Celebrating Culture & Community is putting together interviews of 25 El Cerrito residents, a project aimed at showing the diverse communities that have contributed to the city's history.

The interviews have been made possible largely through support from the California Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information about Celebrating Culture & Community , contact Eve Ma at 236-3255 or ccandc_97@yahoo.com

Following is one of those interviews:

INTERVIEW with José Freitas                          Interviewer:  Eve A. Ma (Dr. L. Eve Armentrout Ma, Esq.)

DATE:  April  21 2000                                       Location:  at his home in El Cerrito

Question:  How long have you been in El Cerrito?

Answer:  About 10 years.  Before that, I was in New York for two years.  El Cerrito is much better—the weather, the [lack of] filthiness and crowds, the location, everything.  I was in Brazil before that, in Minas Gerais.

Question:  How do you feel about the city of El Cerrito?

Answer:  I like El Cerrito very much.  It’s quiet, mostly residential, very safe.  It’s a good city of live in.  It’s central to Oakland, Concord, San Francisco, Pinole.

Question:  How did you come to move here?

Answer:  By chance.  In New York City, I met someone who knew someone who lived in Richmond.  I went to Richmond, but didn’t like it and so I chose El Cerrito.

Question:  Do you work in El Cerrito? Answer:  I work in San Francisco. 

Question:  When you go out, do you go for amusement to places in El  Cerrito?

Answer:  There’s no place for amusement.  To make El  Cerrito even better, you need more entertainment.  This would generate revenue and attract more people;  nothing wild, but something for your people to go to and have fun.  Most things are in Oakland and San Francisco.  I used to go to Porto Brazil when it was open in Kensington.

Question: Do you go to church in El Cerrito, or do your shopping in El Cerrito?

Answer:  Yes, I go to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in El Cerrito.  I do some shopping in El Cerrito, at Kragen’s, Target, supermarkets, but there are not many options so mostly I shop in Richmond (at Hilltop Mall) or San Francisco for things like clothing.

Question:  Tell me about the Brazilian community in this area.  When did Brazilians first start settling here? 

Answer:  I don’t know the exact size of the Brazilian community.  People are coming and going.  Before we started the community in the church, there was not much unity.  Not even the consulate knew how many Brazilians were living here, but in fact, there are Brazilians everywhere.  When I got here in 1990, there was already quite a few Brazilians already here.  We started the community in St. John’s Church in 1998.  We have weekly masses in Portuguese every Sunday at 5:00pm.  We also hold English classes, catechisms for children and adults, and have several ministries within the church (communications, festivals, choir, etc.).

Question:  What attracted Brazilians to this area?

Answer:  Other Brazilians living here.  Most of the people have been coming from the same region in Brazil.  In El Cerrito, most of the Brazilians come from Goias but in New York, it’s mostly people from Minas;  but there are also Brazilians in El Cerrito from other regions [not just Goias].

Question:  Are there many Brazilian-owned businesses in the area?

Answer:  In Berkeley, there’s Ninos Pizza, and Rosana Brito [who used to own Porto Brazil in Kensington] has opened S.F. Pizza in Richmond on MacDonald near FoodsCo.  And there’s another pizza place, Mr. Pizza Man, off MacDonald on 24^th St.   Brazil Today [the newspaper] is still in existence, but it's not too popular.  It’s the only local Brazilian paper.  It’s expensive, and the ads are too expensive;  that’s why it’s not so popular.  There are also two travel agencies owned by  Brazilians—1 is Santini Tours in Berkeley, and one is Tropical Travel in Oakland

Question:  Do Brazilians feel comfortable here?

Answer:  Yes, we feel comfortable, but most live in Richmond because its cheaper.  St. John’s is the only church in this area that has a Brazilian Portuguese mass other than in San Jose.  The Brazilians who live in Richmond also mostly come from Goias.

Question:  Are there any special Brazilian celebrations that you celebrate here?  What are the most important family celebrations?

Answer:  For special celebrations, we have the June festival, the Festa Junina (which celebrates the saints St. Anthony and St. Peter).  The actual day is June 24 but this year, we will celebrate it on June 10 so we don’t conflict with the big St. John’s celebration;  they are celebrating their 75^th anniversary on June 24.  For the celebration, we have country dance and music, food and [traditional] clothing.  In Brazil, it [this event] is mostly celebrated in the countryside.  For other celebrations, there is Our Lady of Aparecida, our patron saint, whose celebration is on October 12.  In these two celebrations, we will involve all the church community.  We also have celebrations within the community, within the Brazilian congregation, almost every week.

Another Brazilian-owned business is Santini Tours.  The owner was thinking of bringing carnaval to the East Bay.  He hasn’t yet, but may some time in the future.

As for family celebrations, the most important are anniversaries, mother’s day, father’s day, children’s day (which is the same day as Our Lady’s day, October 12), grandmother’s day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving day (which we don’t celebrate in Brazil but do in the United States;   it’s a North American celebration), and Valentine’s Day (which is on a different day in Brazil, but in the U.S., we celebrate it on the North American day).

Question:  If you had a magic wand, what would you change about El Cerrito?

Answer:  I’d like there to be more to do—more entertainment.  And also, I’d like it if the police were more friendly, not so rude.  In a quiet community like this, they shouldn’t be rude.  Also, I’d like more restaurants.  This is a diverse community, but you don’t have a lot of different kinds of restaurants.

Question:  What do you like best about El Cerrito?

Answer:  It’s quiet, safe, clean, centrally located, near the freeway (but the traffic on the freeway is bad), accessible to shopping and to BART.

Question:  Is there any question I should have asked that I didn’t?

Answer: Yes—Why did we start the Brazilian community in the church?  Two of us started, are involved in running, it:  me and Magda Gomes.  We started it because there were so many Brazilians around.  Most are Catholics, but many who arrived became Protestants because a lot of the Brazilians don’t speak English and there is a church next door to St. John’s, a Protestant church, which has a Brazilian pastor—so people were going there.  So—I arranged for St. John’s to have a mass in Portuguese.  We met with a Brazilian priest, who was then in San Pablo.  He was saying the mass in San Pablo for the Portuguese.  We [Magda Gomes and José Freitas] brought him to St. John’s.

The priest thought weekly masses for the Brazilians might be too much, but we said no, and Father Maxwell [the presiding priest at St. John’s] made the arrangements.  We started with only 20 people, but now, with word of mouth and advertisements to let people know, we have an average of 80 people each week.  We order our mass bulletines directly from Brazil.  We have hymnals from Brazil.  We have had some baptisms and weddings.  We are becoming better known;  even the consulate has recognized us.  Some of the people who come don’t even speak Portuguese, but they like the spirit of the mass and so they come.  We are friendly, and we are very lively.  [And some people have started coming to the mass who were going to the Protestant church next door.]

CELEBRATNG CULTURE & COMMUNITY (CC&C)

1900 International MarketPlace, San Pablo, CA., 94806

(510) 236-3255;  fax (510) 236-3068

e-mail:  CCandC_97@yahoo.com