Hello: I love Portugal. It
is interesting how we go through life and once in a while
we meet someone who has his or her heart and soul in the
culture that we grew up in. Some immigrants reject their
past while others never leave their past. But for Bill
Gouveia, this is not the case. He is a man that treasures
his past, his Portuguese heritage. At the same time he
participates in the present as the Honorary Portuguese
Council in Waterbury, Connecticut and is a successful
attorney in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
I see Mr. Gouveia (Bill) as a man who treasures life. He is
a decent human being and will go out of his way to help
someone in need. He is a family man with deep routes to his
Portuguese past.
I hope you enjoy the interview. Have a good day.
By Dr.
António Simões (Tonito)
Simões: Thank you Mr. Gouveia for letting me meet with you.
It is important that we have a conversation about our
heritage and our experiences. My first question is what do
you remember as a child, about Portugal?
Gouveia: I remember my childhood and I enjoyed it very
much. I lived in a small community where everyone knew each
other and every one took care of each other in time of
need. We shared joy as we shared each other’s problems. We
all lived as an extended family.
Simões: How old were you when you came to the United
States?
Gouveia: I was 13 years old.
Simões:
What was the first thing you remember when you got
here?
Gouveia: The first thing I remember were two things. When
we got to JFK there was no one there to pick us up. Three
days before we left Portugal my father send a telegram. We
found out after that the telegram got to the United States
two or three days later after we arrived. We had to call
the family to pick us up. My father was very restless. When
we stepped out of the airport we saw Cadillacs Cheveys and
they had wings. My father said:” Oh my God in America cars
have wings and they can fly!”
Simões: That was one thing. What was the other
thing?
Gouveia: The other thing was that my dad needed to go to
the bathroom. We did not know how to speak English so I
tried to speak in French and no one understood me. Someone
pointed to us in a certain direction. We saw this humangas
man carrying a suitcase on his shoulder. I got so scared.
It seemed that he was twice as big as my father. I just got
scared. I was not use seeing people this large.
Simões: Do you remember your first day at
school?
Gouveia: Yes. I remember it so well. My cousin Bill took me
to Columbus School. Then he said to me: “Tomorrow you come
here.” He pointed at the bench and again said, “Tomorrow
you come here.” So the next day I went to school and sat on
the bench. I believe someone called for another Portuguese
student to pick me up. I sat there waiting until a little
girl showed up and asked: “Are you Portuguese?” and I said:
“Yes.” She said: “Follow me.” So she took me to the
homeroom. I believe it was on April 6. The teacher pointed
to me to sit at a desk and I did. It was difficult. I
started crying. I could not understand anything that anyone
said. In that room there were three Portuguese students
which two of them I am still in contact with. One is now a
medical doctor, Dr. Fereira. She is a pediatrician. I
remember I followed three or four steps behind her like a
dog. It is still very vivid in my mind.
Simões: Did you ever think of returning to
Portugal?
Gouveia: No, no, no. My life is here. Here is where I went
to school. It is where I work. My parents were also happy
here. They were doing well here, even though they were
working in factories. Although they did not have the
independence that they had in Portugal, at the end of the
week they brought home a check to support the family. In
Portugal sometimes they made money and other times they did
not. It was a good thing to come to America.
Simões: Let me ask you this. Did you ever want to continue
to study or even go to law school?
Gouveia: At that time immigration was very different than
it is today. Most of the immigrant children at the age of
16 went to work. At that time they were buying Camaros and
Trans Ams or Novas, all muscle cars. Everybody wanted to
show off. So they would buy these cars. At Central High
School we use to gather as a group and walk around. I was
the only one in the group that was interested in the books.
Most of my friends thought they could get by without
studying. The kids use to call me “professor.” They use to
tease me. When I graduated from high school only two of us
went to college. One went to the armed services and the
rest went to work in the factories. Let me tell you
something. A lot of them were dedicated hard working. Many
became bosses even if they did not have a lot of education.
Their perseverance, their resourcefulness, made some go to
school at night in their twenties. In other words they were
all successful.
Simões: Let me say something. I see you as Bill Gouveia, a
man dedicated from the heart. Does this go back from your
childhood or is that just you?
Gouveia: I’m not really sure António. I enjoy
“Portugueseness.” Our culture is rich. Our people are
wonderful people. I enjoy to participate. I enjoy the
jokes. I enjoy the people. This is the life that I live. It
is not different than it was back in the old times, like
after dinner playing cards with the next door neighbor or
talking by the ”lareira.” It’s very nice. You meet nice
people. Life is to be lived.
Simões: It is interesting that you say that. In some of the
academic literature it states that we are caught between
two worlds. I’m not sure if we are caught between the
American and the Portuguese society.
Gouveia: I think it may happen sometimes in my life, but it
does not matter. I am who I am. I do not need to prove to
the American community that I am Portuguese or vice versa.
