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Casa de Macau, Vancouver, Canada 2007-2009 Election Results


President                       António Alberto Carlos Amante
Senior Vice President      Mónica de Carvalho
2nd Vice President          Edwina Shuster
Secretary                       Cathy Fung
Treasurer                        Charles Curry
Parliamentarian               Aleixa Haslam

Socials:                         Pat de Albuquerque - Special Events
                                     Rebecca Amante - Tea Party / Functions
                                     Rowena Tan - Culinary Co-ordinator

Seniors:                         Cathy Fung / Isabel Jorge Ma
Phoning:                        Maria King / Margie Rozário
Membership:                  Mónica de Carvalho

Editor:                           Edwina Shuster
Webmaster:                  Mike Guterres

Casa Address: Northside P.O. Box 78087
Port Coquitlam, B.C. Canada
V3B 7H5
Tel. (604) 218-1115
Fax (604) 464-0177
Email: bebe_aca@msn.com

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Unity Celebration of Sixth Anniversary of RAEM

The Sixth Anniversary of the Região Administrativa Especial de Macau (RAEM) was celebrated at the Full Moon Seafood Restaurant in Oakland on April 8, 2006, by members of Lusitano Club of California, Casa de Macau USA, and União Macaense Americana (UMA), and by the Macau Cultural Center.  The party was hosted by Nuno Prata da Cruz and Henrique Manhão, President and Vice President respectively of the Associação dos Empresários Macaenses da Califórnia, and funded in part by the Conselho das Comunidades Macaenses, José Manuel de Oliveira Rodrigues, President.

As can be seen from the following photographs a cross-section of the Macanese community was well represented.  A total of 120 people attended and joined in a toast proposed to Edmund Ho Hau-wah, Chief Executive Officer of the RAEM.

(L-R standing) António Jorge da Silva, President, Macau Cultural Center,and Penny Jorge da Silva; Yvonne Ozório; Maria João da Cruz; Eduardo Collaço, President, Portugal-Macau Institute of America; Albertino da Rosa, Vice President, Casa de Macau, and Luiza da Rosa; António Amante, President, Casa de Macau, Vancouver, Canada; Irene Manhão and Henrique Manhão, Treasurer, Casa de Macau USA; José Xavier and Maria Lourdes Xavier, Directors, Casa de Macau USA; Horácio Ozório, Editor, DiasporaMacaense.org Website; Maria Roliz, President, Lusitano Club of California; Alex Xavier, President, UMA, and Maureen Xavier. (Crouching) Nuno Prata da Cruz, Secretary, Lusitano Club of California.

(L-R) António Jorge da Silva, Robert da Costa, UMA Past President, Maria Roliz, Lourdes Maria Xavier, Alex Xavier, Nuno Prata da Cruz, Henrique Manhão proposing the toast to CEO Edmund Ho Hau -wah, Eduardo Collaço, António Amante, Horácio Ozório, Laura Basaloco Lapo, Attorney for Associação dos Empresários Macaenses da Califórnia, and Teresita Roliz, Vice President, Lusitano Club of California.

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Lusitano Club Goes After Young Descendents

Lusitano Club of California organized a get-together of Macaense community youths over the weekend of March 18, 2006, at the Clayton Valley Bowling Center in Concord, California, and it turned out to be a very animated affair.

The objective of the meet was to reinforce the ties between the different Macanese generations, in an attempt to attract children of the older generation to join Lusitano Club, which, as against their counterparts, is the club that has the greatest number of young members.

The event offered an afternoon of liveliness and fun for the members and their families, and attracted many newcomers who appreciated  the “pizza” and refreshments provided by the club.

Ten-pin bowling is a very popular sport among Macanese youngsters and many showed themselves to be extremely proficient at it, and as well in lawn bowls.  The sport in this case was the motive for the get-together.

The general feeling among the young people was that the event “permitted us to know each other better since on a day-to-day basis we are far apart from each other whether it is where we live or where we study or work;  and, at the same time, allows us to exchange ideas for other social and cultural activities within the club.”

Henrique Manhão [who is the Casa de Macau USA Treasurer] is a member of one of the families with the most roots in Macau, and explained to Jornal Tribuna de Macau the importance of drawing in the younger generation to the clubs.  “For the Macanese clubs, the introduction of new blood is fundamental to their survival,” and he added that this fact “is also very important to the younger generations themselves, because in the context of the American reality in which they live, they tend to lose their cultural references to their origins, which would not be good.”

