Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute Collection

Linda Carvalho-Cooley Interview

Carvalho-Cooley, Linda

Borges, Diniz

ENG

Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute

2020-07-30

SCUAD_pbbi_00070

Diniz Borges: Okay, well welcome everyone and welcome to another
conversation on Thursday as we have them here on and product of the
Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute at California State University,
Fresno, part of the Portuguese oral history project. And part of the
vision of President Joseph Castro and First Lady Mary Castro, which
is to make Fresno State, the hub for all that is Portuguese related
to our communities, especially in the academic realm, for the Valley
and actually for the West Coast of United States of America. We're
very excited about our conversation today because I've known this
young lady for probably long- for almost all of her life because I
knew her parents still know her mom is still alive., her dad
unfortunately passed, for such a long time and these conversations
are obviously about the Portuguese radio and Portuguese radio in
California celebrating 100 years. So, it was indeed on June the 10th,
always like to remind everyone of that, June the 10th of 1920. The
young man then by the name of José Vitorino [assumed spelling], also
from the island of Terceira, was, started a program called Vasco de
Gama in honor of one of Portugal's most famous navigators that
discovered the sea route to India and José Vitorino [assumed
spelling] had a couple of unique things. First of all, it's the first
radio program in California, but not just in California. It's
actually the first Portuguese radio program in the United States in
North America, and probably throughout the world, because this was
three years before radio began in Portugal. And this was nine years
before the first radio experiments in the Azores as well and also a
few years before radio began in Brazil. So, all likely was that
Terceira native that immigrated to California at the beginning of the
20th century that began the first Portuguese radio adventure, and we
always like to add that he was illiterate. He did not know how to
speak, read or write. But he knew how to speak, and he knew how to
carry on a conversation and get people enthused about. He carried, he
had a radio program for many years in the Stockton, Modesto area and
then eventually he began one in Visalia as well, with a partner there
that was already in the 1930s. Our guest is Dr. Linda Carvalho
Cooley, and she is a communications professor at Reedley college and
also a lecturer in the communications department at California State
University, Fresno. Linda, thank you so much for joining us.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Well thank you for inviting me.
Diniz Borges: It's a pleasure having you here. And, of course, it's
kind of ironic that we're talking about radio that we're talking
about uh your parents involvement in radio as pioneers, especially
after the volcano Capelinhos US immigration. That last exodus from
the islands of the Azores, ‘60s and ‘70s. Because you are a
communications professor and your dad was a communicator par
excellence. So, let's talk a little bit about that. Your dad's
Antonio Carvalho or Anthony Carvalho, who was born from in Terceira,
so, but I'd like you to give a little bit of a biographical data if

you don't mind on your dad and how he came over. And of course, I
believe he met your mom here, correct me if I'm wrong, and tell me a
little bit about their personal story before we start about the radio
if you don't mind.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Sure. Um, so my father did immigrate actually,
he went to Canada first.
Diniz Borges: Mm hmm.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: He immigrated to Canada and was living in
Toronto for a few years, his sister, and his brother-in-law had moved
there. And then he called the sister called them over and he lived in
Canada for a short period of time. Um, but he had two uncles and his
father as well, had actually all come to California and they farmed
and my grandfather decided to go back home. So, he went back to
Terceira, but his two brothers stayed in the Tranquility area. So, my
dad in Canada decided to come visit his uncle's in California. And uh
he wasn't real crazy about snow by the way in Canada. I think that
was one of his uh good reasons for wanting to leave Canada right was
the snow. So, he came to Tranquility and was visiting with Uncle tio
Antône [assumed spelling] and tia [inaudible]. And together with some
friends they decided to go for a road trip they were going to go to a
Portuguese festa, and they were supposed to go to Tulare, but they
ended up in Hanford, and that's where he met my mom.
Diniz Borges: Ah, interesting.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: So, he met my mom.
Diniz Borges: Your mom is a native of Hanford then?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, she was born in Hanford. A lot of people
are surprised by that. Um, her father is from Cinco Ribeiras in
Terceira. Her mother was actually born in the states too, also from
Hanford, but her parents were from Raminho and from Praia da Vitória
so all back in Terceira, so all, all, all arrows point back to the
island right. But they met at some Portuguese dance in Hanford and
danced and exchanged information. And he kept coming back to Hanford
to visit with her and they decided to get married, they got married,
and he wanted to stay here with her. So, they, they got a little
piece of land behind my grandfather's dairy, and they built a little
house. And he started working as a mechanic, and then began the radio
program.
Diniz Borges: And, and, and of course, the rest is history. But let's
talk about that. So, give us a little bit of history. When did he
began his first program, which I believe it was called Portugal Terra
de Fé. Yeah, so kind of for those who don't speak Portuguese,

Portugal, Land of Faith, which, you know, very involved with uh
Catholicism, which is a huge part of the culture. Uh, so, tell us a
little bit how, you know, from your, from what you know, and I know
that when he began the program, please?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Well, um, he actually started the program in
1964, and this is where I'm going to really date myself because that
was the year I was born. But so Portuguese radio has been a part of
my entire life. He started the program in February of 1964 and he had
the program for 31 years. And then due to his health, he handed it
over to my brother. And my brother took it over and he actually ran
it for about 17 years. So, all together Portugal Terra de Fé was on
the radio for 48 years.
Diniz Borges: Wow.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And my father, I think, I've been thinking a
lot about this since you asked me that have been taught. I know that
it's um not a radio program like we think of American radio programs.
It's not about just playing music and advertisement. It's a lot about
the culture and the community and the history and it's a lot about
connecting. And I think that, and I think you have mentioned this
before in some of your other broadcasts, but you used to get a
newspaper once a yearDiniz Borges: Oh yeah.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: From the Azores. And I think my father enjoyed
being able to share news with people here. Um, as with all
immigrants, we tend to cluster in pockets. So, whether people came
from Italy or Poland or Ireland or the Azores, it's because a friend
went somewhere or a relative and so then they end up kind of
clustering in pockets. And so, the Tulare area, Hanford area had a
large congregation of Portuguese immigrants. My father was one of
them, and my father struggled with the immigration process. He was
married to an American citizen, um they would check on them regularly
to make sure he didn't just get married to stay in this country.
Diniz Borges: Wow interesting
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I guess after 52 years that that wasn't the
reason. But uh they did. They did like regular checks to make sure he
was still married.
Diniz Borges: Wow
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And as a matter of fact, the last visit, my dad
used to tell the story that the last visit that the immigration made
at his house, he told them that my brother was born. That was a good

