Vol. 57. No. 1 A Publication of UMA, Inc Jan - Mar 2017 Editor: Daniel Gomes, 2021 Ptarmigan Drive #1 Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 E-Mail:[email protected]
Boot Scootin’ Western Swing By Larry Collaco
Co-Chair JoAnne Riberio & President Sandy Souza
March 4th finally arrived, after much anticipation, preparation, and uncertainty, we were ready for our late spring dance called: Boot Scootin' Western Swing. Co- chaired by Joanne Segovia and yours truly, we were motivated to make this dinner/dance a FUN event for all those in attendance. As the crowd slowly meandered onto the hall around 5pm or so, they helped themselves to libations of wine, beer, coffee, tea, water, nuts, chips & salsa with some background music. Conversations and greetings flowed throughout the hall amongst the table until the announcement for dinner about 6pm. One could smell the aroma of the Eastern spices of familiarity amongst us who grew up with minchi, my favorite, chicken curry, cabbage with Chinese sausage, and white rice. Special hands, not literally, went into the creation of these dishes. Later on, we had some homemade desserts of pao de leite & coqueira.
Now we were ready for one of the main attraction, the Elsa Denton Band, a 6 piece band plus a sound engineer. They delighted us with a very versatile repertoire of music: country, rock n' roll, Latin, cha cha, 60s, 70s, 80s, current pop hits, etc. The dance floor was very well "abused" by the many dancers and their own unique styles keeping to the beat and rhythm by Elsa and her group. The line dancing got
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 1 of 32
Boot Scootin’ Wester Dance the most attendance, given the theme of this event and not needing a partner to do your own thing.
During one of the 2 intermissions of the band, we had a raffle for 2 gift certificates to the next UMA dinner function, and 3 prize money envelopes to the 3 lucky persons in the ticket drawing. We have their pictures as well as all those who came by our very talented and energetic photographer, Cecilia Collaço Naval. Her pictures taken at this event will soon be posted at the website: www.uma- casademacu.com.
Big All Time Cash Winners
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 2 of 32
Boot Scootin’ Western Dance
Gift Certificate Winners
Elsa Denton Band
There were many volunteers who helped to make this a FUN and successful event. I would like to extend an appreciation of thanks to all of the following: Joanne Segovia, Flavia Greubel, Ellen and Vic Boiserree, all those on the UMA Social Committee, Barbara Vas, Cecilia Naval, Sandy Souza, Brenda Oliveira, Daniel and Zinha Gomes, and all those who helped to make this possible. Forgive me if I have left anyone off this list, I am a senior after all, and I'm sticking to that excuse.
Thanks and let's make UMA Great Again!
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 3 of 32
Boot Scootin’ Western Dance
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 4 of 32
Boot Scootin’ Western Dance
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 5 of 32
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Members,
Welcome to the First Quarter Bulletin for 2017.
Although it is fairly early in the year, our Social Committee members have been busy planning out the venues and events for the rest of the year. The upcoming ones are included in this bulletin.
We had our first Event this year, photos and article are in this Bulletin. From observance, it was very successful. Our thanks to all those who helped out and to the attendees.
A special event this year is “Jim Silva Day” Cha Gordo to honor Jim with a UMA Lifetime Membership, details are in the flyer of this bulletin.
Jim was also UMA’s speaker at the LAEF (Luso-American Education Foundation) Annual Conference and Symposium on Education and Culture held at the San Jose University this week. The topic was the Macanese Clubs in California. We thank Jim for being our speaker.
We now have 50 members from the three Casas (under MCC) going on the Fatima trip this September.
Our Mid-Term Board Meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at Rossmoor – Vista Room at 5pm. This meeting is open to all members. If you are planning to attend, please advise me via email at: [email protected] or by phone at 925-639-7708. Thank you.
Now, on another friendly note, a reminder for those members who have not yet paid their annual dues, please do so immediately. Unpaid members will be dropped off the active list next month.
With best regards, Sandy Souza
Membership Dues for 2017 are now due:
Please help us save postage and time by sending in your dues promptly, delinquent members will be dropped by April 1, 2017. Thank you for your cooperation.
Regular $20.00
Senior (+65) $15.00
Non U.S. Residents (includes Canada) $25.00 only US$ accepted
Subscription (no UNB Hard copy, view online) $10.00
Young Adults (ages 18 to 25) $10.00
Dues payable to UMA, Inc. and mailed to: Sandy Souza, 5565 Terra Granada Dr. # 3A, Walnut Creek, Ca. 94595
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 6 of 32
"THE UNIÃO MACAENSE AMERICANA SCHOLARSHIP" & “THE JORGE & ELISA ROSARIO SCHOLARSHIP”
I. Amount of Scholarships & Frequency of Scholarship Awards:
$1,000 each to be awarded annually for the UMA Scholarship & the Rosario Scholarship to the Recipients who meet all the requirements of an “Applicant”, and is selected by the Scholarship Committee to receive the Awards.
II Names of the Scholarship Committee Members: Oscar Collaco Raquel Remedios Jim Silva Armando ‘Pinky’ Silva Sandy Souza
III Responsibilities of the Scholarship Committee:
a) The Scholarship Committee must publicize the availability and requirements of the scholarship in the UMA Bulletin at least one month prior to the application deadline. b) The Scholarship Committee will establish appropriate procedures to review all applications and make the award selection within one month after the application deadline. c) The Scholarship Committee will maintain records of the annual Scholarship Applications and Selected Recipient(s).
IV. Application Requirements:
a) The Applicant must be the child or the grandchild of a current UMA member, and the parent, grandparent or legal guardian of applicant must have been an UMA member for at least two (2) years prior to date of application. b) The Applicant must have completed and graduated from the 12th grade in high school and will be attending college the following semester. c) Application must be made in the semester prior to graduation from high School. d) The Application Package must be submitted to the Scholarship Committee postmarked no later than May 31st, 2017. e) The Application Package must include a completed application, an official high school transcript, a personal essay, a record of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, a copy of the acceptance letter(s) from the college or university, and two letters of recommendation, one of which must be a teacher.
V. Criteria for Scholarship Awards:
The selection shall be at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee whose decision shall be final. The Scholarship Committee will be guided by their overall assessment of the Applicant.
UMA Scholarship Committee 5565 Terra Granada Drive, # 3A Walnut Creek, Ca. 94595
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 7 of 32
UMA, INC.