Lusitano Club of California already has new initiatives in preparation, some originating from ideas suggested by the youths in the afternoon’s get-together.

(Free translation of an article appearing in Jornal Tribuna de Macau dated March 20, 2006 – Ed)

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2006 Elections – Casa de Macau, São Paulo, Brasil

Elections for officers for the next two years took place February 5, 2006.  More than 270 persons attended, 240 of whom were electors.  The following were elected:

Júlio “Totó” Augusto Airosa Branco - Presidente

Maria Edite Guerreiro Sales Ritchie - Vice Presidente

Rogério dos Passos Dias da Luz  - Secretário Geral.

António Vaz Placé - Director Financeiro

Alice Noronha Airosa Álvaro - Directora Social

L-R:  Alice. Totó, Edite and Rogério. Absent: António

Also elected were the following:

Conselho Consultivo - Armando Jesus Sales Ritchie, Herculano Alexandre Airosa and João Bosco Quevedo da Silva. 

Conselho Fiscal - Aníbal Cardoso Joaquim, Maria Inês Anastácio da Luz e Roque Rui Rosa Branco.

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Lusitano Club of California - 2006 Calendar of Annual Events

Saturday, Jan 28th        Annual General Meeting &

Chinese New Year Dinner, Foster City

Saturday, March 19th    Meet & Greet, Walnut Creek

Saturday, April 29th       Annual Clambake, Beresford Park, San Mateo

Saturday, May 13th       Parents Day Dinner Dance

                                    Tong’s Palace, San Francisco

Saturday, June 10th      Dia de Portugal Festival, Kelley Park, San Jose

June 30, July 1 & 2       Family Camping Trip, Lake Amador

Saturday, July 8th         Annual Picnic, Beresford Park, San Mateo

August – to be announced   Casino/Cha Gordo/Business Network Mix

                                    330 Ritch Street, San Francisco

Saturday, Sept 23rd       Cache Creek Casino Day Trip

Oct 3-17                       Portugal Trip (Email m_roliz@Yahoo.com for  details)                  

Saturday, Dec 9th         Annual Christmas Party, Elks Lodge, San Mateo

2006-2007 Lusitano Club of California - Board of Directors

President:                     Maria Roliz

Vice President:              Teresa Roliz

Treasurer:                     Dorothy Oliveira

Secretary:                     Nuno Prata da Cruz

Directors:                      Michael Carion, Maria João da Cruz, Ken Harper

                                    Kirk Harper, Leo Xavier, Melissa Xavier, Virginia

                                    Yoshida

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2005/2006 Election Results - Casa de Macau Inc. Australia

Yvonne Herrero, President of Casa de Macau Inc., Australia, advises that the results of their 11^th Annual General Meeting held on Saturday, 17^th September, 2005, were as follows:

Committee for Year 2005/2006

            Executives:

·         President                     Yvonne Herrero

·         Vice President             Therese Alonco

·         Secretary                     Mary Rigby

·         Treasurer                     Maria Callaghan

·         Deputy Secretary         Antonieta Manolakis

Committee Members:

·         Rogerio Fernandes

·         Marcus Gutierrez

·         Jose Carlos da Silva

·         Henrique Barros

Also, their newsletter is now available in their website: www.casademacau.org.au

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Casa de Macau em Portugal Launches New Website

By Horácio Ozório – October 3, 2005

Courtesy of Gilbert Wells, a member of Casa de Macau in Portugal, I received copy of a circular sent out by Casa de Macau to their members announcing the launching of a new website (um novo site) www.casademacau.pt

.

I immediately checked the site out and was pleasantly surprised and impressed with its excellence.  It turned out not only to be a wealth of information for Macaenses wishing to know something about the hierarchical structure, history, activities and events of Casa de Macau em Portugal, but it also serves as a reference source.

There are links to official websites of relevance to Macanese interests;  links to all the other Casas de Macau in the world;  and links to websites dedicated to Macanese affairs, including, with our thanks, our own website A Diaspora Macaense na America.

Written in Portuguese, Casa de Macau em Portugal’s new website can be very instructive to those with an interest in improving their vocabulary in and knowledge of the Portuguese language.

There are also snippets of the history of Macau on each page, an album of the founders of Casa de Macau em Portugal, and biographic data of Macanese authors and their works.

