The character Néveda, created by Terry Costa and illustrated by Vera Bettencourt, was introduced to the public in 2019. In short, stories published in books, the image of the little girl Néveda has already reached 42 countries and more than 250 bookstores and is part of a product line.

During the AnimaPIX festival, which took place at the Madalena Auditorium Library last week, several projects were presented to mark Néveda’s fifth anniversary: the first book, now in hardcover, a postcard of Néveda’s little friends, a soft toy, a paper theater, and a puppet theater.

The first book, “Néveda in the Azores,” bilingual in Portuguese and English, has seen its third edition published in hardcover. “I fell in love with the roots of this Néveda project all over again,” admits the creator and writer Terry Costa. “Receiving the boxes of hardcover books of my first work dedicated to the child in all of us brought that feeling of giving birth to the project.”

Uruguayan artist Rocio Matosas, participating in the AnimaPIX festival, built a paper puppet theater with Vera Bettencourt’s illustrations, thus creating a tool for future festivals and presentations of the original story. Inspired by Miss Néveda’s puppet, the team from the Madalena Municipal Library presented a puppet show to the younger audience at the festival.

Fátima Freitas built Néveda’s cuddly toy, which is now available at special events and soon at book sales. And so the five years of this project were celebrated with “Queijadas da Néveda” at Pastelaria Aromas & Sabores, located in Lajes do Pico, and “Gelado da Néveda” at Fiord’Azor Gelados Artesanais in Mercado da Madalena. There are also “A Year with Néveda” postcards to which a new one has been added, Néveda’s Little Friends, and other items, available through nevedapico.com where Terry Costa is calling on companies that want to create a product inspired by the character, to get in touch and work together to build more.

In book form, Miss Néveda’s next adventure is being planned for publication in spring 2025.

From Press release

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks the Luso-American Education Foundation for sponsoring FILAMENTOS.