APPLICATION FOR SCHOLARSHIP – 2017 c) The Application Package must include a completed application, an official high school transcript, a personal essay, a record of co-curricular and extracurricular activities, a copy of the acceptance letter(s) from the college or university, and two letters of recommendation, one of which must be a teacher.
Name ______Date of Birth ______/_____/_____
Home Address ______City ______State ______Zip ______Email Address ______Home Ph ______Cell Ph ______
Name of High School ______Date of Graduation ______
Parents or Grandparents are UMA Members: Yes ______No ______Father’s/Grandfather’s Full Mother’s/Grandmother’s Full Name ______Name ______
Number of Advanced Placement Classes ______
Honors/Awards ______Leadership Positions ______
Service Activities ______
Is the Applicant a Life Member of C.S.F. Yes ____ No ____ If No, How Many Semesters ______
Number in Applicant’s Graduating Class ______. Applicant’s Rank in Class ______
Name of College or University You Plan to Attend ______
Date of Entrance ______Major Subject ______i.e. Science, Business, English
For what business or profession are you preparing? ______
Provide: a) a personal essay, (minimum 250 words, on a separate sheet of paper), describing your plans for your future; b) Official Transcript including: GPA (weighted/unweighted), PSAT Score and SAT/CAT Score; c) a record of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities; d)a copy of the acceptance letter from the college or university, and e) two letters of recommendation, one of which must be a teacher. Add any other pertinent information that will assist the Scholarship Committee to better understand your qualifications.
I hereby declare that I have read all the statements on this application and to the best of my knowledge they are correct.
Signed ______Date ______
Send completed application to: UMA Scholarship Committee 5565 Terra Granada Drive # 3A, Walnut Creek, Ca. 94595 Tel: (925)639-7708
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 8 of 32
GAME DAY
Come and join us for a day of fun and games with family and friends:
Date: Saturday, April 29, 2017 Time: 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Place: Diablo Room - Hillside Clubhouse Rossmoor Walnut Creek, CA
Cost per Person: Members $15.00 Prepay – No payment at door Non-Members $25.00 Prepay – No payment at door
------
Please make reservations early and send checks payable to UMA, Inc., to:
Virginia Xavier at 2061 Pine Knoll Dr #1, Walnut Creek, CA 94595 Tel: (925) 934-2618
Name: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Name:______Tel: ______
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 9 of 32
Come and join us for a day of fun and games with family and friends: Mahjong, Poker, Rummikub, Mexican Train, Etc.!
Date: Saturday, June 17, 2017 Time: 10:00 AM – 8:30 PM
Place: Pacifica Community Center Card Room 540 Crespi Drive Pacifica, CA 94044
Cost: $15.00 Member Prepay – No Payment at Door $25.00 Non Members Prepay – No Payment at Door
10:30 AM Coffee & Donuts 1:00 PM Lunch 4:00 PM Tea 7:00 PM Dinner Deadline for Reservations: Friday, June 9, 2017
------
Please make checks payable to UMA, Inc. and mail to: Johanna Terra at 23 Pio Pico Way, Pacifica, CA 94044 Tel: 650-355-5275
Name: ______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______
Please Note: There Will Be No Refunds For No Shows
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 10 of 32
Come Join Us for a Day of Celebration on
Sat urday, June 24 , 2017
at the
109 J Street (corner of 37695 Niles Blvd), Fremont, CA 94536
Event organized by the Macau Cultural Center and co- sponsored by IIM of Macau
11:00 – 12:00 PM Mass Celebration 12:30 – 2:00 PM Macanese Lunch
Cost per Person: $12.00 Casa de Macau, Lusitano & UMA Members & Spouses $20.00 Others
RSVP by June 1, 2017 to Flavia Greubel Tel: 925-9308672 Email: [email protected]
Please make checks payable to Macau Cultural Center and mail to 582 Market St # 1905, San Francisco, CA 94104.
Please list names of attendees and contact info when making your reservations. Thank you.
Please Note: There Will Be No Refunds For No Shows
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 11 of 32
You Are Invited To Our Annual
It is Time Once Again to Give Thanks for our Blessings, to Pray for União Macaense Americana, Inc. (UMA), our Relatives, Friends, And the Sick, the Poor and the Dear Departed
~~~~~
Place: Church of the Good Shepherd 901 Oceana Boulevard, Pacifica, CA Date: Saturday, July 8, 2017 Time: 11:00 AM
Lunch will be served following Mass at the Church Hall Cost: $10.00 per Person
Deadline for Reservations: July 1, 2017
For more information, check our website: www.uma-casademacau.com
------
Please fill in name(s), enclose check, made payable to UMA Inc., and send to Flavia Greubel at 1232 Skycrest Dr #2, Walnut Creek, CA 94595 Tel: 925-930-8672 Email: [email protected]
Name: ______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______
Please Note: There Will Be No Refunds For No Shows
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 12 of 32
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 13 of 32
at the The Event Center, Rossmoor 1021 Stanley Dollar Drive Walnut Creek, CA 94595 Date: Saturday, August 12, 2017
5:30 PM Cocktails 6:30 PM Dinner (Aloha Attire) 7:30 - 10:30 PM Dancing to the Music of
Price per Person: $20.00 Members 25.00 Non-Members
Deadline for Reservations: August 1, 2017 Max Capacity: 150 Persons
For more information, check our website: www.uma-casademacau.com Directions: Advise Security at gate that you are going to the Event Center. After clearing Security, go straight on Rossmoor Parkway. At the 4th STOP sign, turn Right on Stanley Dollar, then take an immediate Left into Event Center Parking Lot. ------Please make checks payable to UMA, Inc. and mail to: Johanna Terra at 23 Pio Pico Way, Pacifica, CA 94044 Tel: 650-355-5275
Name(s): ______Address______Tel No: ______
Reservations may be made for tables of 8 or 10. Please list names on back of form. Thank you.
Name: ______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______Name:______Tel: ______
Please Note: There Will Be No Refunds For No Shows UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 14 of 32
Obituary
Maddox, Dolly, nee Brown, passed peacefully on February 21, 2017 a few days before her 93rd birthday. Born in Hong Kong March 2, 1924, she had lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since the early 1960’s, enjoying life in a close-knit, loving family and with many friends. She was unfailingly positive and determined, overcoming life’s challenges with a sense of humor and unstoppable spirit. We will miss her.
