Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute Collection

Janice Yvonne Perry Interview

Perry, Janice Yvonne

Mattos, Abby

ENG

Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute

11/14/2021

SCUAD_pbbi_00048

Abby Mattos: The first question for your interview is what is your
full birth name?
Janice Yvonne Perry: My full birth name is Janice Yvonne Perry.
Abby Mattos: Were you named after anyone or is there a story behind
your name?
Janice Yvonne Perry:

No, there is not. I don't believe there is.

Abby Mattos: Where did your last name come from?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Well, actually my last name is on my Portuguese
side. And when my grandfather came from Portugal, Madrid, uh he came
through Ellis Island, and they shortened people's names. And so, he
went from Joao Pereira to John Perry.
Abby Mattos: So where were you born?
Janice Yvonne Perry:

I was actually born in East Oakland.

Abby Mattos: East Oakland.
Janice Yvonne Perry: In a little Portuguese community.
Abby Mattos: Uh and, and when were you born?
Janice Yvonne Perry: I was born, none of your business, but I was
born, I was born March 18th, 1947.
Abby Mattos: Alrighty. And then when did your family immigrate to the
United States?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Actually, my grandfather came over in 1887 and he
came through, he came through Ellis Island. And from what I understand
he worked for the railroad in New York for a while and then he
migrated here to California. And this is at the point where I'm gonna
advise any of your peers, take the time to talk to your grandparents.
You'll learn so much information you and you're gonna want that
information someday. There you go.
Abby Mattos: I talk to you all the time.
Janice Yvonne Perry: I know. I didn't talk to my grandfather half as
much as you talk to me.
Abby Mattos: Okay. Um, why did he leave Madeira Island?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Well, I can only think that America was the place
to be. It was like freedom and, and, uh, he went from what I
understand, and we had to hear over the years I worked for pennies a
day in the fields to come to America. And from what I understand he
just jumped on the boat with a friend and off to America they came. I

think he was probably at that time about maybe 32 years old. So, there
you go.
Abby Mattos: Um, where did he settle and why there?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Well, I think, I think I mentioned this already.
Oh, he seemed to have come, he seemed to have migrated towards
California. And I think it's because in the Madeira Islands there was
fishing and there was agriculture and that was pretty popular in
California.
Abby Mattos: Oh, okay.
Janice Yvonne Perry: And that's why he came here. Talk to your
grandparents.
Abby Mattos: Did your grandparents ever tell you what it was like to
adjust to new life in the new country?
Janice Yvonne Perry: No, he didn't talk a lot.
Abby Mattos: Hahaha.
Janice Yvonne Perry: No. No.
Abby Mattos: Okay. You are a member of the third generation of your
family to be born in the United States. How important was it for your
parents that for you to be raised with a strong Portuguese identity?
Janice Yvonne Perry: I don't know how important, it was never really
pushed on it and only half of me is Portuguese, but we were raised
very Portuguese, but only in the sense like um the Catholic Church
thing. And uh we always went to the Holy Ghost and um I loved Holy
Ghost. We used to go to the Holy Ghost every year and we were just,
and we learned all the like nasty words and we were pretty much raised
pretty Portuguese. Trees all over the yard so, yeah, but more
Portuguese than the other half.
Abby Mattos: Um, what cultural traditions have you maintained? They
talk about your Vinha D’Ahlos.
Janice Yvonne Perry: Vinha D’Ahlos, Vinha D’Ahlos! Vinha D’Ahlos still
make either New Years or Christmas. And, um, I don't know if the
professor wants to know this, but uh, first time I was so proud to
give you some, you took one bite and spit it right in the sink, hurt
my feelings. You're the only one in the family don't like it. Vinha
D’Ahlos, I bet you he loves it.
Abby Mattos: Have you ever been whatever? Have you ever been to
Madeira Islands?
Janice Yvonne Perry: No.

