Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute Collection

John Valadao Interview

Valadao, John

Valadão, JD

ENG

Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute

11/14/2021

SCUAD_pbbi_00051

JD Valadão: All right. This is audio recording for oral history
project for Portuguese with John Valadão All right, if you can state
your first and last name. Um and where you were born,
John Valadão: my first name is John, and I was, last name is Valadao,
I was born in, in 1964.
JD Valadão: And what was the date of birth?
John Valadão: in September 1st, 1964, came to the United States in uh
76.
JD Valadão: All right. So, um tell me about your childhood. What was
the best part,
John Valadão: the best part of my childhood? Uh My childhood there is
like probably a lot of you would know. Um mostly there, there is no, I
am I gonna say it. There's no sports but soccer. Uh that's the only
thing we played. And on the street there was a , there was no soccer
fields like there is here . We played ball on the street with our
goals with a piece of a rock on each side of the road to make our
goals. Um And farming was our thing. It was school and work. There was
no, no video playing, no uh it was just work.
JD Valadão: So, would you say soccer and work? Were your hobbies
growing up? Pretty much? Okay. Um, throughout your life, throughout
your time and, uh who was the most influential person in your life
there,
John Valadão: the most influential person there. Uh, my dad, I looked
up to my dad a lot. Uh, my older, older cousins which, uh, later on
when we came to the United States, he came here, his name was Joe
Menezes. Um, pretty much that was it the people there that influenced
me more with my dad and him.
JD Valadão: and going off of um going off of your dad, who would you
say you're more like your dad or your mom?
John Valadão: Uh More like my dad
JD Valadão: in what ways
John Valadão: on everything? Uh outspoken. Um No, I am I gonna say it
no filter. I, I think that's how I'm not gonna say it. No filter. Um
Pretty much that's it.
JD Valadão: Um Can you describe the neighborhood that you grew up.
John Valadão: in our neighborhood? Uh Nice neighborhood? Me uh not
poor but not rich uh great neighbors. Everybody got along. No. Um
There wasn't like a person that would um like not destroy the, the
neighborhood but I don't know how uh how to, how to, I would say it
but pretty much it was a nice, it was a nice neighborhood.

JD Valadão: A two and then um going back to the hobbies that you had,
you mentioned it was pretty much soccer and um working. Uh do you have
any um memories that stand out when it comes to those hobbies when you
live there. Um, any big moments in those hobbies that happened to you.
John Valadão: Uh, not in soccer or work. It was just, we, uh, at one
point in our, uh, in the neighborhood that I lived in when first the
TV S came out, my parents got a TV, was a, it was black and white.
There was no color TV. Back then and then my mom would put, um, she
bought a plastic, some kind of plastic. It was blue and, and she would
put it in front of the TV screen so we could have color. It was that a
blue plastic and, uh, school. And, um, after school would come, I'd
come home and do my homework and then my dad would have my chores to
go, go to the films and work in the, at that time we were like, maybe
two miles from the American Air Base. And, um, there was a show that
would come on. Um, it was just like a World War Two movie pretty,
pretty much like a series. It was a term. Uh, I know there was the, it
was Germans and, uh, that show would come, I'd come home from work in
the neighborhood. We're the only ones with the TV. At that time, my
friends, they would go watch the, the, the series and then go back to
the fields. They all would go help me work and do my chores that my
dad would have had me go do it, the fields, they would go all go and
help me out so they can watch the, the TV series. Uh Let's see.
JD Valadão: here. Um So what actually let's go to this question. Um,
do you have any siblings? Uh If so, go ahead and describe them.
John Valadão: I have a sister. Her name is, uh, she has two boys,
lives in, uh, in
JD Valadão: and then, um, she's your younger sister, older sister?
John Valadão: Yeah, she's my younger sister. She's a baby. Okay.
JD Valadão: Um, and then going back to the, um, uh, family type of
ordeal. Uh, what kind of things did your family spend money on that
were most important for you guys?
John Valadão: Most important for us is food, uh, clothing. Uh, we
didn't have a vehicle back then. Uh, the only vehicle we had was a
horse and buggy. No, uh, no automobiles.
JD Valadão: did it. Um, was there any point when you lived there that,
that horse and buggy had to be a item that you had to sell off to get,
um, stuff you needed or?
John Valadão: Well, my parents, when we left the city to come here, my
parents sold everything. My dad was, uh, had a little farm pretty,
pretty much the, uh, compared to here. Yeah, it was a little farm. He
was milking 20 some odd cows by hand every day. And, uh, the horse