She is survived by daughter (Karen Vitale) and son-in-law Dominic Vitale, sister Jackie Carneiro and brother-in-law Sonny (Gus) Carneiro, brother Bernie Brown, sister-in-law Millie Brown, grandson Nicholas Vitale, his wife Noelle, great-granddaughters Lorelei and Lila Vitale, and grandson Tristan Vitale. She was predeceased by brothers Anthony (Jock) and Frederick Brown.
Malig, Peppy passed away yesterday in Portugal. He had a fall a few weeks before and never recovered. Peppy was 92. His 2 daughters flew in from Switzerland to be with Daisy. Please say a prayer for his soul, may he rest in peace. Reis, Johnny born on Feb 8, 1928 and passed away on Jan 11, 2017 in Pacifica. May our Heavenly Father have mercy on his soul and accept him into His Heavenly Kingdom where he will live eternally in His care.
Ribeiro, Mike (Miguel) passed away peacefully on March 13, 2017 at the age of 83 after a courageous battle with dementia. The son of Elizabeth and Helder Ribeiro, he was born on December 11, 1933, in Shanghai, China.
When he was seventeen, Mike moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong where he met the love of his life, Milita Vieira. After dating for five years they were married in 1957 and a year later their daughter Antonia was born. The Ribeiro family emigrated from Hong Kong to the United States in 1968 and settled in San Francisco.
Mike spent a career in the banking industry until his retirement in 1998. He looked forward to weekend trips to spend time with his family and the occasional visit to the race track or casino. He enjoyed playing mahjong, cameroons, and poker with his good friends; and his favorite pastime was watching tennis and boxing.
Mike is survived by his wife Milita of 60 years, daughter Antonia, son-in-law Mike Biel, grandsons Matt & Garrett, and the rest of his extended family. Mike was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend.
Special thanks to the Legion of Mary, Queen of Peace Praesidium , Father Lu Palacpac and the staff from Good Shepherd Church. The nurses at Seton Hospital, Pacifica Nursing and Rehab Center, Gentiva Hospice and Alice Vieira for their loving care, prayers, and support. Also thanks to Chapel by the Sea Funeral Home for all the arrangements.
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 15 of 32
Obituary
Rozario, Mariette passed away on February 14, 2017, after a hard fought battle with cancer.
Mariette Lucille Blanchette was born on July 23, 1934 in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, Canada. She was the fifth of six children born to Lucille and Pierre Blanchette. After graduating from Nursing School
Quebec, Mariette moved to the United States and married the love of her life, Frank Rozario in San Francisco in 1960. Both immigrants to the U.S., they lived and raised their family in Foster City for 35 years. Mariette worked as a registered nurse at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City for 33 years until her retirement in 1994, the same year she became a U.S. Citizen. In 1996 Frank and Mariette moved to Rossmoor where they enjoyed their retirement years. They were married for 42 years until Frank’s sudden passing in 2001.
Mariette lived a fulfilled life of love, family, friends and travel. She enjoyed lawn bowling, taking long walks, good food, and the beauty of all living things. She loved to read, laugh, sing, and dance, and always looked at the positive in life. She was a great role model and inspiration to her family and friends. Her passion to live the moment made her stand out.
Mariette is survived by her beloved siblings Jaqueline Blanchete, Roger Blanchette, Denis Blanchette, Janine Drolette, and Gil Blanchette; her four children and their spouses: Mark and Leslie Rozario, Michelle and Ken Schrum, Paul and Jennifer Rozario, and Janine and Don Mattison; and 9 loving grandchildren. She will be greatly missed and always loved by her family and friends. Her spirit lives on.
Xavier, Albertina Loudres (nee Garcia) born in 1908 and passed away in San Francisco in 1917. She was married to Alberto Carlos Xavier in Rosary Church in 1942.
She was an extraordinary women with a great memory of the past and could remember all the kids growing up (both the good and the bad) in and around Humphreys Avenue in the Tsimshatui area of Kowloon. May she rest in peace in God’s eternal embrace.
Weathers, Claudette (nee Xavier) passed away on November 29, 2016 in Mission Viejo, CA. She is survived by her husband, Dave, three daughters and five grandchildren.
She will be dearly missed by her sisters: Jacqueline (Xavier) Salazar-Antunes, Jeannette (Xavier) Smith, and Tina (Xavier) Browne.
Correction – Eulogy for Alda Gosano
In the last issue of the UMA Bulletin, the Editor incorrectly typed in Aurea instead of Alda. Please accept my apology
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 16 of 32
NEWLY RELEASED BOOKS FOR SALE - PROCEEDS TO BENEFIT MCC
MACANESE CUISINE BY A. JORGE DA SILVA $30.00 FIVE HUNDERE YEAS OF MACAU BY STUART BRAGA $15.00 STORIES FROM THE WESERN SEAS BY JIM SILVA $12.00 ======
FAMILIAS MACAENSES BY JORGE FORJAZ (SIX VOLUMNS) $510.00 (PRICE INCLUDES COST OF POSTAGE BY SEA MAIL)
(PROCEEDS FROM SALE DO NOT BENEFIT MCC)
ORDER MUST BE RECEIVED BY JANUARY 10TH WITH PREPAYMENT TO RECEIVE THIS SET BY APRIL 2017
TO PLACE ORDERS
CONTACT: [email protected]
Need Photographs for New Book
The Portuguese Community in Macau – A Pictorial History
I have just been asked by the Instituto Internacional de Macau (IIM) to write this book to complete the set that was written about the families in Hong Kong and Shanghai. This book will include photographs of those who were born in Macau and were living in Macau. Family photos can be up to the present day, but individual photo unless they are related to a special event in Macau, should be before 1950.
I need the help of the community worldwide to contribute photographs with the names of as many in the photographs as possible. The photos should be sent in before the end of 2017.