All of the above is served up with Macau Sã Assim playing in the background.  Well done, Casa de Macau.  Check it out, folks.

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PRC Consulate Entertains Casa de Macau, São Paulo, Brazil

By Rogério da Luz in São Paulo

Following a tradition initiated after the transition of Macau sovereignty, the new Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in São Paulo, Brazil, Li Jiaoyun, invited the management of Casa de Macau of São Paulo to a fraternal dinner in the premises of the consulate itself.

Accompanied by her advisers and vice consuls, Consul General Li welcomed Casa de Macau, São Paulo, to a Chinese dinner specially prepared by a chef who expressly came from Beijing.

President Júlio Branco and Consul General Li Jiaoyun

President Júlio Branco thanked her for her kindness and took the opportunity to reciprocate the invitation for a visit to Casa de Macau, São Paulo.

He recalled that on the occasion of the visit of the Chief Executive Officer of the Região Administrativa Especial de Macau (RAEM), Edmund Ho, Consul General Li made an appearance at the dinner which was held in the barbecue restaurant, Churrascaria Fogo do Chão.

After the dinner, in the noble ballroom, President Júlio Branco presented a gift to Consul General Li, who told of having learned to speak Portuguese when she served in the consulate in Mozambique.  This was followed by photographs taken to record the important get-together.

(Translation of an article appearing in Jornal Tribuna de Macau dated September 23, 2005)

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President of APIM in Joint Session with North America Casas

As reported to this website by Maria Roliz, President of Lusitano Club of California, a joint session was held July 26, 2005, in San Francisco between the Macaense clubs headquartered in California, namely, Lusitano Club of California, Casa de Macau USA, and União Macaense Americana (UMA), as well as the representatives of the recently formed Macau Cultural Center, and the President of the Associação Promotora para a Instrução dos Macaenses (APIM) and of the Conselho das Comunidades Macaenses (CCM) and the President of the Macau Cultural Association (Casa de Macau) of Western Canada.

L-R:  Angela Pereira, Albertino da Roza, Maria Roliz, Henrique Manhão, Robert de Graça, Teresa Roliz, Dr. José Manuel Rodrigues, Arthur Britto, Dorothy Oliveira, Alex Xavier, Sérgio Pinna

The outcome of their meeting:

1.  Acquisition of a suitable center for use by the three casas in California - a long-outstanding project that reportedly has finally become a reality through the efforts and determination of the the parties involved in the process.  It is hoped to inaugurate the center by the end of the current year.

2.  Discussed and arrived at a decision on the signing of the Protocol of Cooperation and Exchange of Culture and Youth between the APIM and the Casas de Macau in California.

3.  An installation commission was formed by the Presidents of each Casa to promote the creation of an association of Macaense businessmen of the United States of America, which subsequently will establish the necessary contacts with the Região Administrativa Especial de Macau with a view to creating a Chamber of Commerce between the businessmen of the United States and their counterparts in Macau.  So it is envisaged that exclusive space in the future Macau Cultural Center in California will be reserved for the installation of an Office of Tourism, as well as space reserved for Macau to exhibit products stamped with “Made in Macau.”

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PROTOCOL OF COOPERATION

ASSOCIAÇÃO PROMOTORA DA INSTRUÇÃO DOS MACAENSES (APIM)

AND

LUSITANO CLUB OF CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (LCC-USA)

     Considering the mutual interest of their charter objectives and the establishment of concerted activities in different dominions;  and

     Having in mind the ends of promoting the exchange and cooperation at the academic, cultural and personal level, as the result of the exchange of correspondence and friendly consultations;  and

     Also the necessity of strengthening the ties of friendship and of consolidating acquaintances between the Macaense youths of the RAEM and the young descendants of Macaense residents of the United States of America

agree to honor the present protocol of cooperation and exchange of culture and youth in terms of the following:

1 – Exchange of Material

Both parties agree to effect an exchange of material in educational, cultural and linguistic and other disciplines, guaranteeing the immediate exchange of informations whenever deemed of necessity.

2 – Exchange of Persons

The APIM and Club Lusitano of California - USA will effect exchanges in personnel, namely associates, teachers, students and others.

The expenses of housing, food, subsidies during their stay will be the responsibility of the inviting party.  In relation to the preamble of this article, the number of persons the object of this exchange, and the duration of the stay, will be determined via consultations by the representatives of both parties, in conformance with necessities and possibilities.

