Janus and the Portuguese Emigrant: The Autobiographies of Portuguese Immigrants in the United States1

Villar, Carmen Ramos

doi:10.1353/lbr.2012.0043

Cited by 3 publications

References 14 publications

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An Immigrant in America Yes, But Not an Emigrant in My Own Country! The Unbearable Weight of a Persistent Label

Cordeiro

2019

IMISCOE Research Series

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Boston, June 2014. I had just interviewed João Feitor, a retired, well-known Portuguese-American businessman, highly respected in the local community of Cambridge in the state of Massachusetts. With a remarkably successful career as vice-president of one of the largest American companies in its sector (UNICCO), and a life dedicated to the appreciation of Portuguese culture and to bringing together organizations of Portuguese origin, João Feitor represents the "self-made man" in the best American style, whose life has been reported in the local press as an example of the "personification of the American dream." (Mundo Português 2000). He had made himself available to talk to me right from the beginning and picked me up early in the morning from Lechmere station, the end of the Green Line that connects one end of the small town of Cambridge to Boston. We headed toward his home, a beautiful villa in the suburbs, 5 minutes from the station. There we talked, with his wife, Fátima, until after lunchtime. It was raining heavily and I ended up accepting their return ride to Boston, carrying a box containing a selection of documents from his personal archives that he kindly lent me so I could make copies. On the return trip, and without my having asked anything about that subject, he said abruptly: But there is one thing I won't stand for: I don't mind being an immigrant here. In fact, I'm proud of it. That's what I am. But ... calling me an emigrant? In my own country? I don't accept that. I'm no emigrant. I'm as Portuguese as those who live there, no more or less.

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