Please send the photos to the author’s personal email: [email protected]
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 17 of 32
UMA, Inc Officers & Directors
Title Name Home Address Phone (Fax) Email President Sandy 5565 Terra Granada # 3A 925-639-7708 [email protected] Souza Walnut Creek Ca 94595 Vice- Flavia 1232 Skycrest Drive, #2 925-930-8672 [email protected] President Greubel Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Treasurer Joanne 1417 Oakmont Dr, #1 925-891-4474 [email protected] Segovia Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Secretary Pauline de 1124 Singing Wood Ct, #5 925-943-2003 [email protected] Assis Walnut Creek, Ca 94595
Director Maria 2021 Ptarmigan Dr. #1, 925-482-0711 [email protected] Gomes Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Director Marie 825 Prairie Creek D.r 650-359=3858 [email protected] Guterres Pacifica, Ca 94044 Director Luiz 1152 Ptarmigan, #1 650-245-3374 [email protected] Ozorio Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Director Vilma 2616 Saklan indian Dr #2 925-937-7079 [email protected] Remedios Walnut Creek, Ca 94595 Director Ramon 2061 Pine Knoll Drive #1 925-934-2618 [email protected] Xavier Walnut Creek, Ca 94595
2017 UMA Events Calendar
Game Day Saturday, April 24 Mid-Term Board Meeting Tuesday, May 23 All Day Social @ Pacifica Sunday, June 17 Dia de Sao Joao (joint Casas event) Saturday, June 24 Thanksgiving Mass Saturday, July 8 Jim Silva Day Sunday, July 23 Noite Tropical Saturday, August 12 Annual Golf Tournament/Dinner Saturday, August 26 Pilgrimage to Fatima (joint Casa event) September 1-10, 2017 Annual Lawn Bowling Tournament/Dinner Sunday, Sept. 17 Our Lady of Fatima Mass/Lunch (joint casa event) Sunday, Oct. 15 Annual General Meeting Sunday, November 5 Members Christmas/Appreciation Lunch Sunday, Dec. 10 Southern California Dim Sum Lunch TBA
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 18 of 32
STORY OF THE PORTUGUESE EURASIANS by Daniel Gomes
We are all familiar with the History of Macau and the Macanese. My favorite Macanese Historian Montalto de Jesus gave us a vivid description of life in Macau in the early years. Mr. Braga and many other Macanese Historians have added to our knowledge and understanding of our heritage. Lately, Stuart Braga and Antonio Jorge de Silva have added to our knowledge base. We also have the extensive historical works of many non-Macanese authors and experts which provides a version of life in the “Estado da India”
I would like to add another dimension to our heritage and include some information about the evolution of the Luso-Asian Community in the Pacific - the Community to which we belong. The source material for this article is readily available from many authors and definitely not original thinking on my part. I got the idea to write this story from a doctoral thesis, “The Culinary History of the Portuguese Eurasians” by Janet P. Boileau at the University of Adelaide in fulfillment of her doctoral thesis. The thesis was sent to me by our good friend Bosco Correa in Melbourne, Australia.
I was fascinated with her description of how the Luso-Asian community developed and especially her description of our beloved “Cha Gordo”. One could picture our ancestors, who were born in Macau in the early 18th century (as far as the official records go), living, working and providing for their growing family in this chaotic period of the birth of our community.
Her thesis concludes that four factors led to the development of a distinctive, identifiable Luso- Asian Community and the spread of Iberian influence throughout Asia.
Culinary influence originated in the gastronomy of sixteenth century Portugal; Mobility of the Portuguese colonial and ex-officio populations, the high incidence of miscegenation and the expansiveness of their maritime trading network; Portuguese commitment to Catholicism and the activities of missionaries in the region; Adaptability of the Portuguese and their openness to cultural exchange.
It is important that you read this as a story and not a history lesson. The history piece I leave to the many eminent historians in our midst.
The culinary history of Portugal during the exploration can be traced back to the crucial role the Arabs, Jews and Catholic Church (monasteries and convents) played in the development of Portuguese gastronomy in the sixteen century. This in turn influenced the logistics of ships' provisioning and living conditions on long-haul voyages to the East and influenced how the offshore Luzo-Asian community evolved.
The first Portuguese ships to enter the Indian Ocean could not depend on a reliable source for provisioning the long voyages. Vasco da Gama made landfall whenever water supplies were critically low or ships were in need of repairs, and sent his men to seek local sources of food. In order to overcome this logistical problem the Portuguese established supply stations in places where food and water could be reliably sourced on the long journey to the East. One of the first was on the Atlantic island of San Tome, which the Portuguese had colonized by 1493.
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 19 of 32
Story of the Portuguese Eurasian
Beyond the Cape, after da Gama's 1497-1499 voyage, the Portuguese took control of Arab trading stations at Sofala, Mombasa and Hormuz and established a permanent, fortified supply station on the Island of Mozambique. Vessels sailing from Lisbon that managed to round the Cape in July called at Mozambique to take on water and food while waiting for the winds that would carry them across the Indian Ocean to Goa.
The Portuguese built fortified trading posts at various points in the Gulf of Oman and the most important was at Hormuz, an island enclave near the Arabian port of Muscat. As the main Portuguese naval base in the region, Hormuz played an important role in maintaining the military strength of the Estado. The marketplace at Hormuz was one of the richest in Asia, connecting Indian traders with overland camel caravans that brought goods from Persia, Arabia and Turkey to the coast, as well as merchandise from the Far East that had travelled to central Asia along the Silk Road. Water for the Hormuz fortress was obtained from seawater, by sinking a special device four or five fathoms beneath the surface, where fresh water could be extracted. A number of travelers described this Portuguese technological innovation.
In 1488, Bartolomeo Dias succeeded in rounding the southern tip of Africa and in 1497 Vasco da Gama crossed the Indian Ocean and landed on the southwestern coast of India. On his next voyage he reached Malacca in 1511, and a year later Antonio de Abreu sailed from Malacca and reached the legendary Spice Islands in the Indonesian archipelago. From Malacca the Portuguese also pushed north to the Philippines, China and finally Japan, the easternmost point of their exploration, which they reached in 1543.
Successful settlements, once established, took one of three forms, all based initially on the fortified trading post concept – Feitoria, Afortalez and Cidade.
The feitoria was designed as a stronghold that could be manned by only a handful of personnel - the feitor or official trading agent of the crown, plus a few soldiers and perhaps a bailiff and a missionary priest.
In some of the more prosperous settlements, a Portuguese quarter grew up around the feitoria and was enclosed to become a walled town, called afortaleza.
The largest type of settlement was the walled town (cidade), which might house thousands of people, along with all the civic and ecclesiastical buildings, such as schools, churches, and hospitals, normally found within a Portuguese urban settlement. Although there were Portuguese settlements of considerable size in a number of places in Asia, the only real Portuguese cities, which existed outside the control of local rulers, were the colonial capitals at Goa, Malacca, and Macao.
