The Portuguese Cultural Association (PCA) was founded by George Amaral in 1959 as a non-profit organization for the purpose of promoting civic, cultural, economic, educational, and social welfare of Portuguese and Americans of Portuguese extraction. It was incorporated in 1965, and, at that time, administration included a president, George Amaral, first vice-president, Anthony H. Maciel, second vice president, Alfred J. Coelho, treasurer, Manuel Machado, recording secretary, William A. Castro, correspondence secretary, Edward C. Martin, and a board of directors. They were based in East Providence, Rhode Island. Events organized by the PCA included Portuguese Heritage Day, exhibitions at the RISD Museum, awards dinners, lectures on Portuguese studies, performances of Portuguese fado, symphony concerts, film festivals, bus trips to restaurants and Carnaval do Brasil, the April in Portugal Ball, and various other meetings. The Portuguese Cultural Association disbanded in the early 1980s.
The collection contains correspondence, documents, and photographs pertaining to the Portuguese Cultural Association. Correspondence includes the Casa de Portugal, Portuguese-American Committee on Foreign Affairs, Consulate of Portugal, Coimbra Club, universities and colleges, and elected officials and offices. Documents include meeting minutes, membership mailing lists, applications, by-laws, treasurer’s reports, account book, letters, event programs, tickets, clippings, and publications. Photographs capture events held by the association. An audiocassette of interviews with Dr. Manuel DaSilva and Professor Rita Bichio is also included.
Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them. Donor restrictions stipulate that the following items in the collection are not to be reproduced by Special Collections: “The Life of Peter Francisco, Patriot of the American Revolution” by Edmund Dinis; “Origin and Evolution of the Anterian Sonnet” by David J. Viera; and “The Portuguese of Rochester and Monroe County, New York” by David J. Viera.
The collection is open for research.
Portuguese Cultural Association records, MSS-0038, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
The collection is arranged in the order in which it arrived in the Rhode Island College Special Collections.
The collection was initially gifted in 1976 by George Amaral. Mariana Pierannunzi and Amaral donated additions to the collection in 1978, 1979, and 1983. With further additions given by Virginia White in 1985 and 1991. A deed of gift was signed by Mario A. Texeira, president of the association at the time of the signing of the document, and Mariana Pierannunzi, project director of the collection.
An inventory of the collection was created likely prior to 1992. In 2023, Special Collections intern, Melissa Moniz, re-boxed and described the collection using current archival standards under the supervision of Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, Veronica Denison.
Works used in preparation of inventory: Organizational history was taken from materials within the collection.
Rhode Island Collection Special Collections also holds the
The collection contains some xerographic copies of original documents that were retained by the donors.
The audiocassette in the collection (box 2, folder 24) has been digitized, however it is not available online. Access may only be provided on-site in the Special Collections Reading Room. For more information about potential distance, please contact the Rhode Island College Special Collections.
This has been digitized and can be listened to in the Special Collections Reading Room