3 – Exchange and Youth Cooperation

a)  The APIM and Lusitano Club of California – USA will make arrangements for study visits and Summer courses, such as intensive courses for improvement in the Chinese language and the Portuguese language, scholarship-holders and invited students, with a view to an Exchange and Youth Cooperation, of both parties.  When possible, the organizing party of the exchange will arrange for suitable places of work, like library, computers, and the work of researching the same.

The APIM and the Conselho das Comunidades Macaenses (CCM) will assure the expenses in connection with travel, stay and fees, as well as the respective enrollment in the academic studies of the Região Administrativa Especial de Macau (RAEM) and the República Popular da China (RPC).

b)  Both parties undertake to send annually students for the exchange of cooperation and culture and youth, in the event there are students or other parties interested in the courses outlined in 3) line a).

c) Creation of Nucleus of Macaense Youths.

The APIM will be supportive in the creation of a Nucleus of Macaense Youths in the area of Socio-Cultural and Sports in Lusitano Club of California in the United States of America.

4 – FORMATION JOINTLY

The APIM and Lusitano Club of California USA will promote the formation of persons mentioned above in the areas of the Chinese, Portuguese and other languages, and those courses which will have in view the formation of Macaense youths in the educational and cultural area for the RAEM and for the United States of America.

5 – DOCUMENTARY SUPPORT

The APIM will make available its library and its document center to the other party, and whomever has specific interest in the activities to develop in the scope of the present protocol.

6 – DURATION

The present protocol will have a duration of three years, it being understood that it will renew automatically if it is not renounced, with three months notice, by any of the subscribing entities.

Signed in the United States of America, in two originals, on _______ July, 2005.

Representative of The APIM                   Representative of LCC - USA

____________________                   ________________________

(The foregoing is a free translation from the Portuguese text issued by The APIM.  In case of any error in translation or divergence of meaning  between the English and Portuguese text, the Portuguese text will prevail.- Ed.)

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CEO Edmund Ho Visits Casa de Macau São Paulo

The Chief Executive Officer [of the Região Administrative Especial de Macau (RAEM)] was at Casa de Macau de São Paulo [June 20, 2005] where he effusively praised the “filhos da terra.”  Edmund Ho elevated the role of the Macanese as the connecting bridge to Brazil in the “dynamization” of the RAEM.

Chief Executive Edmund Ho considers that Macau enjoys the privilege of being able to count on the Macanese, and the latter now have an historic opportunity to reinforce the positive aspects of their role in the “dynamization” of economic cooperation, at the general level, between China, Brazil and the RAEM.  Edmund Ho followed his visit day before yesterday to the city of São Paulo with a visit in the afternoon to Casa de Macau.

On that occasion, the Chief Executive, remembered the visit to the premises of Casa de Macau in 1997, on the occasion of its inauguration, recalling that many things had changed during eight years, such as Macau having become a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in 1999, but something remained unchanged:  the feelings and blood ties that unite the Macanese and the natives of Macau.

He said he believed that the success of the labors of Casa de Macau, including the services lent to their counterparts and to Macau, deserved most respect.

He also indicated that the role of the Macanese diaspora in all corners of the world, always considered over time as of high value to Macau, had not been duly taken advantage of, perfected and profited from for various reasons.

Edmund Ho noted, moreover, that with time and historical changes, China and Brazil today have close relations which will continue to develop in the future as Macau, with the help and incentivization of the Central Government, evolves as a regional platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, to which are attached more conditions to make the most of the privileged role of the Macanese communities.

The Chief Executive said that the recently enacted Conselho das Comunidades Macaenses will be able to contribute also, in an active way, to the reinforcement of the ties between the Macanese communities spread over the world as well as support to the government of the RAE in providing different types of services, and as leader in promoting Macanese culture and the Territory.

He said he believed that the visit to São Paulo, beyond being a return to a well known city, will represent also a new starting point for increasing cooperation between the government of RAEM and the Casas de Macau in Brazil, which will certainly be taken advantage of by IPIM [Instituto de Promoção do Comércio e Investimento de Macau] in the ambit of cooperation between China/Brazil and Macau.

Macau will always be the home of the “grand Macanese family.”  If any of its members desire to return to the bosom of the family they will be welcome and can count on the total necessary support on the part of the government, Ho said.  The Chief Executive also witnessed the signing of protocols of cooperation, relative to culture and youths, between APIM [Associação Promotora para a Instrução dos Macaenses] and the Casas de Macau in São Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro.