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 20 of 32
Story of the Portuguese Eurasian
Luso-Asian Society
As a society, the Luso-Asians were never a coherent entity but a heterogeneous and ethnically diverse group scattered across the region, united by common threads of culture, religion and cuisine.
In the places that they managed to conquer, the Portuguese had a strategic interest in creating communities of loyal subjects who would help defend their trading bases. Given the small population of late medieval Portugal, the logistical challenges of shipping personnel from Lisbon and the high attrition rate during those multi-year voyages, it was more efficient to recruit local labor and breed a defense force locally.
Albuquerque's conviction that Portuguese trade in Asia could best be secured by domestic family units as an adjunct to naval power was a fundamental notion around which Luso- Asian society and culture would coalesce. The policy provided incentives, including discharge from the army, a grant of land and tax waivers that enhanced the casados' ability to make a living as merchants, in return for marriage to any woman prepared to convert to Christianity. This was a radical departure from prevailing Portuguese attitudes that upheld racial purity as a core precept of Lusitanian identity. Albuquerque's argument that the Estado desperately needed more bodies persuaded Lisbon to prioritize expediency over cultural purity.
The Luso-Asian colonial societies that evolved as a result of Albuquerque's policies consisted of four main occupational classes: the Estado officials, (including naval and military officers and some casados who held administrative posts), clerics, soldiers and casados who did not hold administrative posts. Most of the Estado officers and clerics were born in Portugal and were known as reinois (King's people). Casados and soldados might be Iberian, part Iberian, or native Christian converts. All citizens of the Estado supplemented their income by trading - an activity that fostered cultural exchange and aided the dispersal of Portuguese culture while increasing the Iberians' exposure to the culture of the host country.
Miscegenation
The Portuguese voyages were male dominated. The seafaring life was extremely hard and not considered fit for a woman. Unlike the Spanish, who encouraged their colonists to take their wives with them to the New World, and British, who designed their living quarters in India to accommodate nuclear British families, Lisbon did not encourage Portuguese women to go to the East, considering the sea journey and the frontier conditions in the settlements too arduous for ladies. Charles Boxer estimates that only between five and 15 women, mostly orphan girls sent by the Crown, left Lisbon for the colonies each year.
The itinerant trading environment into which the Portuguese inserted themselves in Asia was also a male-dominated affair. Although women in some Asian countries were involved in bartering and other commercial exchanges within their own communities, the travelling merchants were, exclusively male. Muslim traders traditionally travelled with their wives but the Portuguese had to fend for themselves or make arrangements within the local community for whatever comforts they needed when they reached port. UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 21 of 32
Story of the Portuguese Eurasian
In 1636, after more than 80 years of European occupation, there was only one Portuguese woman in Macao and none in the Portuguese settlements in the Moluccas. The Eurasian daughters of the few reinois in the Estado were a valuable commodity in short supply and were quickly married off. The Politica dos Casamentos did result in a number of church- sanctioned marriages but many more Portuguese traders and soldiers chose to cohabit with local women while avoiding the responsibilities and restrictions of monogamy that accompanied an official union.
It was not difficult for Portuguese men to find women with whom to cohabit, and many such liaisons were viewed as business arrangements, with household duties and food preparation forming part of the contract. The result of all these mixed unions was a colonial society characterized by an extraordinary degree of ethnic and cultural diversity.
Many of the people who made their way to the East under the auspices of the Estado merely to escape miserable conditions in Portugal disappeared from the official roll call of the empire and fanned out across Asia in a variety of independent roles. Others worked a passage to Goa and then hired themselves out to any master looking for men. In his journal Albuquerque noted that the Portuguese were moving about freely all over India.
The Portuguese, pragmatic opportunists, provided "gunners to the Mughals, pilots for the Chinese, galley commanders for the ruler of Arakan and constructed men-of-war for the Sultan of Atjeh," writes Geoffrey Scammel. It has been estimated that over 1,000 Luso- Asian 'political adventurers' were employed by Asian kingdoms and sultanates in Southeast Asia. Many others became plain old pirates.
While soldiers in the pay of the Estado were unmarried, many of the mercenaries who made a career in Asia married or cohabited with local women and gave rise to a Portuguese- Eurasian population. These Portuguese adventurers, who lived among the local populations, were called lancados (launched, jettisoned or thrown).
The unofficial Portuguese settlements were known as bandeis, meaning a quarter near the harbor occupied by people of one race. A suburb of modern Calcutta, where a community of Catholic Eurasians resides, is still known as bandel. In the late 1500's there were some 100 Portuguese families in the Cambaia (Gujarat) bandel and an estimated 2,000 Portuguese living in numerous bandeis dotted around the Bay of Bengal. There were Portuguese settlements at Pattani, Tenasserim and Junk Ceylon (Phuket) in Thailand, as well as in Pegu.
The populations of the bandeis were increased by the immigration of native Christian converts from other parts of the region who sought the protection of a Portuguese settlement. Because of the vast ocean distances separating the Asian outposts, it was not possible for Goa to exert effective control over the Portuguese colonies, let alone the de facto Portuguese settlements. The bandel societies developed as enclaves of Iberianism influenced with widely divergent local cultures.
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 22 of 32
Story of the Portuguese Eurasian
Many of the Portuguese merchants in the East were New Christians fleeing the horrors of the Inquisition. A converso named James de Pavia controlled a sizeable portion of India's diamond trade. It has been estimated that by 1600, conversos were handling 70 to 90 percent of the private Carreira da India trade.
Portuguese traders grew fabulously wealthy as other European powers tried to make their own inroads into Asia. The creaking holds of the Portuguese vessels returning to Lisbon were filled with gold, precious stones, porcelain, scented woods, silks, drugs, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and other spices.
The Portuguese were followed into the region by the Dutch and the English, who routed them from all their strongholds, except for Macao and Goa and the small enclaves at Timor, Damao and Diu. Over time, however, Portuguese merchants and businessmen had become deeply entrenched in the economic life of the region. They acted as middle-men to the Portuguese settlements, as well as other port cities, and as providers of trade goods for the long-haul shipping trade between Lisbon and China. While the Portuguese military and ecclesiastical personnel were forced to leave when rival European powers entered the region, these non-official merchants provided a valuable service to the new colonizers and were able to continue to do business. Their ongoing presence in the region contributed to the continuity of Portuguese influence on local communities.
