Finding My Roots

Welcome summer of 2010! I thought I'd get this blog going again with progress on a big new project I'm starting up.

As many of you know, I was born in Brazil but have since lost almost all of my Portuguese and don't know as much about the Brazilian people as I'd like to know. So how do you solve such a problem? Do an intense long term project around Brazilians. Luckily for me, Massachusetts is one of the main states that Brazilians have chosen to reside in, and oddly enough Somerville (my town) is one of the largest collections of Brazilians in the entire country! Here are some stats to show the popularity of Massachusetts.

% of Residents with Brazilian Ancestry:
Framingham, 4.8% (4th in the Nation); Somerville, 4.5% (5th); Vinyard Haven, 3.6% (7th); Marlborough, 3.2% (9th); Everett, 3.1% (10th); Edgartown, 2.7% (12th); Oak Bluffs, 2.5% (13th); Hudson, 2.2% (14th); Tisbury, 2.1% (15th), and 10 other towns in Mass between 1.2-1.7%

% of Residents Brazilian Born:
Framingham, 6.6% (5th in the Nation); Somerville, 5.4% (8th); Edgartown, West Yarmouth, Marlborough, 4.4% (13th, 14th & 15th); Everett, 4.0% (18th); Vinyard Haven, 3.4% (20th); Hudson, 3.2% (21st); Oak Bluffs, 3.0% (23rd)

I'll be starting with a story on a festival called Festa de Sao Joao, indicating the beginning of the Brazilian winter. I am already in contact with the St. Anthony's Parish, the organizers and hosts, and we have started to get the ball rolling on the ideas and direction of the story. I'll keep you all posted with updates and the progression of the story. Here is a link to the Somerville Journal's article on the festival from last year.

Though the festival is the first story, I'm hoping to achieve a couple stories a month on various restaurants, businesses, and people of interest in the community. Here's to learning Portuguese and developing a greater relationship with my fellow country-people!