two years into the marriage. So, uh I think they felt like they said,
okay, and then they didn't bother him. So, I think after what he went
through, I think that he became someone that people could ask
questions of. And so, he would, he was working as a mechanic at a
car- Well, he started at a gas station, but he ended up like at this
local Chevrolet garage, and people would come to buy a car, and he
could speak the language so the salesman would go get my dad. And so
finally, the boss said, why aren't you selling the car because you're
the one doing all the translating, and immigrants feel more
comfortable with people who are connected and our culture
specifically Portuguese people very much like to find the connection,
you know, you meet someone Portuguese, you're like, “What island are
you from? Or where are you from?”
Diniz Borges: Right.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And, and do you know this person? And they
like to know the connection and my father realized that this was a
network that, that needed some extra assistance. And so, he got the
radio program going and he was the person people sought out for all
kinds of things.
Diniz Borges: Sure. Yeah.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I mean some of his stories are yeah.
Diniz Borges: Well in 19, you know, so he started in 1964. And as you
said, there is of course, the personal connections are very
important. We arrived in 1968. And, uh and I tell the story all the
time that we also had connection with another Portuguese radio icon
that you and your family know well and your especially your mom and
dad. And that is the Morrisons, both of them have passed. Joaquin and
Amelia Morrison, were good friends with your parents. And, and so and
in 1968 when we arrived the, I think about three weeks after we were
here, my dad purchased a car from your father, because he not only
was one of the few, I think probably one of the very few that spoke
Portuguese at that time. You know, later on there were others that
got in the car business, myself included when I- right out of high
school, but the uh he was one of the few and then he had, he helped
people get their driver's license, especially if they already knew
how to drive. I mean, he wasn't a drive, you know, but he helped
people with the translation.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: He taught them how to drive too.
Diniz Borges: He taught them how to drive too? Okay, good tell meLinda Carvalho Cooley: I can't tell you how many times he would pick
me up after school and I never knew what car was coming to pick me

up. And then I would hear the horn honk. This was great. By the way
when you're a teenager, the horn honking of some old you know,
whatever car and my dad waiting for me to come get in the car and it
would be somebody he was driving around with showing them how to
drive the car.
Diniz Borges: So, he taught him how to drive, also. My dad knew how
to drive. You know, he was a professional driver in Portugal, but he
didn't know any of the rules and regulations and all the things that
have to be, and he couldn't speak English. And at that time, there
was no test in Portuguese at DMV, and so my father was just one of,
I would say, hundreds if not thousands, of people that Antonio
Carvalho, especially between I would say ‘65 and ’75 uh, he helped
tremendously. And, and it was because of radio.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, he uh and I, I the common story that I
hear about my father when people find out who I am, which I can kind
of hide a little bit right. But uh when they find out that I'm a
[inaudible] the common thing I get is “Oh, your, your father helped
us do our papers to become American citizens.”
Diniz Borges: That too yeah.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I hear that all the time. And I asked my mom,
not, not that long ago, I asked her do you know how many people you
guys helped do the papers for? And she goes, oh, she goes thousands.
She said was it was thousands. She says we had a file cabinet full of
all the different papers that they helped with people becoming
American citizens. And she says, we’ve never counted because we
started now, they're starting to shred the stuff.
Diniz Borges: Sure.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: So, if anybody's out there who wants their
papers, their original papers let us know. Uh, but yeah, a lot of
people.
Diniz Borges: That but so radio basically was the platformLinda Carvalho Cooley: That was the vehicle.
Diniz Borges: That your father used to get in touch with people. I
mean, you know, that's how they knew who Antonio Carvalho was, you
know, this was before. Some of our younger audiences understand the
world prior to Facebook and social media, but there was a world and,
and the, the only, the radio program was the way for him to not only
promote obviously what he sold, you know at that time cars,
eventually he got into insurance if I'm wrong, correct me if I'm
wrong yeah.

Linda Carvalho Cooley: And so he could teach them how to drive. He
sold them a car and then he got them the insurance on the car.
Diniz Borges: And he made them American citizens.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And he made him an American citizen. But the
program, the program was also a way for them to get jobs because
people would call and say I need a milker, I need a feeder, I need
someone to work and he would let people know and they'd come by the
office and he'd give them the name and the phone number and the
address and so a lot of people came through looking for work or then
if somebody came through looking for a job and he didn't have any
listings, he would call a few people to see if anybody might need
someone so he helped people get jobs too.
Diniz Borges: Do you. Let's say let's go back to the with the
beginning that you have any memory of the going to the to the
Portuguese radio station if that as you know if, I'm I don't know
where he started the program, but I remember him was on KCOK in
Tulare and so I know he had it there for many many years and Portugal
Terra da Fé was on Sunday afternoon if I’m not mistaken.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Two o'clock.
Diniz Borges: Two o’clock. That's right, two to three right before Mr.
and Mrs. Santos.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And then he would come back to Hanford, and he
would do um uh Echoes of the Azores at night right after Mr. and Mrs.
Morrison.
Diniz Borges: Right. So, he began Portugal Terra da Fé in 1964. Do
you? It was a few years later that he acquired uh Ecos dos Açores or
Echoes of the Azores from Mrs. Sousa. Yeah, right.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yes. I don't know the exact date. That was the
one thing that nobody seemed to know. My mom didn't even know. Um but
it, it wasn't, I wouldn’t say it was still in the ‘60s.
Diniz Borges: I was thinkingLinda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, I would say probably in 1968.
Diniz Borges: Yeah, I remember ,remember Mrs. Souza. I remember
listening to her when we arrived in 1960, but I think or ‘68 uh but I
believe it was shortly after maybe ‘69, ‘70 that your dad acquired
because I think she, she, she got she got ill, and she was older
already at the time.

Linda Carvalho Cooley: Right and her husband also had, didn't he have
a program too?
Diniz Borges: Yes, yes, yes. Yes. So do you, so what are your first
memories of going to the radio station as someone born in America,
your mom already born in America, your grandmother from your mom's
side already born here as well. So, uh and, and, and uh living this
hour that your dad put forth to the community?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Well, um I think the first radio station was
KLAN. That was the first radio station that he was at, and um I don't
have a lot of memories, but I have memories of uh like a trailer kind
of thing.
Diniz Borges: Right, yeah.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I definitely remember KCOK. And I remember when
KJUD came in and I wasn't too happy about that, because I liked the
soft rock, and it wasn't too crazy about the country being on the FM
channel because the, the radio station would have an FM and an AM.
And the AM was the Portuguese, and the FM was usually it was your
[inaudible], right the AmericanDiniz Borges: Right.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: -music and being younger, we want to go hang
out listen to the American music. Um, but I- we that was my
playground. I mean, every Sunday we would go, and it wasDiniz Borges: So, you'd go you'd go as a family when you were younger?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, all day. So, and, uh you know, we would
find something to do sometimes my brother Anthony and I would go
explore or you know, around the outside or in the other rooms. Um, we
got to be friends with the people that worked there. My father would
usually ask us to talk on the radio. So, we would say some stuff.
There was um I know I used to do there was uh a florist in Hanford.
It was Anna's floral, and I used to do that ad, and I used to do that
ever since I was a little girl. And I know my father had a hard time
with W's. So, William’s Jewelers, I remember saying it for him, you
know, in the ad um because he wanted to be respectful of the name and
he had a hard time saying it with this accent, but um the other
things she was my brother and I, my, my father would put us on the
air. So, we did. We did these little comedy skits that he would write
where my brother was the teacher, very serious. And then I would say
something kind of smart Alec’y, and it was a lot of joking and
silliness.