In 1669, 20 years after the Dutch took control of Malacca, they were outnumbered in their colony by the 2,000 Catholic Eurasians who were still living in the city. The Dutch relied heavily on them as interpreters and intermediaries and many took Portuguese Eurasian wives. During the second half of the seventeenth century, as Chinese and Malay traders gradually edged them out, many of the Portuguese merchants gravitated to the colonies in Goa and Macao but others stayed on, conducting business alongside indigenous traders well into the mid-eighteenth century.
By the end of the seventeenth century, the takeover by other European powers extinguished the Portuguese administration of the Estado da India, but did not result in the wholesale destruction of the Portuguese communities in the region. Those who could not afford to relocate to the remaining Portuguese territories, or who had married locally and did not wish to leave, stayed behind and were assimilated, with varying degrees of success, into the mixed-race colonial European societies. Portuguese Jewish traders, for example, were used by the British as envoys in their efforts to expand trading relationships in the region and continued to enjoy a prosperous existence. For the majority of the Luso-Asians in the region, however, life in the bandeis after the collapse of the Estado was "a story of adaptation and survival".
The cultural legacy of the Portuguese in Asia is not limited to their former colonies but spread across the entire region. The extent of Portuguese cultural contact and Iberian influences were carried beyond the official borders of the empire by the many independent Portuguese agents operating in the region without official recognition. Professor George D. Winius coined the term 'Shadow Empire' to describe the ex-officio Portuguese population of the Estado da India, which was large and widely dispersed across the region.
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 23 of 32
Story of the Portuguese Eurasian
Adaptability, mobility and resiliency were the characteristic traits of this community, which existed well into the eighteenth century and whose descendants are still found scattered all over Asia.
Inevitably, these Luso-Asian societies were exposed, over extended periods of time, to the forces of assimilation. In many instances, it was in the mesticos interest to blend into the societies in which they made their living. The Eurasian population of Singapore, for example, includes many of Portuguese descent who, like the Peranakan Chinese, moved there from Malacca in search of new economic opportunities. Without declaring themselves as members of a distinct ethnic group, many Luso-Asians achieved prominence in the economic and political life of Singapore. This pattern was repeated in many places that had at one time or another attracted the interest of the Portuguese. By the eighteenth century, in many parts of Asia, the Portuguese had become part of indigenous society, adopting local dress, customs and cuisine.
A Continuing Iberian Legacy
Iberian class consciousness was exported to the overseas territories and there too became a defining element of social life and community. Notions of class divisions in the colonies were complicated by the overwhelming prevalence of mixed marriages. In Luso-Asian society, gradations of skin color were a fairly good indicator of social acceptance. People with the darkest skin made up the lowest class, fairer skin the highest. With their highly mixed ancestry, the Luso-Asians came in every shade of color.
Adding to the complexity of social divisions was the fact that, unlike in Portugal, where membership of the upper class was achieved almost exclusively by way of family lineage, in the Asian territories, nobility could be achieved through mercantile endeavor. State policy encouraged Estado personnel at all levels of society to become traders. The ability of anyone to amass sufficient wealth to buy into the lifestyle of the nobility, led to the Luso-Asian merchant being called afidalgo, a "son of someone."
As a result of these confluent forces, Luso-Asian societies became characterized by a multi-tiered class system that attempted to incorporate a person's occupation as well as variables of skin color, religion, family lineage, birth country and a whole range of indefinables that constituted a person's "degree of Portugueseness."
Dining in a Gilded Age
During the height of the Portuguese empire in the second half of the sixteenth century, the Estado's administrators amassed great fortunes from their own trading activities and levies on the trade of others. The Catholic Church officials also had enormous wealth at their disposal. A few powerful Luso-Asian families, forged links with trading magnates from all over the region, headed the Portuguese merchant communities. This elite group of clerics, administrators and traders formed the core of a glamorous colonial society.
Luso-Asians tended to marry within their own community and in the European fashion, lived in nuclear family groups. Catholic families were typically large and their houses, built to accommodate a dozen or so children, servants and perhaps a couple of aunts and UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 24 of 32
Story of the Portuguese Eurasian a grandmother. Preparation of food and meals occupied a significant portion of the day for the household staff, the majority of whom were non-Europeans. Most Luso-Asian households could afford to hire domestic help and the grander houses maintained a retinue of slaves, cooks, maids, amahs, gardeners and houseboys, who dealt with the daily tasks of running the house.
The Portuguese were supremely status conscious but were not snobs. The abundance of food with which the wealthy Luso-Asians confirmed their place in society was never wasted. The Portuguese tradition of hospitality was ingrained and everyone in or around a Luso-Asian household was fed. The rich fidalgos were generous in inviting their less fortunate countrymen to the table. Leftovers were divided among the servants or distributed to the poor.
In Macao, where the climate was temperate, the principal meal was taken around noon. It was planned by the lady of the house and executed by her Chinese or perhaps African cooks. Consisting of three or four courses, it was a cosmopolitan meal drawing on the culinary heritage of many nations. Some dishes were eaten with chopsticks, others with a knife and fork. The meal always focused on the health of the diners and only the freshest seasonal ingredients were used
Cha Gordo
(Edtor’s Note: I could not resist the temptation to reprint this description of our beloved Cha Gordo in its entirety. If this doesn’t make your mouth water, I don’t know what will. Enjoy!)
“In the grand houses of colonial-era Macao, a tradition known as Cha Gordo ('Fat Tea') evolved. Its origins are obscure but the meal is a hybrid, combining elements of Iberian merenda (a mid-morning or afternoon snack), Chinese Yam Ch'a, British High Tea, Anglo- Indian tiffin and the Tok Panjang (Long Table) of Malacca's Peranakan community. Over time Cha Gordo has established itself as the signature celebratory meal of the Macanese, a repast that has been as "the supreme celebration of Macao's European and Asian ethnic cultural integration.
Hospitality is a time-honored tradition among the Portuguese, born of their history of economic hardship, large social families and sense of responsibility for the less fortunate. Visitors to a Portuguese home, whether invited or unexpected, are plied with food and drink. In humble households, whatever the host has, even if it means the entire contents of the larder, is willingly and joyfully shared with guests.
