AZOREANS IN MINAS GERAIS

Brazil was the first major destination for Azorean emigration, long before the United States and Canada:

In the 17th century, we went to Maranhão; in the 18th century, to Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul; in the 19th century, to Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, São Paulo, and Salvador.

That is why there are now seven Casas dos Açores (Azorean Houses) in seven states of Brazil: the Casa dos Açores in Rio de Janeiro, founded in 1952; the Casas dos Açores in São Paulo and Bahia, both in 1980; the Casa dos Açores in Santa Catarina, in 1999; the Casa dos Açores do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, in 2003; the Casa dos Açores do Maranhão, in 2019; and the Casa dos Açores do Espírito Santo, in 2022.

These associations represent the cultural heritage of the Azores, promoting Azorean identity and the preservation of the Azores’ unique character, while maintaining a cooperative relationship with the government of our common autonomous region through the Regional Directorate for Communities.

Seven of the 18 Houses of the Azores currently operate in Portugal, the United States, Canada, Bermuda, and Uruguay.

But the historical presence of the Azores in Brazil goes beyond these seven states.

It also reaches Minas Gerais.

Take, for example, research by Maria Eduarda Fagundes, from the Institute of Lusophone Cultures in Uberaba, Minas Gerais.

She notes that “the Azoreans who initially emigrated to Brazil were pioneers, explorers, colonizers, cowboys, white slaves, fort builders, founders of villages, cities, and communities, farmers, cattle ranchers, politicians, priests, military men—in short, men who helped build Minas Gerais and other regions of this country.

“The islanders of that time were rustic, fearless, deeply religious, kind, yet mystical and distrustful, curious, physically and mentally tough.

“In popular festivals, generally religious in nature with pagan overtones, in their habit of forming brotherhoods, in their love of family, in their attachment to traditions, in their independent spirit, in their hospitality, in the feminine vocation for handicrafts, in their jealousy of their women, in the table laden with sweets, bread, and cheese, we see in the people of Minas Gerais the vocational heritage of their Azorean ancestors.

“Many families who settled in these lands and are now landmarks in the history of Minas Gerais—such as the Terra, Brum, Silveira, Dutra, Faria, Fagundes, Rosa, Rezende, Cunha, Garcia, Neves, Bittencourt, and Goulart families—came from the islands of mist and lava, and with much struggle and hardship helped build a new world in Brazil.”

A concrete and lasting mark of the Azorean presence in Minas Gerais has remained in our shared history for 300 years, with the so-called “Três Ilhoas” (Three Islands).

The Três Ilhoas were three Azorean sisters who emigrated to Brazil, where they arrived around 1723, settling in Minas Gerais and becoming the matriarchs of old, traditional, and important families.

The Três Ilhoas were natives of the parish of Nossa Senhora das Angústias, in the then village of Horta, on the island of Faial, in the Azores archipelago.

One was Antónia da Graça, born in 1687, who came to São João del Rei and had four children, giving rise, among others, to the Junqueiras and Meireles families.

The second was Júlia Maria da Caridade, born in 1707, who also came to São João del Rei and had 14 children here. She gave rise, among others, to the Garcias, Carvalhos, Nogueiras, Vilelas, Monteiros, Reis, and Figueiredos families.

The third was Helena Maria de Jesus, born in 1710, who settled in Prados, had 15 children, and gave rise to the Resendes family.

Here is how common the blood that runs through our veins is to us.

Many families in Belo Horizonte and, more generally, in Minas Gerais have this Azorean origin, dating back three centuries.

It is essential to preserve this heritage, not only for the sake of the past, but also, and above all, for the sake of the future.

The challenge is to put Minas Gerais on the map of Brazil in the Azores.

Alongside Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Bahia, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Maranhão, and Espírito Santo, we can and should also have a Casa dos Açores in Minas Gerais.

An association of Azorean descendants and friends of the Azores that honors our common past and develops new paths of cooperation and exchange between the state of Minas Gerais and the Azorean islands.

With the dynamic Minas Gerais lawyer Cláudio Motta, president of the Business Council for International Relations of the Minas Gerais Commercial and Business Association, who also has family ties to the Azores, we will overcome the three centuries of distance that separate us across the Atlantic.

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José Andrade is the Regional Director of Communities of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. This article is based on a speech given in Belo Horizonte on September 26, 2024

Translated by Diniz Borges