Diniz Borges: Do, do you still have any of these or no?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: No. I wonder if my brother does, he might. My
father had the reel-to-reel, the old fashioned all you have some
pictures to show you today but the old tape recorders um and uh, and
I know that they kept quite a few of those. So.
Diniz Borges: And yeah, because those are historical data.
Unfortunately, we uh, a lot of the stuff that was done on the radio
people just did it and they did it for years like your father did.
And, and of course, your brother, um and especially the older
generation, your father's generation, they never thought of keeping
it. It was just something they were doing, you know, and uh to serve
the community. And now it's a lot of historical data that
unfortunately, we, we don't have. So it would be nice to have those
skits, but because the Morrisons also did a skit, but we can't find
any of them any, any longer. So.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, they did the same thing where I think
sheDiniz Borges: She was a teacher.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: She was a teacher.
Diniz Borges: It was the opposite. Yeah, yeah.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Was the opposite yeah.
Diniz Borges: The so. So, so being involved in not just listening to
what your dad did on the radio, but being involved in the radio
yourself um uh do you, how do you feel about that now? I mean, how do
you and how do you remember feeling about that then because you know
that, you know, sometimes, you know, we as parents when our kids do
something, and they ended up doing it, but it's not. That's not their
top priority.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: You know, because it was um a part of my life
from the very beginning, I never, I never really questioned um it. I
tell the story in my intercultural communication class, that um when
we'd get in the car, my father always had the Portuguese radio
programs on. Always. And being a rebellious young, mouthy girl. I was
young though, I would always ask if we could just put on an American
radio station to hear music. You know, and my father would do the
same thing every single time. He'd be like, you know, you're right,
Linda, you're right. And he turned it off. He goes, instead we'll
pray, and he'd hand me the rosary. And he'd say here you lead. So, I
stopped fighting Portuguese radio very quickly. Um but it's funny
because those songs that he played on the program and that everybody

played Amalia [inaudible] and George Hayden, Chico Avila and I'm
thinking Milton Posad and Cuba Hages and Robert Leal [assumed
spellings], right, all of these names became sort of a soundtrack for
my life. I mean, those that music that I listened to, I listen to it
today. Um, and I, I tell my students that as much as I rebelled
against that when I was younger, wanting to, you know, to be American
to fit in with my American friends who, who didn't know anything
about this Portuguese world. That's the majority of the music that's
on my my iPod. It's the music that I still enjoy and listen to and
seek out. Um uh.
Diniz Borges: Did you recall also some of the festas because at one
time, um uh I know later on, especially when you when your brother
took over in the 1990s, the festas kind of the Portuguese radio
really, festas I should say not festas itself in California but the
Portuguese radio, festas kind of died out because the social calendar
got busier, you know, in the Portuguese American community, but uh in
the 1960s and certainly, certainly in the 1970s and ‘80s the um uh
earlier part of the ‘80s the Portuguese festas were a big deal
because the radio programs because there was basically just Festas do
Santo or the Festas Fatima and then there was nothing else, you know,
there wasn't this large uh, uh social calendar. And so, do you recall
some of the festas Portugal Terra de Fé and the calendário social?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, my, my father was actually one of the the
main members of the Our Lady of Fatima Festa in Layton. And he was
also one of the main members that started Santo Antônio Festa, Santo
Antônio in Hanford, but specifically my father had his own festas and
a lot of the radio programs did, and it was uh a celebration for the
people who were [inaudible] us right people would pay a dollar, to
belong to the program.
Diniz Borges: A dollar a year, a year.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: A dollar a year. And you would get, you know,
your birthday would be announced and anniversaries and uh you could
dedicate songs to people. Uh, so that was kind of a way to sort of
celebrate those people. And so, they would gather, and my father
would, he would flip flop it. So, one year he would do it in Tulare
and then the next year he would have it in Hanford. And then he'd go
back to Tulare. So, went back and forth between the Fraternal Hall
and the um IDS Hall, right? And, TDS Hall and, and he but my father
couldn't just have a dance. Right? I don't know if you remember
these. But my father had [inaudible], he had a variety show. And he
would this is one of my favorite memories of the whole radio program
thing. He would announce on the radio that if you wanted to be in
the variety show that you could audition and then these people came
out of the woodwork and would come to my dad's garage and it was one
of my funnest memories is just watching the different, I mean, we had

a magician, we had dancers, we had singers we had, I mean, there was
accordions and there was mandolins. And, and I remember uh even one
of my American neighbors who played the cello, and he liked jazz
music and knew nothing about Portuguese other than his neighbors were
Portuguese. He'd come down with his cello just so he could play with
them. And they would practice, they would have these dance practices
kind of like the Sanjoaninas you know how they dance in the room.
Diniz Borges: Right, right, right.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: But it would choreograph them
our garage in our garage and our front driveway. And
for the festa, they would have a show and at the end
everybody would move the chairs back and then they'd

and do them in
then of course,
of the show,
have to dance.

Diniz Borges: Ah, so he did both, interesting.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: He did both and uh my grandmother bought a
Hobart mixer, the big industrial mixer and made sweet bread for
everybody. So, there was coffee and sweet bread for everybody for
free. And um, but yeah, some of those shows as a matter of fact,
Emilia Ponce [assumed spelling] and Emily Ponce [assumed spelling]
did things. She told me the other day that she started dancing and
singing in my dad's shows in the garage.
Diniz Borges: Interesting. Interesting. So, and, and, and that's one
aspect that I wanted to ask because although the radio was of course
done at the radio station, he always had his program at the radio
station, whether it be KCOK or KNGS before it was KIGS in Hanford.
But I recall the early parts of uh of uh his career as a radio
personality but also as someone in business, whether it be in the car
industry or insurance, etc. documents that he did, as you mentioned,
you know, for citizenship papers and everything else. I recall at the
first time before we had the [inaudible] Insurance Agency and the in
the office he had in his house, so it was kind of you had everybody
going into your home. How did you feel as a young kid, having people
just come into, I know it was a separate area, but still, it was part
of your home?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: It was part of a house and, uh and, and people
would come anytime. I mean, it wasn't like you had hours. So, I
remember people coming on Thanksgiving. Just showing up. My, um my
favorite story was a woman who came and to my dad's office in our
house, and she had a jacket on and she's sitting waiting her turn
because there was somebody ahead of her. And so, my mom's taking care
of the other lady. And then finally they get to her turn, and they
asked her if they can help her and she said she wanted to pay my dad
for the work that he had done, and she opens up her jacket and she's
got two live chickens in her jacket-