In well-to-do Portuguese-Eurasian society, the frugal generosity of a peasant culture blossomed into a tradition of lavish entertaining that reached its apogee in Cha Gordo. Served after sunset, a traditional Cha Gordo involved a diverse array of sweet and savory dishes, including English roast meats, pates and pies, poultry, Dutch meatballs, hot Portuguese soups and salt cod dishes, cakes, and puddings, and exotica such as curried crab with quails' eggs, duck cooked in its blood and pig's ear with papaya salad. Dishes with names such as turnip and yam bebinca, arroz bacalhau (rice with salt cod), caril peixe (Goan fish curry), batatada (potato cake), cheese-broas de Macau (Macanese cheese breads), chilicotes frito (fried turnovers), torta de coco (chocolate cake), porco balichao tamarinho UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 25 of 32
Story of the Portuguese Eurasian
(pork with prawn pickle and tamarind), chamusas (samosas) and onde-onde (Javanese- inspired sweets), attest to the eccentric, multinational nature of the Cha Gordo menu. This multicultural repast, frequently including 20 or more dishes, was accompanied by fragrant Chinese jasmine tea, stronger Indian teas, and English favorites such as Earl Grey and Lapsang Souchong, served in the European fashion with milk, or Chinese-style, without. Port, brandy, wines and a variety of potent tropical punches and cocktails helped to ensure the buoyant mood of conspicuous, exuberant and convivial consumption.
Cha Gordo exemplified the processes of culinary creolization that lay at the heart of Luso- Asian cuisine. Although everyday meals in Macanese houses were served in the European style with places set for each person at the table, the Chinese belief that partaking of individual servings is a 'cold' way of eating with friends, dictated that Cha Gordo be served as a buffet. Dishes were arrayed on a long European table, rather than the round one used in Chinese homes. After giving a nod to the Kitchen God to ensure the auspiciousness of the occasion, the Macanese hostess announced the beginning of Cha Gordo with Catholic grace and an invitation to eat.
The Peranakan Tok Panjang was a highly formal affair. Diners ate in shifts (according to their rank as honored guests), savoring each dish separately in recognition of the hostesses' culinary skills. The Macanese had none of the Chinese formality or Malay reserve, and Cha Gordo was a cultural mayhem. Guests crowded around the table, helping themselves to umchinho ('a little bit') of this and umchinho of that. Rice might be eaten with a fork, a steak with chopsticks and some little foods like apa bicos (steamed rice flour dumplings filled with pork and vegetables) and chamucas (Macanese samosas) with the fingers of the right hand. In the Chinese fashion, guests placed the tastiest morsels on the plates of their social superiors before taking some themselves. The meal wasn't over until everyone was full.
Every Macanese is familiar with this celebratory meal. In Macao it was regularly served until the mid-twentieth century. In all the Portuguese Asian colonies, however, at different times and in different circumstances, the era of large households ended, and with it went the grand repast that was Cha Gordo. The colonial 'upstairs/ downstairs' approach to food preparation and service declined and a more egalitarian, vernacular cuisine emerged. In the Macanese diaspora today, Cha Gordo is rarely served in private homes but survives as a feast meal served at weddings and birthdays, the conclusion of meetings, agreement signings and other business and community events. The work of preparing the many dishes is typically divided among participating households as the age of domestic staff has passed and few commercial caterers are familiar with traditional Macanese cooking.
History, geography, cooking and ritual come together in this eccentric and exotic meal. A Luso-Asian smorgasbord that draws on a kaleidoscope of culinary influences, Cha Gordo has no equivalent in Portugal or anywhere else. It is unique to Macao and is uniquely Macanese, celebrating the Iberian tradition of hospitality in a style that encapsulates all the pomp and peculiarity of the Portuguese empire. If meal is viewed as metaphor, Cha Gordo is a perfect representation of the processes of culinary creolization that lie at the heart of Luso-Asian gastronomic culture and cuisine. “
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 26 of 32
Story of the Portuguese Eurasian
Women: The Agents of tradition, Culture & Culinary Change
Women played a central role in the development and preservation of Luso-Asian cuisine, culture and traditions. In the absence of Portuguese women, indigenous and Luso-Asian women in the Portuguese settlements filled the roles of servants, wives, concubines, mothers, and in the Portuguese tradition, food vendors and tradeswomen. Over time, their lowly status evolved into positions of power, so much so that LusoAsian women became the de facto heads of households with influence that extended well beyond the domestic sphere. Pride in self and an inherited tradition of generous Iberian hospitality encouraged the development and refinement of culinary skills that have been passed on, surviving, remarkably, for more than five centuries.
The Luso-Asian women provided an essential framework for the Estado, giving birth to and raising its citizens, running its households and supporting the men who controlled its political and economic fortunes. As Paramita Abdurachman writes: "These women have become people without faces, known only in documents as 'mulheres'."
A true Catholic marriage (casamento verdadeiro), however established the monogamous nuclear family relationship as the basic structural element of the Luso-Asian household. In Macao, in the Chinese tradition, Luso-Asian women were usually involved in the family's financial affairs and was an influential force in Luso-Asia society. Marriage to a Luso- Chinese woman greatly improved the business prospects of Portuguese men in the colony. It has been suggested that one of the reasons for the success of the Portuguese traders in Japan was that so many of them had Japanese wives.
The shift in power relationship between Portuguese men and their indigenous wives was summed up eloquently by George Remedios in “Maquista Alphabet Book” Lusitano Bulletin (2005), when he described the Macanese man, who in the glory days of the Estado "did business, wheeled and dealed, and fought pirates," reduced to a figure useful only for bringing home the "pao e manteiga, arroz e balichao" (bread and butter, rice and shrimp paste). Meanwhile, the Macanese wife had become:
"the preserver of Macanese culture, the arbiter of refinement, the mediator of good taste, the intercessor of maneira (manners) and boa educacao (good education), the exterminator of asneira (stupidity), the terminator of boborisa (foolishness), the cozinheira (cook) of Macanese food and the advocate of all things Macanese."
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 27 of 32
Rembrandts Night Watch Comes to Life
Al Guterres, our member from Down Under, forwarded me the link to the Recreation of the Rembrandt Painting “The Night Watch” in a shopping Mall in Holland.
The Rijksmuseum museum in Holland had an idea: Let's bring the art to the people and then, hopefully, they will come to see more at the museum.