(The above is a translation of an article appearing in Ponto Final dated June 22, 2005 – Ed.)

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Tarde Macaense 2005 – Good Show!

By Horácio Ozório

It was not the vaca estufada, or the lamb curry, or the capella, or the couve com chouriço that made up the menu for the evening.  Nor was it the obvious good time enjoyed by the overflow crowd.  What made Tarde Macaense 2005 a great success was the fact that it previewed what club unity could be among Macanese of goodwill.

Firstly, it was an UMA chapter event honored by the attendance of the Presidents of Lusitano Club of California and Casa de Macau USA as well as many directors and members from those two clubs.  It was proof positive for skeptics that club unity was well within grasp.  It was what the Macanese community needed to see after years of the inability of the clubs to get along and to go along.

Secondly, the event was oversubscribed long before its scheduled date, surely a harbinger of good things to come for a community that finds itself not completely out of the doldrums of discord.  The last most notable sellout, at least in the memory of this writer, was in 1995 when the three clubs jointly hosted the Doci Papiaçam di Macau troupe of vaudevillians in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tarde Macaense 2005 was a presentation by the Greater East Bay Chapter of UMA, a felicitous collaborative effort by the East Bay and the Contra Costa Chapters which recently merged to form the Greater East Bay Chapter.  Robert de Graça, its president, and his team are to be congratulated for staging this heartwarming celebration of peace and friendship.

On a not-so-happy note, however, scuttlebutt has it that this could be the last time a Tarde Macaense will gladden the hearts of the many in the community.  Why?  Because the volunteers who so admirably put on Tarde Macaense 2005 are the same people called upon every year to do the work every time there is a club event.  They are burned out and now feel that it is time in all                 Robert de Graça    fairness for others to show their prowess in the cozinha.  Efforts in previous years to enlist new volunteers have usually fallen on deaf ears.  The demise of the Tarde Macaense event must not be allowed to happen, particularly after the sparkling success of this year’s Tarde Macaense.  This is the more so since the Macau Cultural Center has finally been incorporated after all these years, and the Macaense community is on the eve of a unity that has long eluded it.

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“Double Celebration” with Casa de Macau, Vancouver.

(By Miguel Da Roza, President, Casa de Macau, Vancouver)

 On April 16^th,2005, the Casa de Macau in Vancouver, Canada, held a “double celebration” to mark the 5^th anniversary of the Regiao Administrativa Especial de Macau and their own Casa’s 10^th anniversary.

Honorary guests were Madam Tian Chunyan, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China and Mr Jiang Yan, Vice-Consul and Mr. Joao Luiz Laranjeira de Abreu, Consul General, Republic of Portugal. Mrs. Maria Roliz, President, Lusitano Club of California, U.S.A. was also present for the festivities.

In his speech, Casa President, Miguel Da Roza, highlighted Macau’s accomplishments in the 5 years since the handover. Tourism and revenue have increased, GDP is at its highest level ever, construction and building starts continue to increase and, most importantly, unemployment is at a record low. He went on to say, that these successes are largely due to RAEM’s Chief Executive, Dr. Edmund Ho Hau Wah, who has put Macau on the world's platform. Through his support of the Encontro’s in Macau, the Chief Executive has continued to show he is very supportive of the Macanese in Macau and indeed throughout the Diaspora worldwide.

Mr. Da Roza also wished to thank Dr. Edmund Ho for his support of our Casa and on behalf of all our members, expressed congratulatory wishes to him and all of the residents of Macau.

 He then went on to speak about the Casa’s 10^th anniversary, saying “In 1995 our

founding members laid the roots and cornerstone for this social club so that

we could foster and encourage ties to the land of our forefathers while encouraging our youth, our children, to share in this unique blending of cultures. Over the years, our members have participated enthusiastically in many local multicultural events and

activities, thereby contributing to the spreading of its good name” He also thanked all the members and volunteers for their time and sacrifices and encouraged them to

continue to build the Casa through expansion of their member base.

Left to Right: António Amante, VP-CDM, Rebecca Amante, Director-CDM, Madam Tian Chun-yan, Consul of China, Mrs. Maria Roliz, President, Lusitano Club, João Luis Laranjeira de Abreu, Consul of Portugal, Mrs. Nancy Laranjeira de Abreu, Miguel Da Roza, President-CDM, & Mr. Jiang Yang, Vice-Consul of China.

