” …the identity card is in your head, and the residence certificate is in your soul.”

Gabriela Silva was born in the parish of Fazenda, in Lajes das Flores. She was a teacher and holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy for Children from the University of the Azores, having chosen Regional Autonomy as the subject of her thesis.
She was a regional MP for the Social Democratic Party from 1984 to 1988. She has published several books of poetry and prose and participated in various anthologies. She participated in the RTP Açores program OLHARES, which dealt with women’s issues.
She lives her relationship with life “passionately” and is currently an entrepreneur in the tourism sector. She has a local accommodation where she receives people from all over the world to whom she “loves to show the beauty of her island.”

She has been writing since she was very young, has published several books, and has collaborated with various newspapers and magazines throughout her life. She has been a regional MP, worked in television, and lives surrounded by people from whom she has learned the things she now occupies her life as a retired teacher: reiki, yoga, meditation, astrology, numerology, coaching, and personal development.

It is undoubtedly in writing that Gabriela finds her most extraordinary vocation.
Some of her publications in this area are noteworthy:
“Anatomy of a Dream”1988
“(In)Confidences and Californias of Mist” 1995
“Neither witches nor bad men” 1997
“I Love California” 2000
“Island
“A Christmas Carol”, with illustrations by the students of 11ºB, art class, from the Integrated Basic School of Flores…
Many participations in other books, magazines, and programs.
Speaking of programs, it was in 2003 that she gave face and voice to a live program, “Olhares,” on RTP Açores.
She is a founding member of the Lion’s Club Pérola do Ocidente on the island of Flores, which belongs to Multiple District 115 of the Lion’s International.
She currently devotes much of her time to the culture of the spirit, being a practitioner of some of the most renowned alternative medicine and esoteric methods. She also devotes much of her time to serving others, particularly foreign communities living here or even passing through…

Here is one of Gabriela’s statements, which illustrates a bit about this extraordinary human being:
“I am nothing more than a woman from Flores who loves her land and lives here waiting… like our grandmothers, who waited decades for whalers, emigrants, sons of war…. Each one of us is just a piece of land and a speck of green in the middle of this fabulous ocean…”

Gabriela Silva is included in the bilingual anthology Into the Azorean Sea, published by Bruma Publications, with two magnificent poems.