Mark Amorino Interview
Item
Title
Mark Amorino Interview
Creator
Amorino, Mark
Contributor
Borges, Diniz
Language
ENG
Relation
Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute
Date
8/2/2021
Identifier
SCUAD_pbbi_00040
extracted text
Diniz Borges: What is your full birth name?
Mark Amorino: Mark Lewis Amorino
Diniz Borges: And Mark, were you named after anyone?
Mark Amorino: My middle name is after my grandfather.
Diniz Borges:
And when, and where were you born?
Mark Amorino: I was born here in Selma.
Diniz Borges: And when did your family immigrate to the United States?
From both your mom and your dad's side
Mark Amorino: The one side and the that went to Hawaii would have been
in the 18 eighties and then here in the US, probably around 1910.
Diniz Borges: And, um, do you uh, in, in contact with your family
with your parents your grandparents? Um, did they ever tell you why
they left the, what was the major reason, opportunity? Mark
Amorino: And, um, so they settled in Hawaii.
Diniz Borges: Uh, do you know the reason why they went to Hawaii?
Mark Amorino: That worker program where they recruited to work. I think
it was in the pineapples and that they would work for a year and then
receive, uh, maybe an acre of land.
Diniz Borges: And, uh, did they ever tell you on from both sides, the
ones that went to Hawaii and the ones that came to California um, how
the adjustment period was, how was it for the you know, to to, to get
uh uh acquainted and adapted to when you land?
Mark Amorino: I have more of the history from the Silvera side of my
family. They came from the east coast from the peak and uh the
cultural, very difficult to blend in. Not knowing English the food. Um
My grandfather nearly starved to death because he didn't recognize the
food and he was finicky eater. So, yeah, I, I think it was hard to
adjust and I believe that's why the communities were formed, that the
cultural bond and the familiarity, people that were like them spoke
their language.
Diniz Borges: I think that was a big, big reason why when you were
being raised here in California and your parents are also from uh
here. Um Do you, were you being, were you raised with a strong
presence of the Portuguese in your family?
Mark Amorino: Yes.
Diniz Borges: What kind of things did they have? Was it basically, did
they speak Portuguese or was it language? Was it culture? Was it the,
the, the foods? Uh what was the Portuguese part that you could
identify today? The language?
Mark Amorino: Um The lodges, the UPEC, the hall. Uh My grandfather was
a president here in the forties. Uh So they've always been associated
with the community here in Selma.
Diniz Borges: Did they teach you Portuguese or no?
Mark Amorino: When my parents were in grade school, the teachers
discouraged that being spoken in the home because the children were
having a difficult time learning English. So they stopped speaking
Portuguese and we never picked it up.
Diniz Borges: But your parents spoke it themselves when they were
young?
Mark Amorino: Uh-huh and my mother later in life, but it's all gone.
Diniz Borges: Now, uh, now that you're older, the Portuguese American
traditions and the customs. Um What, what, what in your, what do you
try to preserve well, family?
Mark Amorino: We, um, we have a connection to the hall because that's,
that's our culture. And like David said, that's what we do. Once a
year we come here, we donate our time to preserve this uh tradition to
you.
Diniz Borges: What is the, what does the mean to you? And what is the
was parades and music and the food and of course the dancing and the
marching? But as a young man, it was mostly the food. Were you
involved in the fish as a young person? Does your family get, get you
involved?
Mark Amorino: Not in the, but in the parade. And then, um as I got
older, I decided that I would offer my assistance and I came down here
and started working with David maybe about 25 years ago.
Diniz Borges: So about 25 years ago, you began to get involved in
helping in the kitchen. And how does that, uh how did that transition
into now being the person that prepares the self? Tell me a little bit
about, um you know, your first involvement
Mark Amorino: Well, it's a lot of work and um David touched on some
things but um we have 10 very large pots, 55 60 gallon pots, 300
pounds of meat in each pot. And it's very hot and you're stirring, you
start prepping those pots at seven in the evening. And when we used to
cook straight through we light the pots at nine, it takes nine hours
to cook. And then we used to serve what David called the routes for
the donations before the. So it was nonstop from Saturday at seven,
all the way till serving for the take out and then getting ready to
serve the, and then we had an early meal around 11 and then we had the
full meal and then we have the evening meal.