Diniz Borges: Wow!
Linda Carvalho Cooley: -that she brought um and my mom was like, oh my
God, we live in the city. We can't have chickens. So, she called her
dad to come and take them out to the country at their house. I'm sure
they became chicken [inaudible]. But so, people would come. And that
was a very common thing. Our home was a typical Portuguese home,
people in and out all the time. The backyard. My father had a um
chalkboard in the patio, um underneath [inaudible] that had grape
vines. And he would teach people um basic sentences so that they
could pass their American citizenship. Um, I mean, our home was just
part of the whole package.
Diniz Borges: And this happened all the way until you were in your
teens and probably until you are an adult.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yes. Yes, it did. And then when he got the
office, I think he got the office just so they can have a little bit
of separation.
Diniz Borges: Sure.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Because my mom used to, she says it all the
time that they couldn't go to a festa because if they went to a festa
everybody wanted to ask him something they couldn't dance or, you
know, just be an ordinary couple. I tell my students, um when I talk
about my father and some of my stories and my communication
classrooms that my father was, I used to say the Dick Clark of the
Portuguese community, but now nobody knows who that is.
Diniz Borges: That's right. You have to change.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I be like Ryan Seacrest you know like who do
you know. Um, but he was the master of ceremonies and a lot of
weddings. He did a lot of eulogies at funerals. He was just somebody
that people called on and relied on. And.
Diniz Borges: It's something totally different today than radio was.
So and I'm glad you mentioned that in the beginning. Because
sometimes people have this notion of a radio DJ, even you know, Dick
Clark, who presented you know, all of the, you know, the top 40s but
it's this person that does this, but radio personalities of the time
of the ‘70s and ‘80s and actually that's the strongest part when we
had Portuguese radio, it kind of started dying out in the ‘90s,
because then, of course, we had the so-called professional radio DJs
that came from Portugal and things like that changed in the
independent radio programs. It's good to explain to people that
Linda's dad, like everyone that did radio at the time, they purchased
their time. And then they sold ads, and of course, you know, try to

make a, you know, at least to pay the bills, you know. And so, the,
the, the, it was totally different because it wasn't, it wasn't so
much a job that you went to, it was kind of a calling. I mean, you,
you had you had contact with these people. You were, you were part of
their family, you were invited to their matanzas. And you were
invited to their weddings, as you said, and your father was the emcee
and you were invited to, to sometimes your baptisms and things like
that. And uh do you really have memories of that as a young child
that all of these things that it was kind of a social thing that you
had to go to was it was kind of expected that uh Antonio Carvalho
would be present.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Absolutely. And when we got older and we could
drive, um I remember one particular weekend that my father had four
weddings and he couldn't go to all four. So, he was the master of
ceremonies at one of them. And, uh and I've been I know, I went to
one wedding and my brother went to the other wedding. I don't
remember what happened to the fourth one, but um just to be a
representative at least to go and let the family know that we cared.
Um, my father also when he would take his vacations when we go to the
Azores find me here feeling so badDiniz Borges: That's right.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: -because I can't go this year but we would
go to the Azores and my father would interview people in the Azores
and record them on the on the reel-to-reel and then bring it back so
he could play it during the shows. And so, I mean, everything,
everything was connected.
Diniz Borges: Yeah, and, and, and he actually had a, he actually was
one of the very first Portuguese people that I know uh that had a um
video recorder. I mean, not you know, not even a camcorder like
people would say it was one of those old small video recorders. And,
and the reason I know that is because I have uh here at home um one
of his tapes because when we went when we went to 1972 so um, we
arrived in ‘68 and my dad decided to go back in 1972 to, to pay a
promesa and, and, and your mom and dad went that; we were there for a
long time. AndLinda Carvalho Cooley: You guys had a [inaudible]. My mom has
pictures.
Diniz Borges: Yes. And we haveLinda Carvalho Cooley: You should have brought the pictures for this.
Diniz Borges: I have, I have the video. Uh, uh I have it actually in
the original format. I still haven't transferred over to digital in

the original format that he recorded the procession and [inaudible]
and all the things he was at the festa are there for a couple days,
my dad and him had a good relationship. And my dad appreciated him a
lot. And the rest of us did as well. And so, um, so this was also a
way to connect, because, you know, 1972 or the even the mid and late
‘70s it's not like people went to the Azores, such as like you do and
others every year, you know, a lot of people did not, we went to the
in the four years kind of as an anomaly because it was my father
wanted to pay that promesa because he didn't want anything to happen
and have that, you know, on his conscience or whatever. But he, most
people didn't go back for like 10 or 12 years. And so, when these
radio personalities were able to go there, I'm sure that it was a lot
of it, it, it was important for his radio program what he brought
back.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And he would go around the island and uh record
an interview people that were related to the people here so that they
could hear their voices and or see them. And he would have loved the
technology today, he would have loved it. The fact that you can
actually just a matter of fact before this call I was, I was on a, on
a video call with the Azores. So, um the fact that you could connect
so easily to see the people I think that was one of the things that
really drove Portuguese radio was to keep that connection, to stay
connected to the things that you uh remembered or the things that
they would tell stories. My father would always tell jokes. He would
do enigmas [assumed spelling], his little riddles.
Diniz Borges: Mmhmm.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And people just really, I think that's what
they, they, they really liked about the program was that it wasn't
just music. There was a connection to their culture.
Diniz Borges: And one of the things that um your dad is famous for,
among others, that we just mentioned a lot throughout the last half
hour, but one of the things that Portugal Terra de Fé and Ecos dos
Açores were famous for, especially, um I recall vividly, I would say,
certainly throughout the radio programs that I listened, but in the
late ‘70s, and throughout the ‘80s was the coleção de dinheiro
[assumed spelling], and that's a Portuguese word for a collection of
money to help, usually taught, usually to help rebuild a church, or
to help you know, a charity home and orLinda Carvalho Cooley: An orphanage.
Diniz Borges: An orphanage in the Azores, or one of the islands, it
was always tied to the Azores was always and a lot of times to
Terceira obviously, because he was from there, but um but they're
also you know, [inaudible], these, these radiothons, for lack of a

