GUEST BLOGGER
Millicent Borges Accardi
“The Luso-Debate –
What’s In A Name?
Depende!”
In my mind, the world has JUST gotten
used to or is starting to realize that there is a place called Portugal which
is NOT in South America.
And, after a trip to Lisbon in the summer
of 2010 for Disquiet (International Literary Program) (http://disquietinternational.org),
my personal focus has been to spread the word about Portuguese culture, as best
as I can: through poetry, through posts on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MillB), through
book reviews and public readings.
However, there are issues. Starting with,
the name. Does the term Portuguese-American include or exclude?
It is a hard
call to make and one which muddies the waters, but what is the proper name for
what I had previously used as a moniker for myself: Portuguese-American (PA for
short) or Lusophone? Iberian? Or, something else?
Luso-North-American is certainly not as
short and sexy as Portuguese-American. And, unless you are an academic or
consider yourself Luso, you probably don’t know that the term Luso is derived
from the Lusitanians, one of the first Indo-European tribes to settle in
Europe.
So are we Lusitanics? Are we Hispanics?
Still others feel the correct term to describe those of Portuguese descent is
Lusophone. Heck, even the government is confused. The U.S. Department of
Transportation defines Hispanic as, “persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban,
Dominican, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or
origin” but the U.S. Office of Management and Budget excludes Portuguese.
Thus, when I organized a public off-site
reading for the Associated Writing Program’s (AWP) (https://www.awpwriter.org/)
conference in Chicago in March of 2012, I agonized over what to call “us,” this
group of wonderful writers who had bonded together and found each other the summer
of 2010 in Portugal. It was a reading that would technically be the first time
any Luso-esque writers had gathered together during AWP.
As far as the conference, our
announcements appeared in places called Portuguese American Journal, the
Portuguese-American society, The Azorean Nation, Portuguese American Review.
Early on, I tested the waters with the term Luso, and it did not resonate with
a general population. Not one of the 500 members in my online Poetry Group knew
what the heck a “Luso” was.
And, essayist Oona Patrick (http://www.shewrites.com/profile/OonaPatrick) told
me she once posted flyers in Provincetown and had to go around crossing off
Luso and writing in P-O-R-T-U-G-U-E-S-E A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N because the local
Portuguese denizens had no clue about Luso!
The Italian-Americans have this
issue too. With Sicilians versus Italians. And I have never heard the term
Italian-Canadians, but that is my own ignorance I am sure.
As a way to make peace with the issue for
the AWP book fair logo. I went with the simple label of “Portuguese-American
Writers” against the red and green flag of Portugal and the famous o galo de
Barcelos (colorful rooster symbol of Portugal).
However for the public reading,
I adopted both terms, with this title, “Kale Soup for the Soul, Luso-writers
present work about family, food and Portuguese culture.” That description, I
felt would include everyone. Of course with letter scramble “soul” easily
becomes “luso,” a fact that was pointed out to me by my clever husband!
There is a rather large PA population in
Chicago, so we were hoping to attract a non-AWP audience. And, if I listed
everything as American and North American and Canadian and Brazilian and Portuguese
for the Book Fair, I was afraid of scaring off potential customers who would
leap away from our booth like rats on a sinking ship–if our sign was too
erudite, academic and confusing.
The best brands are short and completely
describe the product. Like 7-Up, the un-cola. Seven ingredients, a clear, sweet
bubbly beverage.
I long for THAT level of simplicity.
Now, I also have my own issues with definition
since, technically, my family is from The Azores NOT the mainland. So am I
Azorean-American (not very catchy)? Then there is Angola. Then there is Macau.
Heck, Europeans don’t even use the term
“Hispanic” To them, if you are from Portugal or Spain or Italy or France or
Romania, you are lumped into the “Latin” category. And “Hispania” is just an
ancient name (23 centuries ago) for the Iberian Peninsula, so, essentially,
then, the only true “Hispanics are those from Portugal or Spain?
At any rate, this whole debate is MUCH
larger than me and my opinions.
Perhaps a reason why we
Luso-Portuguese-Azorean-North-Americans are still unknown and isolated IS
related to the whole definition of what and who we are?