Diniz Borges: So it's a very extensive process not to ruin all the
food.
Mark Amorino: Sure. And so these suppers that you serve the two meals
at midday and then the one meal in the evening, these are all made
throughout the night before all made at the same time. And the heat is
held in those pots for 10 hours at a serving temperature. They're
sealed with uh, about four or five inches of grease and we skim the
pot before we serve.
Diniz Borges: So you don't want the grease in your sofa.
Mark Amorino: Sure.
Diniz Borges: And so, uh, no grease. It's all healthy food.
Mark Amorino: Exactly.
Diniz Borges: Uh, so, um, and when you, when
meal, um, and we, and the the, the meats, we
the meats for the soap. Um, do, how does the
much meat to put in each pot? And, and, and,
certain cut that you prefer over another?
you begin to prepare the
talked about that, but
chef know exactly how
and and is there a
Mark Amorino: It's what the pot will hold. We have found that, um to
get the right ratios with the size of the pot that we have, it takes
approximately the £300. We like to get shank and then chuck roast. But
when I started helping David, they were butchering the cows at the
locker in Armona. So it was like David said the whole cow, all the
cuts and now we're buying it from a meat company and we're asking for
so many pounds of shank, about one third shank and about two thirds of
the boneless. We need the shank for the flavor for the marrow. And um
but it's, it's not the uh fancy cuts of the, of the cow.
Diniz Borges: And uh and so the for those people who don't know what,
so what so are basically, what are the three or four major ingredients
other than the spices you put in there?
Mark Amorino: Right. Right. It, it really is a simple food. It's the,
the meat, the broth, the cabbage and the bread and um the people in
this area have a very strong flavor for cabbage. We cannot quite cook.
We're up to two cases of cabbage and we have people asking for more
cabbage, they like the cabbage, the cabbage cooks and it soaks in
those juices and, and those spices and it takes on a very, very well
good, delicious flavor.
Diniz Borges: When people eat the whole head of cabbage themselves,
what is uh what is the um what does it mean to you to have this role
now of the chef of uh uh cooking the?
Mark Amorino: So for uh the, we just try to carry on the tradition. Uh
like David said, he and Frank Cardoza worked up a recipe. They scaled
it up as the pots became larger in size. So we have what we call our
Selma recipe. And when we're finished cooking and we have our first
pan. If it tastes like Salma, then we're done our job. We don't try to
get fancy. We try to do it the same way the people that come here,
they can expect the same year after year after year.
Diniz Borges: And um uh what's to you, would it be the same without, so
would the affection be without? So not in the valley?
Mark Amorino: I think in other parts of California they do other meals
that this is what we do in the central valley the coast.
Diniz Borges: Do you see young, the younger generation being involved
in wanting to uh be eventually the chef when you no longer want to do
it?
Mark Amorino: I don't, I think as we become more American, I'm the
third generation. My first generation was born in the Azores of
Portugal. My parents were born in America. I'm born in America. By the
third generation, I see loss of interest and beyond that, so many
things to do, soccer and dance and sports.
Diniz Borges: So how do you see in your perspective? How do you see the
fish 100 years from now?
Mark Amorino: Hard to say, there's still a core of people that I see
that want to practice the tradition. But I think if you asked, perhaps
you did the membership in the hall is very low compared to where it
used to be. Um The involvement is much less. So, I, I don't know.
Diniz Borges: Have you ever had the opportunity to go back to where
your parents came from?
Mark Amorino: No, I haven't.
Diniz Borges: Is that something that you might want to do someday?
Mark Amorino: It would be interesting. I would enjoy it.
Diniz Borges: And um what is, what does it mean to you to be Portuguese
American?
Mark Amorino: Well, we were raised up to be proud of our heritage. The
Portuguese people were discriminated against called names ridiculed.
And so the sense of pride was instilled in us, be proud of who we are,
be proud of our culture.
