguese American um kid, I, I feel like
our parents went through a lot to provide the life that they gave us
and they always told us whether it was um it wasn't a lot, but it was
always good, so I definitely hold that close and dear to my heart to
want to strive to do more for when I have kids and for the future.
Suzanna Lorenco: What does being Portuguese American mean to you?
Paul Martins: It means everything to me. Um, it means knowing where I
came from, knowing my culture, knowing my background. Um I know where
my parents came from, I know where my, I know I stepped foot in the
church where my parents have gotten married. Um I know where both of
my grandparents houses are there um it means everything to me and
incorporating that into living in the United States and as you grow
older here and you get adapted more to how we live in the States, um
some people might struggle with incorporating both of those worlds
together um, but thankfully because we have such a strong Portuguese
community especially here where we live, um it's pretty easy. You know
you have your friends that you do all the cool Portuguese stuff with,
and you have your friends that you do, you know the other stuff with.
You know like I love hunting and I love off roading, just doing things
like that and it's like um even though that is part of the Portuguese
culture, they do that there, but like it's obviously a lot bigger here
and I've learned how to incorporate both of them together and um I'm
just like I said I'm really thankful that um I was born into a
Portuguese family, to be honest. I'm really, really happy about that.
Suzanna Lorenco: How do you see the Portuguese American community
today?
Paul Martins: This is a tough, a tough question because um growing up
in the generation I did, all we did was Portuguese stuff, that's all
we knew. It's what, it’s what we, pretty much what we had, and I have
the same friends to date 32, 33 years later because of it. Um we, we
did everything together and it was always either at a festa or a
folklore practice, or a dança practice, or a filarmônica practice. Um

we did all that stuff together and just so happened like we would go
to high school together, but we would leave school and go to
somebody's house and go to, go to practice later for something, you
know. Um and it saddens me to see it where it's at today um throughout
the years I've seen it diminish um, pretty dramatically with you know
the second-generation parents um and their kids now or even firstgeneration parents with their kids just not wanting to involve their
kids as much as they could. Um It's hard for people to speak that
don't have children, I understand, but I feel like if you were raised
with it, it's just easier for you to, to pass that on and to me it
would be the greatest, the greatest thing in the world to see my kids
grow up speaking Portuguese fluently the way that I did and being
involved and wanting to be involved in those Portuguese things and I
genuinely, it saddens me to say that I don't see our Portuguese
traditions lasting as long as people might think um when it comes to
all aspects, um for Carnaval, there's not a lot of kids for one,
wanted to learn instruments um two, not able to speak Portuguese
anymore, which not even necessarily might be a problem because they
can learn how to say the things that they need to say, but it's always
better to know and to understand what it is that you're saying, but
even if they were to do that, that would be a huge, a huge help for
our community. Being involved at the halls, at the festas, um wanting
to be the presidents and the, you know, the board of directors and
things like that, wanting to be involved in in that aspect of our
culture, because what a lot of people don't know is that the
Portuguese community feeds hundreds of thousands of people every year
for free and it's all by volunteer work and people wanting to, to be
there to help maintain the, these, our culture basically. And it
saddens me to see how slowly but surely things are starting to
diminish um in the past year obviously do to, due to COVID 19 um there
was an entire 365 days and plus of absolutely no festas, no traditions
at all, everything came to a screeching halt and um for, for
traditions that were already, um, seeing a huge decline, I feel like
this might have been the nail in the coffin for a lot of, a lot of
places, a lot of things, a lot of parts of our culture and it
genuinely makes me sad to see that happen. I feel like if we are gonna
want to see them carry on for, for years to come, um, it's gonna be up
to our generation and younger to want to put in the time and the
effort to see them continue and um, I feel like it's gonna take
everybody, everybody to be involved to want to maintain them and
they're gonna have to put in a lot of work and a lot of effort for
them to be, for them to come back. And that's kind of what scares me
right now is I feel like people might have gotten a little bit too
comfortable with, you know what the things that way, that things have
been for the last year and some months, and I think it's gonna be
really hard for us to come back. I mean everywhere you see it; you
know, filarmônicas are now a lot smaller than they used to be.
Folklores are, are almost obsolete throughout the state. Um, the group

forcados, bull fighters are, are almost nothing. A lot of them have
been maintained by the people have been there for 20 plus, 15 plus
years. You're not seeing the younger generation wanting to be a part
of our cultures and it could be just lack of encouragement, it could
be lack of just knowledge of what it is. Um it could be, it could be a
lot of different things, you know they're just, people need to be
motivated to, to want to be a part of them and to maintain them and to
uphold them, because to see what our, our grandparents and our parents
work so hard to bring here and to create here for us, um to see that
just slowly go away um really, really hurts my heart. I just I know
that I will do and will continue to do everything that I can to, to
help maintain it, um but I feel like we need to kind of stick to the
traditional side of things and really pound into the younger
generation of wanting to learn how to speak Portuguese, wanting to
carry that, wanting to go visit the Azores, see how our traditions are
and then hopefully they'll be like “Oh that was really cool and we can
maintain that here, like I want to be a part of the work, where can I
be a part of it?” And I feel like um that's kind of lacking. So,
hopefully throughout all this when things start to get hopefully back
to normal, we can really see the, the upstart of that again.
Suzanna Lorenco: All right Paul, our final question is there anything
we didn't cover here that you'd like to share?
Paul Martins: Um, I don't think so. I think we; I feel like I talked a
lot, and I covered all the bases, I think. Um thank you so much for
taking the time to want to interview me and get my perspective on my
life and what I've experienced. So, I'm very thankful for that.
Suzanna Lorenco: Well, thank you for letting me interview you tonight.
It was a great interview. I loved hearing everything that you had to
say. You made a lot of great points, especially about the Portuguese
community today. So, thank you, Paul Martins.