better word now, that also went to other islands from São Jorge and
Pico, Faial and everything else. And he kind of did them he did like,
you know, 9, 10, 11 of them even more than that. Every single year
and it became his program was known for that to help all these
different events. And I just can't imagine the bookkeeping involved
with that, you know, but I'm sure your mom played a role in that.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: My mother did and, and um and I remember being
at the radio station because you know, there would be more than one
line. And so, people could call in, and we would I answered the phone
too and we would take down their name and how much they were willing
to donate. Um, my father was a very firm believer that even if you
don't think you have a great life, there are people that have it
worse than you. And so, very strong emphasis on giving back. And so,
those uh those petitions and getting people to donate for various
causes, and I have a photo I'll show you, of uh one of the first ones
he did. And that was just part of the way that he believed you know,
you give back you give back. And yeah, there was a lot of
bookkeeping. We had these spiral notebooks. Um I remember,
[inaudible] even coming and helping. We had different people that
would come to the station when he would do these, and we would answer
the phone and write down who it was. And then we’d go take him a slip
of paper, so he could announce on the radio who was donating. So,
there was like this live interaction going on. But yeah, those were
common.
Diniz Borges: And, and, and what people probably don't know is I mean,
in one hour, because his program Portugal Terra de Fé was from 2 to
3, as you mentioned, he would literally get hundreds of phone calls.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Oh, yeah.
Diniz Borges: It wasn't like, you know, you get 15 or 20 phone calls.
It was literally hundreds of phone calls in one hour. So, you know,
it was, it was a very, it was a different time in radio. But it was a
different time and I think they even were a little bit more people
oriented than even the traditional radio in America was because we
know the radio was different, obviously, from the 1970s to today, you
know, 50 years later, but the Portuguese radio personalities such as
your father, were kind of a, were kind of someone's relative. Is that
a good way to describe it?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Absolutely. I'm sure there were a lot of people
that, you know, it was always uh a Senhora [inaudible], Senhora
Laveira [assumed spelling], but it was very much, I think people felt
that they knew them. You know, they were, they were a part of their
family.

Diniz Borges: And that's why they went to your home at Thanksgiving
if, ifLinda Carvalho Cooley: I don't think Thanksgiving was considered a
holiday in those days [inaudible] and then you’re like what do you
do? Come on in.
Diniz Borges: Sure, sure. Let me ask you one question that I, how do
you feel or are and I know that you, you know, your mom lives close
to you. How did she feel about all this being someone that was born
and raised in the United States of America, her own parents or her
mom, born here. I mean, she was already by nature, you know, uh uh
more American than Portuguese until she met your father, obviously,
but uhLinda Carvalho Cooley: You know, her father didn't speak English.
Diniz Borges: Okay, so she spoke English. She spoke Portuguese,
obviously. But how does she feel about this whole, because I mean,
her life had to change tremendously as well.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And my mom's not, she's not my father was
outgoing. He was an extrovert. Um and um my mom isn't she's a little
bit more introverted, um although she has definitely come out of her
shell and become more introvert, more extroverted, but um so this was
a lot of attention. That was not, it was super comfortable for my
dad, but not as comfortable for her. And I think that she sometimes
felt that, um you know, this took up a lot of their time. Um, you
know, we went every Sunday, you know, we were all day, um because you
have the afternoon program. You had the night program. So, our
Sundays were booked. Saturdays were weddings and festas and parties
and whatever we had to go to. So, it took up a lot of, of, of their
life. And then of course, the program was at home. I mean, the, the
office was at home, and my mom was his secretary, she helps with
everything. Um, I think there's a lot of it that gave her a lot of
joy and she certainly met a lot of wonderful people, but I think
sometimes she wanted a little bit quieter.
Diniz Borges: Sure. And how does it feel for you and Anthony, uh you
and your brother being raised in Hanford, uh small community, still a
small town but very much smaller then, you know? Um, and how did it
feel for you? How do you recall being basically the daughter, in your
case the daughter, in his case, the son of a Portuguese icon? Were
you aware of that?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: We definitely were aware because it was very
hard to, um uh to get away from that and, you know, our identity was,
you know, filhos de Antonio Carvalho. That's how people knew us.
You know, it's by being called his daughter, his son.

Diniz Borges: That that that's still by the way how people know you,
because I told my mom that I was going to have a conversation with
Linda Carvalho Cooley. And she turns to me she's a goes “A filho de
Antonio Carvalho?!” That’s how you still know.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: That's how I'm known and, and so uh, so we were
very aware of the fact that our phones was a sort of a public figure
in the Portuguese community. In the American community no, right? But
in the Portuguese community, everybody knew who he was. And, and, you
know, like, again, like I said, it was from the get go, right. So, we
were used to it our whole life. In our American life, and I don't
want to speak for my brother, but for me, I know I, I was I tried
really hard to I, I'm going to use the term white privilege. I would
hide, I’d blend in with my American girlfriends, but they would talk
about going to football games and, and in various things that just
were not a part of my world, right? Um, that I remember not really
wanting them to know everything, or then assuming that they didn't
know and then finding out like my best friend. I remember her telling
me, “We don't do that.” And I'd be like, oh, okay, so this is
something that's cultural. And uh and so it's kind of nice because
when I teach, I'm able to bring up those moments when you realize
that what you do isn't what everybody else does. And that's, that's
the cultural part of it.
Diniz Borges: Sure.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I think we were just used to it.
Diniz Borges: And he was, even in the American community, he became a
very well-known figure in Hanford. I mean, you know, even those who
weren't Portuguese knew who he was, because his name was, of course,
because he had it was it was a businessman as well. And he was a very
successful businessman. AndLinda Carvalho Cooley: Those relationships always surprised me. Like
the American people that would be because I expect Portuguese people
to become friends with him. But you know, I would wonder like, how
would Americans handle his you know, cuz, you know, Portuguese people
are, we're kind of, we're loud. And we're, we're pushy. And um and,
and we're incredibly loyal and and all of those things, there's goods
and bads and all of them, right?
Diniz Borges: Sure.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I always wondered how can he’d become really
good friends with some purely Americanized people and I was like, how
does this work? I mean, I get how Portuguese people how it works, but

how does this work? But he had a way of connecting with people from
different areas.
Diniz Borges: Yeah, I've always wondered why he never ran for
political office because I think he would have been a natural
politician.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Oh, God.
Diniz Borges: So, you have some pictures to show us. I hope that we
can talk a little bit about them as well.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Okay.
Diniz Borges: And it'd be great to talk and and look at these memories
because that's so one thing that we have these memories, but we don't
have a lot of visual images.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Oh, it says that I can't share the screen.
Diniz Borges: Okay.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: You have to allow me to share this the screen.
Diniz Borges: And uh. Oh, my. I don't see. I don't see a button here
for that. ButLinda Carvalho Cooley: At the bottom, where it says share screen, does
it have an arrow or anything that way?
Diniz Borges: Or does it sure does. And here we are multiple
participants. I think you should be able to do it. We're having a
class on zoom.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: How to do zoom.
Diniz Borges: This because Professor uh uh Linda Carvalho Cooley knows
all about this.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Okay, so let's see. Um, can you see that?
Diniz Borges: We can correct. Yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Okay, so this was one of the first um
fundraisers that he did. Um, and it was actually for an earthquake in
São Jorge, and it was like in 1960, it might have been ‘64 or ‘65.