Diniz Borges: Is there anything else that I didn't cover that? You
would like to?
Mark Amorino: No, I think you asked a very good question Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you
Mark Amorino: Mark Lewis Amorino
Diniz Borges: And Mark, were you named after anyone?
Mark Amorino: My middle name is after my grandfather.
Diniz Borges:
And when, and where were you born?
Mark Amorino: I was born here in Selma.
Diniz Borges: And when did your family immigrate to the United States?
From both your mom and your dad's side
Mark Amorino: The one side and the that went to Hawaii would have been
in the 18 eighties and then here in the US, probably around 1910.
Diniz Borges: And, um, do you uh, in, in contact with your family
with your parents your grandparents? Um, did they ever tell you why
they left the, what was the major reason, opportunity? Mark
Amorino: And, um, so they settled in Hawaii.
Diniz Borges: Uh, do you know the reason why they went to Hawaii?
Mark Amorino: That worker program where they recruited to work. I think
it was in the pineapples and that they would work for a year and then
receive, uh, maybe an acre of land.
Diniz Borges: And, uh, did they ever tell you on from both sides, the
ones that went to Hawaii and the ones that came to California um, how
the adjustment period was, how was it for the you know, to to, to get
uh uh acquainted and adapted to when you land?
Mark Amorino: I have more of the history from the Silvera side of my
family. They came from the east coast from the peak and uh the
cultural, very difficult to blend in. Not knowing English the food. Um
My grandfather nearly starved to death because he didn't recognize the
food and he was finicky eater. So, yeah, I, I think it was hard to
adjust and I believe that's why the communities were formed, that the
cultural bond and the familiarity, people that were like them spoke
their language.
Diniz Borges: I think that was a big, big reason why when you were
being raised here in California and your parents are also from uh
here. Um Do you, were you being, were you raised with a strong
presence of the Portuguese in your family?
Mark Amorino: Yes.
Diniz Borges: What kind of things did they have? Was it basically, did
they speak Portuguese or was it language? Was it culture? Was it the,
the, the foods? Uh what was the Portuguese part that you could
identify today? The language?
Mark Amorino: Um The lodges, the UPEC, the hall. Uh My grandfather was
a president here in the forties. Uh So they've always been associated
with the community here in Selma.
Diniz Borges: Did they teach you Portuguese or no?
Mark Amorino: When my parents were in grade school, the teachers
discouraged that being spoken in the home because the children were
having a difficult time learning English. So they stopped speaking
Portuguese and we never picked it up.
Diniz Borges: But your parents spoke it themselves when they were
young?
Mark Amorino: Uh-huh and my mother later in life, but it's all gone.
Diniz Borges: Now, uh, now that you're older, the Portuguese American
traditions and the customs. Um What, what, what in your, what do you
try to preserve well, family?
Mark Amorino: We, um, we have a connection to the hall because that's,
that's our culture. And like David said, that's what we do. Once a
year we come here, we donate our time to preserve this uh tradition to
you.
Diniz Borges: What is the, what does the mean to you? And what is the
was parades and music and the food and of course the dancing and the
marching? But as a young man, it was mostly the food. Were you
involved in the fish as a young person? Does your family get, get you
involved?
Mark Amorino: Not in the, but in the parade. And then, um as I got
older, I decided that I would offer my assistance and I came down here
and started working with David maybe about 25 years ago.
Diniz Borges: So about 25 years ago, you began to get involved in
helping in the kitchen. And how does that, uh how did that transition
into now being the person that prepares the self? Tell me a little bit
about, um you know, your first involvement
Mark Amorino: Well, it's a lot of work and um David touched on some
things but um we have 10 very large pots, 55 60 gallon pots, 300
pounds of meat in each pot. And it's very hot and you're stirring, you
start prepping those pots at seven in the evening. And when we used to
cook straight through we light the pots at nine, it takes nine hours
to cook. And then we used to serve what David called the routes for
the donations before the. So it was nonstop from Saturday at seven,
all the way till serving for the take out and then getting ready to
serve the, and then we had an early meal around 11 and then we had the
full meal and then we have the evening meal.
