Urbano, Prereirada da Silva, male, 19
English student, electrician
Azores-born, Portuguese-speaking
Terciera, Azores
Oct. 2, 2001
English student, electrician
Azores-born, Portuguese-speaking
Terciera, Azores
Oct. 2, 2001
Todos as dias vão a feria menos o Sábado e o Domingo.
(Todosh osh dias vanyo a feria menosh o Sabado ee oh Domingo.)
[all the days go to for buying without except Saturday and also Sunday]
Every day is for shopping except Saturday and except Sunday.
“My uncle in Flores said it to me when I was four or six years old, because I was jumping on the bed,” said Urbano, my flatmate on Terciera Island in the Azores, Portugal. Urbano is studying English, and also studying to be an electrician, he is from one of the distant outer islands, Flores. His address is Rua do Quartiero, P. Delgada 9970, Santa Cruz, Flores, Azores.
The Azores, in the mid-Atlantic Ocean are very isolated, the islands spread over a 400-mile radius. They are warmed by the African gulf current, and are actively volcanic. There is an isolation that modern technology has done little to erase as there are only two satellite channels. However many are connected by a cell phone, a program subsidized by the government. As a result of isolated island living, the people are gregarious and helpful, if conservative. And many old customs are well preserved, some dating back as much as 500 years, when the Portuguese first settled there.
When I asked Urbano what he thought the proverb meant, he said that his behavior wasn’t appropriate (it must have been on a weekend). Saturday and Sunday are a very quiet day in the Azores, with everything closed up. In fact, it’s very hard to shop in the Azores as most business don’t open until ten, and then there’s the noon to three PM siesta, and most shops close by five or six PM. Some places may open after dinner, but don’t count on it.
“My uncle in Flores said it to me when I was four or six years old, because I was jumping on the bed,” said Urbano, my flatmate on Terciera Island in the Azores, Portugal. Urbano is studying English, and also studying to be an electrician, he is from one of the distant outer islands, Flores. His address is Rua do Quartiero, P. Delgada 9970, Santa Cruz, Flores, Azores.
The Azores, in the mid-Atlantic Ocean are very isolated, the islands spread over a 400-mile radius. They are warmed by the African gulf current, and are actively volcanic. There is an isolation that modern technology has done little to erase as there are only two satellite channels. However many are connected by a cell phone, a program subsidized by the government. As a result of isolated island living, the people are gregarious and helpful, if conservative. And many old customs are well preserved, some dating back as much as 500 years, when the Portuguese first settled there.
When I asked Urbano what he thought the proverb meant, he said that his behavior wasn’t appropriate (it must have been on a weekend). Saturday and Sunday are a very quiet day in the Azores, with everything closed up. In fact, it’s very hard to shop in the Azores as most business don’t open until ten, and then there’s the noon to three PM siesta, and most shops close by five or six PM. Some places may open after dinner, but don’t count on it.
UC Berkeley Folklore Collections
Kroeber Hall, Dr. Alan Dundes
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