MAPS Award Winner Urges Unity at Annual Banquet

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- MAY 6, 2002 -- Portuguese speakers should work to unite their many communities and preserve their linguistic heritage, Cambridge school Principal Jos Figueiredo told a crowd of 160 people in Lowell at the May 4 Annual Community Awards Banquet of the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS).

"We need to integrate our voices to be strong," said Dr. Figueiredo, principal of the Harrington School and MAPS' choice as Person of the Year. "We cannot continue to be labeled as an invisible minority." He urged the assembled guests to fight the current movement aimed at ending bilingual education across the US. Although it is important to learn English, maintaining native languages is also essential, he said.

"We treasure our language," said Dr. Figueiredo. "It is a legacy that we pass on to our children." In his opening remarks, MAPS Executive Director Paulo Pinto also stressed unity and collaborations among the Brazilian, Cape Verdean and Portuguese populations. "United we can accomplish our dreams," he said.

Gunga Tavares, winner of the Manuel N. Coutinho Outstanding Volunteer Award, echoed that theme in her acceptance speech. She said MAPS has helped increase awareness about the different Portuguese-speaking communities, adding, "I would like to see us strengthen our links" among those communities. Tavares, who serves as Cultural Attach at the Consulate of Cape Verde in Boston, gave special thanks to MAPS for opening the new Dorchester office last year to serve Cape Verdeans who live in Boston.

Lowell Mayor Rita Mercier received the Mary & Manuel Rogers Lifetime Community Service Award for her tireless efforts to help immigrants in Lowell. Mercier praised the Portuguese-speaking community for helping to rebuild the Back Central neighborhood of Lowell when it was declining. "It's truly an improvement in this city," she said.

Jorge Fidalgo Community Service Awards were presented to Jonathan Fine of East Boston and to Adriana Sena, a reporter for the Metropolitan Brazilian News. Fine is a founder and interim director of the Ana da Hora Workers Center, assisting Brazilians in East Boston. In his acceptance speech, he also touched on the unequal treatment received by immigrants in this country.

"The sad and outrageous truth is that Brazilians, other Portuguese speakers and most other immigrants face pervasive discrimination, social and economic injustice, especially if they are classified as 'undocumented,'" Fine said.

The Community Service Awards were named after Jorge Fidalgo, a Cape Verdean store owner and community leader who was the victim of a homicide in Dorchester a year ago. His widow, Ana Fidalgo, attended the banquet to thank MAPS for recognizing her husband's many contributions to the community. Also in attendance were representatives of the Brazilian and Portuguese consulates, and MAPS Board President Stephen Pereira read aloud a proclamation from Cambridge Mayor Michael Sullivan and the City Council recognizing the award winners.

Besides the awards and a Portuguese-style dinner, the MAPS event also featured entertainment by DJ Manny Morais and a raffle drawing for a vacation for two in Aruba, donated by TNT Vacations. The winner was Lucinda Morais, MAPS Cambridge office manager.

The banquet, held at the Holy Ghost Society hall, helped raise funds for MAPS health and social service programs.

About MAPS
MAPS is a private, non-profit organization that works with and for the Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Portuguese and other Portuguese-speaking communities to increase access and remove barriers to health, education and social services through direct services, advocacy, leadership and community development. The organization was founded in 1970 and has offices in Cambridge, Somerville, Dorchester, Allston and Lowell.

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Copyright © 2002 Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers, Inc. All rights reserved.