buggy and, you know, we eventually had to sell everything before,
before we came to the United States.
JD Valadão: Uh, let's see here. So, uh, did you have any, uh, dreams
as a kid? Like what, um, what was your biggest dream like? You know,
every kid has that one dream where they want to become a firefighter,
a superhero, all that stuff. What was yours growing up?
John Valadão: Oh, God, I really didn’t, never thought of, you know, of
being anything. Just, I don't know, maybe it was, I don't know, it was
maybe different back then, but I never had a, a dream of saying, okay,
well, when I grow up, I wanna be this or I wanna be that I, I don't
remember having any of those dreams.
JD Valadão: So, you're saying times were different back then where
kids, you believe kids do have those type of dreams, all they thought
was I thought about was work and making a living for
John Valadão: themselves. Well, I don't see the kids did not have the
dreams. I, me personally I don't remember having any dream or vision
of being uh a superstar on this or actor. No, I, I don’t.
JD Valadão: remember. I um so you mentioned that you had a job pretty
much growing up working on the uh your guys' farm, milking cows by
hand day by day. Um Were there any other little jobs that you had?
You, you could have gotten paid for it, or you just could have been
volunteering your time? Um That you had growing up? And, uh, if you
could describe them.
John Valadão: working for my dad.
JD Valadão: was there. Um,
John Valadão: and I was too young to, to get a job outside.
JD Valadão: And, well, speaking of age two, how, what was the age that
you moved over here?
John Valadão: I turned 12 when I, uh, two months, three months after I
was here, I turned 12.
JD Valadão: Okay. So, you're 11, 7 years old when I came here? And
then, um, if you don't mind saying what schools you attended when you
moved to, uh Tulare came.
John Valadão: here, attended poverty seven, seventh grade, eighth
grade, eighth grade. I attended kid question in HED graduated eighth
grade from Hamor, then moved back to Tulare and went to Washington
high school and graduated from Western high school. And
JD Valadão: then, um, you didn't pursue a degree at a university after

John Valadão: no, I never had the, um, the urge or to go to college.
It was just, I was, I didn't care much for school.
JD Valadão: Okay. Um, let's see here. So, um, were there any times uh
when you were still living in or even when you were living here as a
kid? Um when money was tough to come by. Um If so, what did you guys
do?
John Valadão: We did the best we could with the money that we had. It
wasn't uh money back back then. Uh It was still like a, um I want to
see the regime and the uh the government there that money was hard to
come by. Uh it was uh like a , I don't know , I say China regime or it
was that you couldn't do much without the government telling you what
to do or how to do it or , you know , it was , it wasn't like right
now uh free uh free because in the night uh then the , the uh April .
April 25th 70 I wanna say 74 75 when they got their uh their liberty,
I guess from the government not being so, so strict or telling people
what to do or how to do it, you know.
JD Valadão: Yeah. Um And you mentioned that you moved uh 11 years old.
Um What was the one thing that when you first stepped onto American
grounds? Um That amazed you the most. I caught your eye.
John Valadão: how big this place was, you know, how everything it was
huge. Uh Because you come from a little tiny island that I don't know
exactly how big the island is , but it was , everything is like a
little hole in the wall , you know , uh what I can compare it to is
like the church , the uh there from where I come from the church
before I came over here , the , the church there was like huge . And
then uh the first time I uh we went to church here, I walked in, I'm
going holy or the church there could fit inside of this one. And I
thought the one that where I was born at it was hu humongous and this
is, you know, came to find out it was just like a little, a little
church and that was, it wasn't as big as I thought it was.
JD Valadão: Is there certain things from uh that you feel like are
better than what they are in the States? Like, I know you could say
food or uh like exports of certain items. Like, is there anything you
think Ceta has better than the States?
John Valadão: Uh There's nothing that she has better than uh than the
States do. The, don't think she has better than the States of the, the
family that stay there. Food, food tastes good. I mean, got a
different, different taste different, I don't know. But the only thing
that she has is that to me right now that it's better than the United
States is the rest of the family that is there.
JD Valadão: Um Let's see here. Um When you lived well, live here in
California, they have a lot of Portuguese traditions that are still
carried on like and um you know, bull fights a bunch of other stuff.
Um Or any of those traditions practice, why or did you practice any of