Diniz Borges: It probably was it was an earthquake at that time. Yes,
there was.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And uh in the picture, you see my dad is in the
front.
Diniz Borges: I see that.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: But behind them is Joaquin Morrison and Amelia
Morrison and to Amelia Morrison's left, that is Mary Sousa, and
Arthur Sousa her husband. And what they did was, the Portuguese radio
programs all did this together where they, they raised money and
clothing and blankets and whatever they needed um, for that relief
effort. That was uh a really bad earthquake and apparently a lot of
people ended up going to Terceira, so they sent to the Air Force got
involved in actually, um they live they airlifted all the packages to
go to Terceira because of course there's an American Air Force Base
there. So that was one of them. So of course, I was hoping we were
going to bring up the fact that he did a lot to raise money, but this
was probably one of the first ones. Um, I wanted to show this because
oh, and of course, you can see the reel-to-reel um that he had, I
think, I think this isn't the same one, but my brother still has one
of his um and this was at home. This was them recording, they would
record birthdays and different things at home. So, it would be set up
so he could take phone calls during the program because sometimes
people wanted to talk to him. And so, he would put the reel on.
Diniz Borges: So, he actually would do prerecording which is kind of a
novelty because a lot of people did not, they would do everything
live atLinda Carvalho Cooley: Right.
Diniz Borges: But he actually did the prerecording. Probably as you
said as because he wanted to talk to different people would be
calling in.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, a lot of times people would call and want
to talk to him. So, he would record the birthdays ahead of time,
because then he could play those or the advertisements. And this was
way back before they had it where you could queue upDiniz Borges: Sure.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: -the different ads. Um, and this is my parents
at one of their first festas because they would have their festa. So,
this was at the fraternal hall.

Diniz Borges: And and it's, it's wonderful to note that they were
very, very nicely dressed. I mean, people think the festa of the
radio programs especially in the 1970s and ‘60s as well, but ‘60s
and ‘70s was kind of like uh a prom.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: It was people definitely got dressed up and my
dad apparently loved the white tuxedo. We used to joke about the
white tuxedo for many years but uh this is, these are two of my
favorite pictures of my dad This is iconic Antonio Carvalho at the
radio. And I, I just wanted to point out the the cool microphone I
see you have your green screen behind you has a bunch of microphones
but the old-fashioned microphone.
Diniz Borges: Right, right, right.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And in the picture where you can see behind
him, I don't know if you can see there's a dial up phone right back
here.
Diniz Borges: Right yes. Yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: That’s like a [inaudible] in the radio station.
Diniz Borges: Wow, what a wonderful picture. Oh, this is wonderful.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, this is [inaudible]. And this would be
also at the Fraternal Hall, this one. And um, this gentleman here was
from the Lavanderas, Lavandera family from Tulare. And I think him,
and I think he had a brother that used to play background music for
various things.
Diniz Borges: Yeah. And, and actually playing the guitar there on the
on the um on my uh right is Mr. Lavandera.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yup.
Diniz Borges: The other the Portuguese style guitar. I'm on my right
or.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Oh, yes. That's, that's Mr. Lavandera over
here.
Diniz Borges: That’s that’s that’s Mr. Lavandera, yes who is an icon
here. Who is I believe, from the same [inaudible] as your father was
[inaudible]? Yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: [inaudible] Yeah. Right. And I want to point
out to you like the costumes that you see, this is all stuff that the

women, my mom and some other women would make costumes for the
different variety show acts. Let's see, I've got this one here. So,
this one the photo on the left you can see that it has the KLAN which
was the original radio station or broadcast at that. And then the
photo on the right you notice my dad is in the white tuxedo.
Diniz Borges: Right, right [simultaneous talking] you're right I
didn't know he had a fascination for those. But he does like them.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Apparently like the white the white like that
the photo on the righthand side you can see it's a young girl she's
getting the accordion so she's gonna play the accordion. Again, these
were all people that tried out and wanted to be on the show.
Diniz Borges: And it seems like there one of the the one who's with
the KLAN there's a recorder there so it seems like he would record
these also play on his radio program in other episodes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yes, he did. He would play them back for people
little excerpts here and there. Um, I don't know if you know Fatima
Silveira. Do you know Fatima Silveira?
Diniz Borges: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: That's her on the left-hand side. She was one
of our very common featured singers um for the program. And that's me
and my brother in the front row.
Diniz Borges: Oh, how wonderful!
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Doing the little marches.
Diniz Borges: Uh huh, uh huh.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: The people behind, that was part of the thing
that looks very similar to like a [inaudible] with a with cris cross,
almost like a square dance kind of choreograph.
Diniz Borges: Sure, sure. Sure. Sure.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And then on the right-hand side, I think, you
know, Father Costa.
Diniz Borges: Father Costa, who has passed on. Yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yes.
Diniz Borges: He was an icon also. Yeah.

Linda Carvalho Cooley: Also an icon, right.
Diniz Borges: Yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: This is the Albernes [assumed spelling]
sisters, I don't know if you ever remember them.
Diniz Borges: I do. I do.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I believe they came up. They came from either
the Bay Area or the San Jose area.
Diniz Borges: From the Bay Area, correct. Yeah, mmhmm.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah. And they would come and perform at our,
at our variety show. So, we it wasn't just um the central San Joaquin
Valley. I mean, there were people that heard about it and wanted to
participate and come down, um and I remember them really well. They
came several times.
Diniz Borges: And it's always amazing that every single one of these
pictures just about there is a reel-to-reel. So, he was conscious
that he wants to, you know, wanted to play this back because not
everybody could go to the festa. You know, some people couldn't go,
you know, I mean, he had thousands and thousands of listeners and the
festa that may have 4 or 500 people, you know, so.
Diniz Borges: Right. And this one you can tell was in Tulare. As was
the one that's.
Diniz Borges: Yeah, yeah. This is TDS for sure. Yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yes. All right. We recognize the iconic look.
Yeah, this was before one of their festas, we’re just all dressed
up, getting ready to go. This was at the office that was in our
house, where we took these photos. And um here's one of my dad
again. Now this would be in the office that we had at our home. This
was a once we had moved to this other house. He was still recording
things there. And this one I thought I'd throw in just for fun. I'm
assuming you'll know who this is. Do you know who the gentleman is
in the cam suit?
Diniz Borges: I'm trying to see who it is.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: That would be the wife playing.
Diniz Borges: His wife is playing, yes! And his wife yes.

Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yes, his wife Clotilde.
Diniz Borges: Clotilde, yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And they had [inaudible] was their reading
program and on the right-hand side it just showing the three
different uh soccer jerseys because another thing that the Portuguese
people would gather to do on Saturdays, because Sunday of course was
all the radio programs, they would go and play soccer. And so, in the
sporting outfit is a Edward [inaudible], between them is my father.
Diniz Borges: I see.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: That's Ibrahim Martines [assumed spelling] in
the middle, he didn't have [inaudible] friends.
Diniz Borges: Did he, did he play soccer? So, your dad played soccer a
little bit?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah, he did. And, and um I'll end with this
oneDiniz Borges: Oh?!
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I believe this was a stage photo, but this is
me and my brother. And this was at KCOK. We would sit with the
microphones, and we would do our little comedy skits. Um, but I
believe this one we staged it for the picture, but we took a picture.
Diniz Borges: And so, he would- these were written by your father,
basically.
Linda Carvahlo Cooley: My father would write them, and we would
practice them, and he would tell us no, no, no you got to be funnier
at this part, you know pause here um he taught us to read and write
in Portuguese so um.
Diniz Borges: Interesting, because I was gonna ask that. So, your, was
your first language Portuguese you remember that?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah.
Diniz Borges: And your brother? So, you pretty much. Did you, at what
point do you remember maybe switching to English, because of course
your mom knew English because she was born here, and she knew English
and went to school here. Do you remember what point the English came

in? Was it after school? When, when school began? Kindergarten? First
Grade?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: You know uh we did both.
Diniz Borges: Okay.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Pretty much all the way through but my father
had a saying you know that if um se falamos em Portuguese voce fala
em Portuguese se falamos em Ingles voce fala em Ingles. So, if you
spoke to us in Portuguese, we had to reply in Portuguese translating
for the English-speaking audience but, but then if you spoke to us in
English then we can respond in English and you know uh that to this
day if somebody speaks to me in Portuguese, I have to respond in
Portuguese. And if they flip to English, then I flip to English with
them. So, um we both just, it was just part of, and my dad really
wanted us to speak and read and write in Portuguese. So, he got us
the books, and he taught us to do it. And if we couldn't say
something, he had a chalkboard behind the couch. And he'd bring it
out and he would write it.
Diniz Borges: Interesting.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And uh I mean, I still struggle. I
definitely wish I would have continued further than high school uh
with my Portuguese, but I try.
Diniz Borges: Did you, you try it and you do well. Do you, did you
when your brother took over? In 19, I believe you said 1995.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: 1995.
Diniz Borges: Did you ever continue doing some programs with him or
not really at that time?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: No, I didn’t.
Diniz Borges: At that time, you weren't forced by your father quote,
unquote.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: It's funny because if somebody would have said
that one day one of your kids is going to take over the program, my
brother is a lot quieter. I'm the outgoing one. I'm the extrovert,
he's the introvert. Right? Um, and but so I think people would have
been surprised that it would have been him and not me. And the funny
thing is, is that of course, I went in, and I got my master's in
communication and I teach public speaking. And so, I guess, you know,
the apple still doesn't fall far from the tree. We've all um sort of
embraced this idea of communication in our own way. But Anthony took

on the radio program, and I was really proud that he was willing to
do it. It certainly was a commitment.
Diniz Borges: Sure, sure. It was yeah. And he did it for so many
years. 17 years, I didn't know what had been that long until the end
of KIGS, basically, until they closed the station. As we end our
talk, and I thank you so much for taking the time. I know that we're
all busy with preparing for what's going to happen next semester. But
do you um think in any way, shape or form that your father being this
communication person that he was, you know, outgoing and and uh
basically radio and communicating with people was what made him
successful in America. Did that influence you into going into
communications as a professor?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: It absolutely did. And and it wasn't something
that was conscious. It was um becoming a, I was a business major. And
I had a meeting with a counselor, and we had a discussion about
things that I enjoy. And I realized the things that I enjoyed were
all communicative, and it just happened. And it's, it’s weird,
because now that of course, this is what I do it I've been teaching
for a long time, went on to get my doctorate and everything but I, I
look back on it, and I realized that a lot of it had to do with it
was never scary, to be in front of people to talk in front of people.
And my father would, he’d mess up, he tell a joke and he'd mess up
the joke and he'd laugh about it and people would laugh about it. And
he just kept going. And I think that that resilience just became part
of when I'm teaching, and I mess it up. I'm like, oh, well, you know,
and I tell students, I'm like, don't worry about being perfect, just
get your message out. So, it definitely had an impact on, on who I
became. And I'm sure it definitely had an impact on who my brother
became.
Diniz Borges: Sure. And one of the things that we of course, when we
when these conversations we're having about using you know, as, as,
as a pretext, the centennial of Portuguese radio in California, is
that Portuguese radio basically if the community is what the
community is today, if we have the Festa Santo Antionio on you and
and Our Lady of Fatima [inaudible] has been there longer basically.
But if we have the some of these newer organizations, the Portuguese
marching bands and the folklore groups and everything else, we kind
of owe it to the pioneers and not just the pioneers of the 1920s and
‘30s, but the second wave of pioneers the, the those who began in the
late ‘50s and ‘60s such as Antonio Carvalho. Did you think your dad
ever had any thought that what he was doing would have an influence
30, 40 years later?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: You know, I'm not sure. But I do know that
most people that immigrated there, there's two sets of immigrants,
right? There's the set of immigrants that very much wanted to become

