A Special 100 Birthday Celebration

A Special 100 th Birthday Celebration By Daniel Gomes Men and women who are 100 or older tend to have extroverted personalities, according to Thomas T. Perls, the director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University. Centenarians will often have many friends, strong ties to relatives and high self-esteem. In addition, some research suggests that the offspring of centenarians are more likely to age in better cardiovascular health than their peers. Carmen certainly has an extroverted personality, many friends, strong ties to relatives, and high self- esteem. And to top it all her mother, my aunty Sylvia Gomes da Roza lived to be a centenarian so Carmen have all the traits to be a super – centenarian, a person who lives beyond 110. At the age of 100, she still goes to mass every day. When asked, a 105 year old Texas woman says bacon was the secret of her long life so I asked Carmen what was the secret behind her longevity. She immediately replied, “God is”, without hesitation. On April 27, 2014 Carmen celebrated her 100 th Birthday at Beresford Park in San Mateo surrounded by her daughter “Pinky”, husband and grandsons David and John, nephew Alvro, relatives and friends. Her sister Gloria Roza Pereira and family, and her late sister Marie’s family came from Southern California to celebrate this auspicious occasion with her. Her nephew Bruno and niece Helena came from Seattle. Her cousins Gustavo Da Roza and wife Gloria came from Vancouver, Canada and Natalia da Roza came from Statesboro, Georgia. Her (Capigalo) Gomes and da Roza cousins from all over the Bay Area came out in force to join her many friends and other relatives to celebrate this joyous occasion with her. Most Centanarians would rely on friends and relatives to plan their 100 th Birthday bash – but not Carmen. She had to do it herself. She delegated the job of coordinating the event to Dorothy Oliver who did a marvelous job of coordinating the food, beverage and venue. However, she would not delegate the “invitations’ to anyone. She personally called up every one to invite them personally. It was such a pleasure to get her call and chat with her for half an hour about old times – it certainly made my day! She received congratulatory messages from Pope Francis, President Obama, Governor Jerry Brown and the Portuguese Consul General Nuno Mathias and her 1 st cousin Monsignor Desmond Dillon. After a delightful luncheon and toast, we all sang “Happy Birthday” to this dear young lady and then she was gracious enough to pose for pictures with anyone who wanted their picture taken with her, and many, many, many did. UMA New Bulletin = Summer 2014 13 through 28 Carmen’s 100 th Birthday Celebration Carmen & family enjoying her birthday cake Carmen, daughter Pinky, & her two grandsons Carmen & daughter Pinky Carmen & sister Gloria Carmen, Gloria and Gloria’s daughter Marie Carmen with sister Marie’s daughter Bonnie and family UMA New Bulletin = Summer 2014 13 through 28 Carmen’s 100 th Birthday Celebration Carmen’s relatives and friends celebrating Helena & Bruno (Edie & Therese’s Children) The da Roza Clan Editor’s Note: Pictures courtesy of Dorothy Olivera & Marie Roliz UMA New Bulletin = Summer 2014 13 through 28 HISTORY PROVES THAT "THERE IS A FUTURE" FOR THE MACANESE COMMUNITY by Liane Ferreira, Tribuna de Macau, June 6, 2014, translated & edited by Daniel Gomes Permission to publish by Roy Xavier Macau as neutral and host to refugees from World War II territory is the subject of the latest research from Roy Eric Xavier. For the researcher, the Macanese community has proven to be resilient and innovative when it comes to survival Professor Roy Eric Xavier, project director Macanese and Portuguese Studies and professor at the Institute of Social Studies, University of California, Berkeley, explained to JTM your last article about the role of Macao and Macao, as support for refugees during the 2nd World War, arguing that the lessons of the past show that there is a future for the Macanese community. The latest research on the Macanese, Roy Xavier focuses on World War II and, according to the author, aims to explore the contributions of these people to the effort of the Allies. "Refugees of Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other parts of China fled to Macau, as the only neutral venue in Asia. The article is about what happened during this period, with all the complex relationships that are involved, "he said. In the article, Roy Xavier points out that during this dark period of world history, with about 4,000 Macanese with Portuguese nationality and more than 10,000 holding British passports fled Hong Kong and were sheltered by family and refugee centers, assembled by the Government and the Catholic Church. One of these centers was located in the Bela Vista Hotel, now the official residence of the Consul of Portugal