Diniz Borges: So it's a very extensive process not to ruin all the
food.
Mark Amorino: Sure. And so these suppers that you serve the two meals
at midday and then the one meal in the evening, these are all made
throughout the night before all made at the same time. And the heat is
held in those pots for 10 hours at a serving temperature. They're
sealed with uh, about four or five inches of grease and we skim the
pot before we serve.
Diniz Borges: So you don't want the grease in your sofa.
Mark Amorino: Sure.
Diniz Borges: And so, uh, no grease. It's all healthy food.
Mark Amorino: Exactly.
Diniz Borges: Uh, so, um, and when you, when
meal, um, and we, and the the, the meats, we
the meats for the soap. Um, do, how does the
much meat to put in each pot? And, and, and,
certain cut that you prefer over another?
you begin to prepare the
talked about that, but
chef know exactly how
and and is there a
Mark Amorino: It's what the pot will hold. We have found that, um to
get the right ratios with the size of the pot that we have, it takes
approximately the £300. We like to get shank and then chuck roast. But
when I started helping David, they were butchering the cows at the
locker in Armona. So it was like David said the whole cow, all the
cuts and now we're buying it from a meat company and we're asking for
so many pounds of shank, about one third shank and about two thirds of
the boneless. We need the shank for the flavor for the marrow. And um
but it's, it's not the uh fancy cuts of the, of the cow.
Diniz Borges: And uh and so the for those people who don't know what,
so what so are basically, what are the three or four major ingredients
other than the spices you put in there?
Mark Amorino: Right. Right. It, it really is a simple food. It's the,
the meat, the broth, the cabbage and the bread and um the people in
this area have a very strong flavor for cabbage. We cannot quite cook.
We're up to two cases of cabbage and we have people asking for more
cabbage, they like the cabbage, the cabbage cooks and it soaks in
those juices and, and those spices and it takes on a very, very well
good, delicious flavor.
Diniz Borges: When people eat the whole head of cabbage themselves,
what is uh what is the um what does it mean to you to have this role
now of the chef of uh uh cooking the?
Mark Amorino: So for uh the, we just try to carry on the tradition. Uh
like David said, he and Frank Cardoza worked up a recipe. They scaled
it up as the pots became larger in size. So we have what we call our
Selma recipe. And when we're finished cooking and we have our first
pan. If it tastes like Salma, then we're done our job. We don't try to
get fancy. We try to do it the same way the people that come here,
they can expect the same year after year after year.
Diniz Borges: And um uh what's to you, would it be the same without, so
would the affection be without? So not in the valley?
Mark Amorino: I think in other parts of California they do other meals
that this is what we do in the central valley the coast.
Diniz Borges: Do you see young, the younger generation being involved
in wanting to uh be eventually the chef when you no longer want to do
it?
Mark Amorino: I don't, I think as we become more American, I'm the
third generation. My first generation was born in the Azores of
Portugal. My parents were born in America. I'm born in America. By the
third generation, I see loss of interest and beyond that, so many
things to do, soccer and dance and sports.
Diniz Borges: So how do you see in your perspective? How do you see the
fish 100 years from now?
Mark Amorino: Hard to say, there's still a core of people that I see
that want to practice the tradition. But I think if you asked, perhaps
you did the membership in the hall is very low compared to where it
used to be. Um The involvement is much less. So, I, I don't know.
Diniz Borges: Have you ever had the opportunity to go back to where
your parents came from?
Mark Amorino: No, I haven't.
Diniz Borges: Is that something that you might want to do someday?
Mark Amorino: It would be interesting. I would enjoy it.
Diniz Borges: And um what is, what does it mean to you to be Portuguese
American?
Mark Amorino: Well, we were raised up to be proud of our heritage. The
Portuguese people were discriminated against called names ridiculed.
And so the sense of pride was instilled in us, be proud of who we are,
be proud of our culture.
Diniz Borges: Is there anything else that I didn't cover that? You
would like to?
Mark Amorino: No, I think you asked a very good question Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you