Americans and and to, um in a way change who they were and what their
future would be. And then there were the immigrants who, although
they wanted a new life and a better life, they still um wanted to
hold on to some of the culture and the traditions because they were
values right they were inset values that we hold on to. And there's
nothing wrong with either one of those.
Diniz Borges: Sure.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: I mean, when people very much became
Americanized, and have nothing to do with festas or radio programs or
the music or anything and that's fine. That was the life that they
chose. But then there was this contingency of people like my dad, uh
that very deep pride in where they came from, and the rituals that
they wanted to keep for their children and for their grandchildren.
And um if um you came out of that vein, and I know that all of the
you know, Joaquin Morrison and, and, gosh, uh I just went, I just
lost her name. I was thinking of another one. Um, Lucia Noia.
Diniz Borges: Right.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: All of those, all of those people had that, uh
that pride and not not to the point of wanting to deny being
American. That wasn't the the point. The point was to remember where
you came from, and to remember what was good about it and for it to
be okay to celebrate that. I don't know that all of them knew the
impact. I think they were trying to make an impact at that time, but
um I'm so glad they did. Because I think that younger people today
who have embraced it and who have joined the marching bands and done
the Queen's um in the festas all of those things, I think that's
those are memories that they're going to have for the rest of their
lives.
Diniz Borges: Indeed, and and you know, and we are all here on the
shoulders of someone it has been said, you know, by wiser people than
myself. Um and, and if today we have the marching bands, and we have
the folklore groups, folklore, for example, is because Antonio
Carvalho did these skits and his radio program, radio festas that
allow these people the opportunity to keep these traditions have they
not had the opportunity, in this case, you know, once a year, twice a
year to come out and, and to do these radio skits, uh the skits, not
on radio but as a celebration of the radio program on a Portuguese
hall, then all of this culture would have died. And that's why I
think people sometimes don't have uh, a complete comprehension about
it is the 1960s and ‘70s and even ‘80s were a much different time
than in 2020. Or, you know, obviously 2020 is very different than all
years. But, butLinda Carvalho Cooley: Yeah careful, that one was really bad.

Diniz Borges: But much different than the last, you know, the the late
‘80s, and certainly the ‘90s and the 2000s. And so, if if the radio
programs if there were no Antonio Carvalhos of the world um, and
there weren't that many, I mean, there were like, maybe two main
people, maybe a lot, but it's the radio programs, whereas you said
Linda on Saturday and Sunday and so actually the only radio program
that was during the week for a long time was Casey Santos, that had a
half hour show.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Pisca pisca.
Diniz Borges: Yeah. Pisca pisca.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Pisca pisca.
Diniz Borges: And, and, and then Lucia Noia had one also half hour
morning, but everybody else, you know, there had lives and they had
things that they were, you know, they were business people as your
father was and, and so it was, you know, then their weekends were
all, you know, dedicated to this and so so if it weren't for these
radio programs that kept the language alive, and that kept the music
that brought us the music that some of us It wasn't us, but our
fathers were born with and and knew about it, and gave the
opportunity for people to go on stage and dance and, and show their
talent, then all of this would, all of this wouldn't have been
channeled anywhere, and we would have just mainstreamed into whatever
culture was here at the time, whether it be stronger Italian, or any
other, you know, ethnicity or American um a mixture of all, and we
wouldn't have what we have today. So, I'm a firm believer that the
radio programs of the ‘60s and ‘70s when the exodus of immigration
was coming from, you know, from, from the Azores to the United States
from 1960 to you know, from the Capelinhos volcano, and then when
that kind of died out in ‘62, ‘63, the Family Reunification Act of
‘65, ‘64. And so, if we if it wasn't for those, that immigration
would have came, if we didn't have have these radio programs, then we
wouldn't be the same. I mean, the community is what it is today,
because of the radio programs of the ‘60s and ‘70s and ‘80s.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And and you know, and now we can YouTube,
right? You can YouTube any song any singer. But back then um, I
remember when we went to Lisbon, my father went shopping for records.
Diniz Borges: Yeah.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And we did get to see Amalia [inaudible]
actually sing and we saw Tony [inaudible] sing and Cuba Hages
[assumed spelling]. But he, he bought a bunch of records. And this is

music that we probably wouldn't have heard in the Central Valley if
he hadn't brought it back.
Diniz Borges: Sure.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: And, and I think that that's what encourages
some of the younger singers to, to pursue this and to keep that
music, those cultures alive.
Diniz Borges: Correct. And let me ask you one final question. As far
as we mentioned, going back to Portugal, going to the Azores, um, I
know that he probably he went to quite frequently, for that time, you
know, nowadays people go you know, once the transportation is
different, and opportunities are different, but even in the 1970s, he
went quite often and, and how important was that for you and your
brother, but obviously speaking on your behalf, how important was
that to maintain the connection that today, you know, you have a home
there and you and you like the islands?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Oh, I, I tell people all the time, the best
gift my father gave me was the, the Portuguese language. The second
one was definitely him insisting on us going every year. And um and
as a young American, there were things that I missed, you know, my
friends here would go to Disneyland or the beach. And I was going to
an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that didn't have soda
or television for many, many years. It was like going back in time,
but I obviously have a, a very strong bond with the Azorean Islands.
I do have a home there now. I, I love the island. I mean, it's
absolutely um a wonderful gift.
Diniz Borges: And it feels like home because of this assistance from
your father?
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Absolutely. Like how my house is five minutes
from my grandmother's house, where I used to play. And yeah, and I'm
totally at home there. And the weird thing is my husband who is
totally American, you know, my husband.
Diniz Borges: Yes.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: He loves it, absolutely loves it. It's just a
beautiful, wonderful place. And back in the ‘60s when all that
massive immigration was happening. Um, it's not the same. It's not
the same Azores. I when the President of the Azores came and spoke at
Fresno State, he said that it's not the same Azores that it was when
people were immigrating out. It's a it's, it's always been a
beautiful country, but it's a beautiful country that also has all of
the comforts of home and it's, it's just very peaceful and it's part
of my heart so.

Diniz Borges: That’s right. Well, Linda, thank you so much. Again, my
uh congratulations to you and and a big thanks to your father up in
heaven for all that he did for the Portuguese community. He was an
icon, he continues to be an icon, we need to uh share his story and
write his story. Because these folks were so important in the 1960s
and ‘70s, to build the basis for the community that we have today.
And Antonion Carvalho was definitely out of all the names one of the
true icons, I don't think there's anybody of my mother's generation
who doesn't know Antonio Carvalho and my generation as well. Because
we were, you know we were raised listening to Antonio Carvalho every
single Sunday. So thank you so much.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: Can I tell you one more little quick story.
Diniz Borges: Please do.
Linda Carvalho Cooley: So, when my when my father was in the hospital,
I took an iPod. This is not long before he passed away. I took an
iPod that was playing Portuguese music for him, you know, just
calming down and a nurse walked in and she was like, Oh my God. She
goes “You’re Antonio!” and she held his hand. And she says, “I'm
going to tell my grandmother that I was holding Antonio Carvalho’s
hand and we were listening to Amalia [inaudible]... And it was just,
it was just one of those really sweet moments that she just
remembered being a little girl at her grandmother's house watching,
listening to his program. So.
Diniz Borges: That's, that's a wonderful note saying that I can't do
any better than that. Thank you so much. That's again to all of you
Dr. Linda Carvalho Cooley, who is a communications professor at
Reedley College and communication lecturer as well at California
State University, Fresno, thank you so much for joining us. And thank
you all, and we will continue these conversations every Thursday.
Thank you, Linda. Appreciate it.
Linda Carvalho: Thank you.
Diniz Borges: Thank you all.