In my research on this topic I found MANY
Brazilian sites online and none of them include Portugal. Not the meet-ups or
the film clubs or even the associations. Except for one, bookseller Elena Como
(founder of Atlantico Books) (http://www.atlanticobooks.com) who stocks
Portuguese-Portuguese as well as Brazilian Portuguese books in her online
bookstore and includes those from all Portuguese-Speaking countries in her
blog-posts about Portuguese language activities, such as literary events and
films series, that happen in New York City. Most Brazilian associations and
businesses, concentrate ONLY on Brazil. There does not seem to be much
discussion about whether or not to include poor little Portugal. In fact, since
many people think Portugal is IN Brazil, why bother?
Though, personally, I find Brazil VERY
different. And I have, for most of my life, felt more akin to and closer
related to the Latino(a) culture than Brazilian. In junior high, I was bused
across town because of my Hispanic last name, Borges. And I made fast friends
in that community.
My childhood experiences as a
second-generation Portuguese-American are similar to my Mexican-American and
Cuban friends: Catholic festivals, family picnics, spicy sausages. And since
Portuguese and Spanish are Latin countries, and speak neo-latin languages, does
that make us “Latino.”? My counselor in elementary school pointed out that my
family came from the Iberian Peninsula, which made me Hispanic. So am I
“Iberian”? or “Hispanic” or both? Or neither?
To be sure, created in 1143, Portugal is
one of the oldest countries in the world and technically Spain was part of
Portugal, which really confuses things. Plus, Spain is 450 years younger than
Portugal. And Brazil, like Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, St. Tome, Principe,
Angola and Mozambique; and Macau are former Portuguese colonies.
There was a time when Portugal ruled the
world. We were known as the navigators. Just look at what Magellan accomplished.
So, what to do now, though.
If there were an easy label or brand
which included everyone, I would have used it for the two events at AWP. Also,
I am wary that in America, we seem possessed with the idea of American-made.
American-born. The Good Old US of A. America the Beautiful. People are never
Mexican-North Americans. They are Mexican-American. One hyphen being the
limit.
I don’t know. The term to define us and
its definition are problematic. Like I think it was the poet Carolyn Forche,
who said her grandmother called the colander “the bowl with the holes that
makes the spaghetti go out” presumably because of the lack of a word for
colander in Czech. And, I feel we run the risk of not appealing to anyone if
our description for ourselves is too long and convoluted for deciphering by the
very public we wish to attract and educate about all things literary and
Portuguese.
Heck, it was only after years of
individual self-identification and growth that a group of cultures (Mexican,
Puerto Rican, Spanish) grew together to form Latino(a), a group that I
personally feel very much a part of. But, even THAT is a debate and another
story.
There are many talks to have. In the
meantime, preciso de verdade e da aspirina! Or, I need the truth AND an aspirin.
Photo
Description and Copyright Info
1
Millicent
Borges Accardi facebook logo photo. In
Lisbon.
2
Disquite
web page logo.
3
Map
showing the main pre-Roman tribes in Portugal and their main migrations.
Turduli movement in red, Celtic in brown and Lusitanian in a blue colour. Most
tribes neighbouring the Lusitanians were dependent on them. Names are in Latin.
4
AWP
poster for March of 2012.
5
Oona
Patrick’s webpage logo photo.
6
Millicent
Borges Accardi, left, and poet Lori May (http://www.loriamay.com) at AWP in March
2012 in Chicago.
7
Advertising
poster for “Kale Soup for the Soul, Luso writers present work about family,
food, and Portuguese culture.”
8
7
up logo. Public Domain.
9
Flag
of Portugal, created by Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (1857-1929), officially
adopted by Portuguese government in June 30th 1911 (in use since about November
1910). Public Domain.
10
Elena
Como facebook logo photo (https://www.facebook.com/elena.como)
11
Jacket
cover of Injuring Eternity, published on December 1, 2010 by World
Nouveau (http://www.worldnouveau.com/World_Nouveau/World_Nouveau_Inc..html)
12
Jacket
cover of Woman On A Shaky Bridge, published in 2010 by Finishing Line
Press (http://finishinglinepress.com)
13
Carolyn
Forche announcing the five 2010 National Book
Critics Circle finalists in poetry on January 22, 2011. Attributed to David Shankbone. CCA3.0UNP
14
Millicent Borges
Accardi. Web
No comments:
Post a Comment