Portal da Açorianidade

The Presidency of the Regional Government, through the Regional Directorate for the Communities, is promoting two public sessions marking the beginning of the celebrations of the 70 years of Azorean emigration to Canada, next week, in the cities of Ponta Delgada and Angra do Heroísmo.   The sessions are aimed at the public in general. They are intended to present the major Azorean communities in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec from the perspective of the local media, through guest speakers Nellie Pedro, from Toronto,  producer for the programme “Gente da Nossa TV,” and Norberto Aguiar, from Montreal, editor of the “LusoPresse” newspaper and producer for the programme “LusaqTV.”   On January 19, Thursday, the Ponta Delgada Public Library and Regional Archive will host the first of two sessions at 6 pm.   The following day, Friday, Nellie Pedro and Norberto Aguiar will be at the Luís da Silva Ribeiro Public Library and Regional Archive in Angra do Heroísmo, also at 6 pm.   Both conferences will be conducted and moderated by the Regional Director for the Communities, José Andrade.   On May 13, 1953, the liner “Saturnia” called at the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, carrying more than two hundred Portuguese emigrants on board, most of them from the Azores, thus officially launching emigration from Portugal to Canada, following the agreement signed by both countries. Seven decades later, the Portuguese community of Azorean origin in Canada is estimated at around half a million people. These Azoreans and their descendants, spread across most Canadian provinces, are involved in hundreds of social and cultural associations and organisations, including the Houses of the Azores of Ontario, Quebec and Winnipeg, institutions recognised as ambassadors of Azorean culture and traditions.