I spend most of my time among Portuguese people. That is
because I enjoy it. It gives me serenity. I don’t think it
could be any other way. Participating and being among the
Portuguese is being part of me. If I did not do this there
would be something seriously lacking in my life.
Simões: I feel like that also. Our parents are part of our
inner essence. I am sure your parents were very proud of
you. Like for you your parents thought “my son the lawyer,”
or for me my parents thought “my son the professor,” and
all that.
Gouveia: I pursued education because of my mom. My mom came
from a family of poor people. My maternal grandmother
respected education. My grandmother started her life being
a servant in Lisbon where she met my grandfather. She is
from Beira Alta. My grandfather was in the military. They
fell in love and got married. My grandfather died very
early after they had children. My grandmother made a point
to educate all the children which was very difficult at
that time. She had a daughter that became a teacher. At
that time that was a big deal. We are talking 70 years ago,
maybe 60 years ago. For my Mom, that was very important. My
mom wanted me to grow up to be a “man.” For my Mom, a “man”
was to be an educated person. She thought a “man” was like
“Tio Zeca.” “Tio Zeca” was my father’s oldest brother who
became a Supreme Court Judge in Portugal. At that time
education was very difficult. On my mother’s side her aunt
became an elementary school teacher and my uncle became a
judge. My role model was always “Tio Zeca.” I should always
be like “Tio Zeca.” To my Mom, a man was one who could
think; who could make decisions and live a day-to-day-life.
Simões: Let me ask a very personal question. Here you are
in the morning and you look in the mirror and you think to
yourself: “Hmm, here I am Bill Gouveia, an Honorary Consul
of Portugal in Waterbury and a successful lawyer. I have a
beautiful family and I am Portuguese-American. Do you ever
think that this is great? I am a son of an immigrant. I
struggled to get here. Do you want to say anything about
that?
Gouveia: António, It is like this. You think about who you
are and where you have been. You do not know where you will
be, although you try to live a clean life and keep on
working to establish your future. You look back and say,
“What a nice ride.” Think of that. Think of our culture. My
father had a third grade education, but made a million out
of a horse, a wagon, a plow and a “charrua.” He had his own
property. That was successful. Some people had to work for
others. I came from a very modest line, very humble
beginnings. What ever I had was so nice. I had a nice
family. The children seemed to be doing well. They seemed
to be happy. They were likable people, played sports. My
wife and I get along. I make a decent living here. I work
for myself. That means you have to put up with time
schedules. All in all it has been a very nice ride.
Simões: Here is my last question. I know you have children
like I have children. I see this “nice ride” as the last
link that you have and talked about in terms of being
Portuguese-American or participating in the Portuguese
society. Do you see your children as the last link? I also
see my grandchildren very much American. I say that is
okay. Do you feel sad about that?
Gouveia. No. People evolve and move on. Our children are
individuals as I am. I made meaning in my life in a certain
direction. They will hopefully find as much meaning
whatever direction they want to go. They are young. When
they become adults they should live as good citizens. They
will contribute to society in the way they find themselves
in the future. I don’t think I should dominate them or
control them to be Portuguese. It just so happens that
every one of them thinks of themselves as Portuguese. I am
not sure what that means to them, but they are proud of
their heritage.
Simões: This is really the last question. Anything do you
want to say about yourself or the community? Did I miss any
question that you would like me to ask
you?
Gouveia: No, António. There is very little more for me to
offer. I think our community is going in the right
direction. We are moving away from immigration. There is no
more immigration. The first generation needs to remember
that the fundamental is the need for education. Education
does not necessarily bring wealth. It helps you to
understand. It helps you through life. Generally speaking I
think our first generation here in the United States is
beginning to get educated. They need to identify to
professionals where it all starts from education. If I need
a psychiatrist, perhaps there is a Portuguese-American
psychiatrist that might identify with my problems instead
of someone else who is totally oblivious to my needs. We
need the lawyers. We need the doctors. We need the
education. We need people who identify with ourselves and
understand us. One time someone ask me if I believe in the
judicial system, the jury system. I said: “I do.” The
person attempted to make me look at little silly. Here is
my example. If a group of Portuguese are drinking wine,
eating sardines, to a next door neighbor that may look like
disorderly conduct. But there is nothing disorderly about
that. As a matter of fact it is very cultural and it is
very friendly. It is a gathering to enjoy the friendship.
Yet people from outside our culture may think that
something wrong is going on. This is how our culture
becomes important. If a judge does not know our culture, he
or she may think that I am a drunk, out of order and
disturbing the peace. But I am not out of order and I am
not disturbing the peace. I am enjoying friendship.
Simões: Thank you very much Bill. You always give your
heart and soul to our community.
Thank you
again, “muito obrigado”