The Regional Director for Communities stated in Florianópolis, Brazil, that the celebrations of the 270th anniversary of the Azorean presence in Santa Catarina "a source of great pride for the Azorean People."
 
"27 decades after this day - precisely today - when the first Azoreans set foot in Santa Catarina - the feeling of belonging to the Azores is so intense. This event is indisputably part of our history as Region and as People that has made an important contribution to the development of the State of Santa Catarina," stressed Paulo Teves. He spoke Thursday at the opening session of the "Year of the Azores in Florianópolis" at the City Council of the state capital.
 
For the Regional Director, this acknowledgement promoted by Florianópolis City Council "represents the willingness to honour the past and perpetuate, in the future, the emotional ties between Florianópolis and the Autonomous Region of the Azores."
 
"The importance of various generations that have been living here intensifies and strengthens the value of the Azores," said Paulo Teves. According to him, "it would not be possible at all to be here today if not for the contribution of several municipalities and entities, the strength of the Azorean communities and the support of the Azores in maintaining the history of the Azorean people in this state."
 
The Regional Director for Communities stressed that "the persistent demand for roots has strengthened the emotional ties between the Azores and southern Brazil, which have not grown weak after more than two and half centuries, but have rather strengthened."
 
Paulo Teves pointed out that this "centuries-old relation has deserved the recognition of various entities." According to him, the fact that more than a dozen municipalities in the State of Santa Catarina declared 2018 as the "Year of the Azores" is "an undeniable example of the pride in their Azorean origins and the commitment to pass on the inherited legacy to future generations."
 
The opening session of the "Year of the Azores in Florianópolis" was presided over by Mayor Guilherme Pereira. The event was attended by several personalities from the city and State: Gean Marques Loureiro, Mayor of Florianópolis, the presidents of the House of the Azores of Santa Catarina, Sérgio Ferreira, a member of the Centre for Azorean Studies of the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Francisco do Vale Pereira, a member of the Municipal Film Fund, Marcelo Seixas, a member of Historical and Geographical Institute of Santa Catarina, Augusto Zeferino, and the superintendent of the Franklin Cascaes Foundation, Roseli Pereira, among others.
 
At the end of the session, a plaque marking the 270th anniversary of the arrival of the first 461 Azoreans in Santa Catarina on February 22, 1748 was unveiled at Rua dos Ilhéus. The event was followed by a parade to the Public Market in the capital of Santa Catarina that included the participation of several Holy Spirit brotherhoods from the State, artisans, and the Musical and Folk Dance Group of the House of the Azores of Santa Catarina, among other guests.
 
The photography exhibition entitled "Azores" was opened at the Art Gallery of Florianópolis Public Market and runs until March 9, travelling afterwards to other municipalities. It depicts landscapes from the nine islands of the archipelago as well as pieces that identify the existing cultural heritage in the State of Santa Catarina brought by the Azorean settlers
 
As part of his visit to Brazil, the Regional Director for Communities participates today in the meeting of the Board of the Centre for Azorean Studies at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in the city of Porto Belo, where he will deliver a speech on the Azores and the Diaspora. He will also attend the launch of the book entitled "Penha – Relicário do Divino" by Maria do Carmo Ramos Krieger in the city of Penha.