those traditions back in? And did you continue to do that while living
in the States?
John Valadão: Uh Everything that uh I do here in the States with the
Portuguese tradition, it, it came from there. I was raised with all
the stuff that we do here in the Portuguese way that I was raised with
it back then. Uh, uh the Holy Spirit, uh, everything that, uh, uh we
do here that is Portuguese. It came, uh, I came with it from there
already, you know, as a tradition.
JD Valadão: And, uh, how long have you been doing some of those events
such as, and, um, and all that.
John Valadão: since 1976 I've been involved in, uh, soccer. Uh, all
the fishes that goes on folklore. Everything that, uh, except, uh, I
never could sing but still it’s, it's a tradition. We still follow it
and, and do it. But,
JD Valadão: uh, let's see here. Uh, are there any times where you miss
living back home? Um, you know.
John Valadão: No, not really. I like going back but no, I never had
that. Oh, I'm gonna leave here and go and go live there. No, I never
had the urge to go and buy a house and live there.
JD Valadão: or are there? Um, I wouldn't say living, uh, I should have
rephrased the question, but is there anything specific you miss there?
Um, ever since you moved to the States, like, you don't have to miss
living there in general. But is there anything you, uh, any specific
things you miss?
John Valadão: Oh, the summer fest is there? Of course. Uh, the is good
here. It's great. It’s, uh, it changed a lot since, uh, 76. Of course.
But one thing that I would have liked to have done is, uh, do car and
that’s, but I never had a chance but I, uh, everything kills the vows,
the, the others on the bull fights on the road. I miss it. You know, I
like it.
JD Valadão: Yeah. The, um, a lot of people that live here in the
States now they, um, always tell stories from their hometowns. It
could be funny. They could be sad. What's the most memorable story
that you can say, uh, when you live there,
John Valadão: the, when I, before I came here it 10, 11 years old. Um,
most of, most of the, of these, uh, the, the people here don't know
what the cemeteries are like there. They're the cemeteries. They, they
got a different perspective, I guess a different, you look at it, uh,
the different way that you look at here. It’s, it's these tall, tall
walls of concrete walls and the little village that we lived in. We,
uh, I'd go to the movies on Sunday afternoon with a bunch of kids and
after the movies, I'd have to cross the cemetery or cross in front of

the cemetery to go home and you'd have respect for the cemetery. I
guess at that time when I'd get to the, uh, the, by the cemetery, it
was these big old iron gates in front, and I stopped at one end and
looked down that like a little road to get to the cemetery where those
gates were at. And I just put my head down and take off running all
the way home because I, uh, uh, I was scared, we were scared of the
cemetery back then. And that's one thing that I never, never will
forget is I , I'd run all the way home as soon as I crossed out that
those iron gates , I'd run all the way home because I , I don't know
if anybody was coming out of there or something . I don't know. Is the
spirits or something were gonna attack me or? But that, that's one
thing that it keep, I still have it in my, in my mind is that,
JD Valadão: and um what would you say your most valuable lesson that
you learned from either living here or living, living back in
John Valadão: a valuable lesson?
JD Valadão: Yeah, if you have any,
John Valadão: uh my dad always told me respect, respect other people
or do to other people, what you would like to do them to do to, you
don't disrespect nobody and no, um, don't put nobody down. They’ll,
they’ll make you feel less than what you are.
JD Valadão: Okay. Um So this just a heads up. So, this interview will
be going into uh Fresno State's website for, um I think Fresno State
website, I think, I don’t, I don't know. But uh is there anything
you'd like to say before we conclude this?
John Valadão: Well, uh for all the kids, is, is, is this going to the
Portuguese class,
JD Valadão: I think, I think it'll be presented. I'm not too sure.
But, um, this is supposed to go in a department somewhere for state,
John Valadão: I believe. Well, for everybody that whoever's gonna
listen to it, uh, all your kids, you guys put your heads down on the
books and keep studying and because life is short and enjoy yourself.
Life is short and don't do. The main thing is you, uh, keep your,
your, your grades up and keep studying. Don't get into bad habits on
anything. Just keep enjoying your life and stay out of trouble.
JD Valadão: All right. Well, that's gonna conclude the interview.
Thank you so much for, um, doing this and, um, you'll be hearing back
soon on the rest of the project and, yeah. So, thank you.
John Valadão: You're welcome. Thank you.