to Macau and Hong Kong housed approximately 300 refugees, The academic believes that these episodes show that "the Macanese have been resistant in historical terms and innovative in terms of survival, even under conditions imposed by war." UMA New Bulletin = Summer 2014 13 through 28 Future for the Macanese Community "At the same time, serves as a lesson to future generations that they can overcome any obstacles and that there is a future for the Macanese community," stated Roy Xavier, whose main aims is "to educate people in Macau and the rest of the World", in relation to the history of the territory. Asked about the importance of this and other episodes in the history of the territory for the younger generations, Roy Xavier argued that "it is very important for current and future generations to understand and learn about it." "Such understanding (about the story) helps bring more clarity about cultural identity and historical significance, especially played by people of Macao and Macao roles throughout history," he said. In this sense, the researcher hopes that "people of Macau and those of the diaspora find a common bond, that attaches to a community interested not only in Macau's history, but also the present and future of Macau worldwide." History and Biography Roy Xavier told JTM that his research process "is a mixture of history and biography, in which the intention is to learn how the Macanese lived throughout history, including its origins, the development of communities, based on family relationships and the conditions they lived in Macau and Hong Kong at different times in history, and the effects of development in other countries, as called Diaspora ". According to the investigations of Roy Xavier, there are about 200,000 Macanese spread across 35 countries, however, "little is known about them." Hence, his work includes the disclosure of "individual stories of triumph and loss, of achievements and failures, all with the backdrop of the history of Macau". The transcript revealed that one of the aspects that most surprised him during the research, was "having such a positive response from all the people around the world." "Many people seem thankful that someone is finally doing this kind of research, after so many years of neglect. It is for this reason that, I as Macanese, have a special responsibility to be historically correct, "he said. Part of the research process involves contacts with older Macanese, but Roy Xavier confesses that has found some resistance among these people, who consider their "inaccurate interpretation or should that just be positive." However, note that you are not able to provide documentation so that you can correct such errors. The investigator admits that this situation can be linked to a contradiction of ideals of generations, in which some of the older Macanese "want to return to Macao and Hong Kong in the past," while younger generations prefer to know all the facts "history , whether good or bad. " Living in the United States, Roy Xavier ensures that "Americans are curious about Macau", although they have difficulty understanding what is, in fact, a Special Administrative Region of China. "Many do not know the history of Macau, however, some feel a closeness to the cultural traditions of Macau," he said. This multiculturalism, both in the United States as in Macau means that many Americans are "receptive to understand that the Macanese are a racial mixture." From the perspective of academic, binding of Macao with China "is interesting for Americans, especially for those with Macanese origin", especially because these members of the diaspora are interested in business and culture. Thus, assume roles of intermediaries "in order to build a connection between American and Chinese companies and governments to work together." UMA New Bulletin = Summer 2014 13 through 28 Jeffrey Remedios brings sound Judgment to the music business Edited by Dan Gomes with permission from Jeff Remedios An article written by Deidre Kelly of The Globe and Mail in Toronto praises Jeffrey Remedios (son of Eric & Lourdes Remedios, both born in Hongkong) for bringing sound judgement to the music business. Jeffery is one of three chosen to judge The Globe and Mail’s Catalysts contest for his ability to spot and nurture talent. At the age of 37, he heads up “Arts & Crafts” an influential label company in Toronto. The wall is covered with many gold records and other prominent music-industry awards earned by some of the acts in his charge. Being simultaneously interested in marketing and music led him to pursue joint degrees in business and music at McMaster University in Hamilton. Immediately upon graduation, he was hired full-time by Virgin Records where, among other jobs, he staffed the promotions department and helped launched Virgin’s first digital media division.

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