Abby Mattos: Do you wanna go?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Yes, I do. I'm getting up there and I've always
said I would like to go to Portugal. I think it would be really cool.
Abby Mattos: Hm. Let's see. Next question of all you have accomplished
what are you the most proud of?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Generally, in life?
Abby Mattos: Probably.
Janice Yvonne Perry: Just the fact that I have lived a good life. I
have lived a good happy life there. With all these wonderful
grandchildren.
Abby Mattos Oh, uh huh. I was waiting for that one.
Janice Yvonne Perry: And one that's gonna graduate from Fresno, one
that actually went to college and might complete it, is gonna complete
it.
Abby Mattos: Hey!
Janice Yvonne Perry: Okay, okay.
Abby Mattos: Um, to what extent do you believe being Portuguese
American has shaped the way you have moved through life, both
professionally and personally?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Um yeah, I mean, I, I'm gonna say something
interesting. I belong to the, I belong to this book for a long, long
time and there was an African American man in our book club and one
day he asked during the book club, he said, “Janice when did all the
Portuguese people in Oakland become white and where do the my thing
is, is they're European but where do the Portuguese people? They do
look pretty white. I mean, where, where do they really, really fit
in?” So, I mean, but I don't think it's affected my life in any way. I
mean, there you go. I mean it, it what it is.
Abby Mattos: Okay. What does it mean to you being Portuguese American?
Janice Yvonne Perry: It means then I do have a culture to identify
with and probably Portuguese more than the mixed up one. And I think
really, I do, I really do think the Portuguese people, [coughs] excuse
me are hard work in and honest and just a pretty good bunch of people.
There.
Abby Mattos: How do you? And I, oh sorry. What did you say?
Janice Yvonne Perry: I said, and I'm proud to be one there.

Abby Mattos: Nice, nice. How do you see the Portuguese American
community today?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Um very split up. Very. Um I don't think actually
when I was growing up, well, our whole, almost, our whole neighborhood
was Portuguese, but now not so much. I mean, they've just spread all
over the place. But however, in case anybody's interested, there is a
community in San Jose that is actually called Little Portugal and they
have like all these little Portuguese restaurants and it's just like
a, a little five or six block area in San Jose, if anybody ever wants
to visit, it's quite nice you could have bacalhau, which is even
better than Vinha D’Ahlos, it's like codfish. Mmm.
Abby Mattos: I actually learned that in my class.
Janice Yvonne Perry: Bacalhau?
Abby Mattos: That was one of the words we had to pronounce.
Janice Yvonne Perry: Hahaha, okay there you go.
Abby Mattos: Um last question. Is there anything we didn't cover that
you would like to share?
Janice Yvonne Perry: Um you shouldn't have said that.
Abby Mattos: Hahaha!
Janice Yvonne Perry: No, let me see. I didn't, I did have a few little
notes like um right here it says a couple little things to add. Vinha
D’Ahlos. Um uh I might add, these are really goofy little things, I
might add that when I was in high school, I actually went out with
some guy who was Portuguese Portuguese. His parents were so
Portuguese, they didn't speak English and he actually had an arranged
marriage.
Abby Mattos: Oh?
Janice Yvonne Perry: And sure enough when he was like 20 years old,
his parents said send him over here to the Azores from the Azores,
send his wife from the Azores. They got married and you know this man
was happy because she didn't speak English and she waited on him hand
and foot. So, there you go and see. And I wanna also mention that I
have learned that the Portuguese that we know, especially the swear
words are slang. They're all slang. The Portuguese, we know street
Portuguese. We don't know proper Portuguese at all, so there you go.
Abby Mattos: I should give you some notes.
Janice Yvonne Perry: Huh?
Abby Mattos: I should share some of my notes from my class then.

Janice Yvonne Perry: Yeah, because if I said [inaudible], what would
that mean to your, what would that mean to your, to your professor?
Probably nothing, but if you said the other word that I taught you,
then that might be something and, and one more thing and then you can,
you can get me out of this interview. There is a story in our family
that whether it's true or not, I wanna believe it's true. Supposedly,
I asked somebody one time, why were there three sisters because my
grandma, my aunt and my other aunt all lived within a block of each
other. And I was always curious about that. So, the story goes, my
aunt was kidnapped by a pirate and then he actually took her to sea,
but she cried and he brought her to California and she cried because
she missed her sisters and her mom. And that's why these three
sisters, the other two sisters lived there because he bought them a
house so they could be by their sister. And one more thing I would
like to say this and very much in favor of my grandfather, the house
that he bought in 1920 people are still living in, in those houses. I
mean not in those particular houses, but those houses were sold, and
new houses bought. So, we are still living under the roofs that your
great grandfather provided.
Abby Mattos: That's crazy. Well, thank you. Janice.
Janice Yvonne Perry: You’re very welcome.