They took one Rembrandt painting from 1642, “The Night Watch,” and brought to life the characters in it, placed them in a busy mall and the rest you can see for yourself!
You can enjoy this experience.
1. Go to your browser and type in Rembrandt, The Night Watch. 2. Look for Flashmob recreates Rembrandt Painting the Night Watch-YouTube. 3. Click on it and enjoy.
Would it surprise you to learn the title of Rembrandt’s most famous painting is actually incorrect? The so-called Night Watch is not a night scene at all; it actually takes place during the day. This title, which was not given by the artist, was first applied at the end of the 18th century. By that time the painting had darkened considerably through the accumulation of many layers of dirt and varnish, giving the appearance that the event takes place at night. A more accurate title, one that is in keeping with the naming of other contemporary portraits of this type is the “Officers and Men of the Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Wilhelm van Ruytenburgh.”
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 28 of 32
Recollection of US Forces entering Shaghai by Francis Cruz
Dear Oscar,
Your request for my recollections about the liberating US Forces entering Shanghai during 1945-1949: From my prospective and viewpoint a chronological fete about world events of seventy-six years later; we as Americans are honored to commemorate the military achievements in ending the Second World War.
At the age of nine my family and relatives enjoyed the restoration of the freedom and liberties of the world when Japan and Germany surrendered in 1945. However, just months before, in 1944, on a typical sunny spring afternoon, a classmate invited me to his family's residence at the Broadway Mansion. He wanted to know, if I would be interested in observing from the tallest building at the Bund, the neighborhood and its panoramic view?
Obviously, you know the answer to this child's mind? Its scene would simply be 'Magnificent.' (zhaarchee-Haw', Shanghai dialect or 'Hung-How' in Mandarin). The “Broadway Mansion” was renamed recently to “Shanghai Mansion”, at the junction of Soochow Creek Road and Whangpoo River Road.
Overlooking the old steel Garden Bridge and overshadowing beyond for a mile the curved Bund. The two boys accessible only to the sixteenth-story vantage point on the cliff face of red brick with terraces rising in uneven steps up its sides. In the thirties the Foreign Correspondents' Club occupied the top floors. Much was written about that with drink in their hands, journalists watched from their heights the bombings of Shanghai. During the war the Japanese made it their headquarters after they had conquered the city. Such was the arrogance in behavior of many foreign observers who lived in the Far East through this jaunty era.
Late in 1944, American forces liberated the Philippines and began massive air attacks on Japan. British forces recaptured Burma. In 1945, in spite of heavy casualties, the Americans captured the strategic islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The war ended after atomic bombs were dropped on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, forcing the Japanese to surrender.
During the four long years of war, my parents could no longer spare the expense on weekends to go dancing in any prominent establishments that they frequented in the past; a very popular form of recreation and social grace readily available on Saturday nights.
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 29 of 32
Recollection of US Forces entering Shanghai
Inclusively, groups without exception such as young adults, middle age and also for the seniors just prior to the war was ever so heartily enjoyed.
Especially in ballrooms where the best bands often entertained the steady list of clientele. Suddenly, when war broke out and the ambivalence of dance hall durability became vulnerable. Many of them went bankrupt because customers could no longer afford to support the enterprise that once was a profitable industry.
But, when World War II was declared over in 1945, all the people in Shanghai with the commercial establishments and financial institutions celebrated; truly amazing how quickly the whole region bounced back.
Jubilations seemed to hit everywhere, family members at home delighted at the news and inclined to offer one's own distinctive form of 'Thanksgiving.'
At nine years of age then I could still remember all the relatives and close family friends who expressed similar joy and exhilaration on the occasion! It seemed, like a 'Celebration for Soldiers' fighting in a bitter battle and having just achieved their Victory!!
Unsurprised how quickly the family reemerged from the four warring years -- once, avid moviegoers, soon returned to their favorite theaters patronized before the war. The old Hollywood movie favorites featured in drama, musical, war and comedy returned.
On great screens, new ones rapidly produced by the film industry; moviegoers packed the theaters; and for the first several weeks, the entertainment business thrived well beyond the level of pre-war days. In some instances, patrons turned away due to filled-up seating of the showings, and many were offered pre-paid reserved-tickets for future showings.
I hope these remembrances of those awe-inspiring years help recount something of how it was during that period in my mind.
Best regards, Francis
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 30 of 32
The Infamous Blood Alley 1945. Frisco & Maxim’s Cabaret, t7, & Café, Monk’s Brass Rail or George’s Bar. US Sailors at one of many 15 bars in Blood Alley before the rowdy crowd sets in. by Oscar Collaco
Speaking of a night on the town for an adventurous old Shanghailander, you might wind up in “Blood Alley”, where you went to get as much local color as possible, among the foreign tourists, drunken soldiers and sailors of the armies and navies of all nationalities. A street of notoriety and brawling entertainment.
On this dingy neon-lit strip, flourished more than a dozen boisterous dives, cabarets, and tawdry sailors’ haunts, through which nightly streamed some five to ten thousand seamen, smugglers, crooks, prostitutes, dance hostesses and thrill-seeking tourists. Prior to WWII, there were probably close to forty or more crowded sleazy bars and cabarets. Brawls usually broke out among its rowdy patrons over the favors of one or another of the Russian dance hostesses.
As the Yanks and Brits blackened each other’s eyes with zest, they gamely joined forces, when German, Italian, or French sailors appeared on the scene. The French Concession’s Annamite police were very busy, and so were the military police of the various stationed forces. Most MP’s came to protect their servicemen from harm. The Yanks and the Brits took boxing lessons not only to qualify for appearances in the ring but in order to make good showing in barroom brawls.
Evidently the participants, mostly soldiers and sailors, found it more convenient to settle their differences without hindrance of legal advice. It was Blood Alley that coined the verb “to shanghai”, because so many drunken crewmen were kidnapped from its bars to make up the ship’s complement it needed, to sail.
Men, many of whom were found drunk in ‘Blood Ally’ were forced onto ships, which then set sail, leaving the comatose sailors no choice but to make up the deficient crew numbers when they sobered up.
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 31 of 32
February Social Committee Meeting
UMA News Bulletin PRESORT 5565 Terra Granada Drive # 3A, STD MAIL US POSTAGE PAID Walnut Creek, Ca. 94595 NEWARK, CA PERMIT NO.51
UMA News Bulletin Spring Issue 2017 Page 32 of 32