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Lusitano Club of California President’s Spring Message

THE YEAR 2005 LOOKS PROMISING

As far as the Club goes, the year 2005 looks promising! Our dreams for a Macau Cultural Center in the Bay Area are about to materialize. A board of nine directors (three representatives each from Lusitano, Casa de Macau and UMA) has been elected for this newly incorporated Macau Cultural Center.  This new board will work independently of our clubs and will be dedicating their efforts in doing the necessary arrangements and negotiations so that soon we can set foot into our own Macau Cultural Center. It has been a pleasure in working with Casa de Macau USA and UMA to achieve this goal.

2004-2005 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

In a few weeks, we will be approaching the end of our 2004-2005 term. Some of the directors will be stepping down as new directors will be joining us providing our members with another year of events. I would like to take this opportunity to commend on an extraordinary job done by our current Board of Directors, our Editor, and all our volunteers that made this term such a notable, entertaining and fun-filled one. They get there early and stay late to ensure everything goes well.

Without their hard work, dedication and ideas brought forth and accomplished as a team, we would not have been able to offer these functions and activities: Annual Clambake, Annual Picnic, Christmas Party, Dia de Portugal Food Fair, River Rock Casino Day Trip, Macanese Cooking Contest, Youth Meet and Greets party, Welcoming Party for our Brasilian visitors, Autumn Dance, Macau guest speakers at UC Berkeley, our first joint New Year's Eve Dance, and the 2004 Macau Encontro with side trips to Hong Kong, Thailand, and Shanghai.

Please, next time you come to a Lusitano function and have a great time, let them know what a good job they've been doing!

Kudos also to our Youth Committee who has been doing an exceptional job through their Meet and Greets and youth activities resulting in the increase of youth participation and interest from our community. Let us continue to work in harmony and support for our future and that of our children and grandchildren.

Thank you.

Maria C. Roliz

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Casa de Macau USA Inc., 2005 Election Results

Arthur Britto, President
Albertino da Roza, Vice President
Ângela Pereira, Secretary
Henrique Manhão Treasurer

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Casa de Macau in São Paulo Looks to its Future

Looking to secure its future, Casa de Macau in São Paulo is in the process of creating a commission comprising members of the younger generation preliminary to establishing a junior board of directors.  Among various initiatives, Casa de Macau also launched a campaign to bring back former members.

The idea is to charge the junior board of directors with responsibility to organize vocational activities for young members.  This strategy to ensure the club’s future was studied by the President of Casa de Macau in São Paulo and by a group of young members at a working meeting that recently took place.

For Rogério da Luz, Secretary General of Casa de Macau in São Paulo, this meeting not only contributes to the accomplishment of an April 2004 election campaign promise but also conforms to a goal written into the statutes of the new Conselho das Comunidades Macaenses to captivate members at the junior levels of the diaspora.

(The above culled from an article in the March 21, 2005, issue of the Jornal Tribuna de Macau. - Ed.)

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Incorporation of Macau Cultural Center, Board of Directors Formed

Statement by the President of Macau Cultural Center, March 1, 2005

The Macau Cultural Center (MCC) was incorporated on February 16, 2005.  A Board of Directors consisting of nine (9) members, three (3) from each club (Casa de Macau, UMA, Inc., and Lusitano Club of California) have taken office.

António M. Jorge da Silva           President

Alexander Xavier                       Vice President

Maria Roliz                                Chief Financial Officer

Teresa Roliz                              Secretary

Eduardo de Assis

Arthur Britto

Robert De Graça

Henrique Manhão

Lourdes Osorio Xavier

The MCC was incorporated following an agreement by the three clubs to actively locate and purchase a building for a cultural center as directed by the “grant “ letter dated 20.09.99 from Fundação para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento de Macau (FCDM).  Please be assured we have not formed a fourth club; the building will be available for all the functions and activities of the three existing clubs.  This agreement removed the burden of extensive discussion and decision making by the multitude of directors of the three clubs that resulted in an impasse for 5 years since the grant money was received.  This union fulfills the intent of the FCDM, yet the MCC will operate independently from the Clubs to serve the Macanese community in California and the United States of America.

The MCC will serve to promote and preserve the history, culture and heritage of the Macanese people.  It will work with other foundations and organizations worldwide to these ends.

The Macanese people have a rich heritage to hand down to our descendants and share with the rest of the world.  Much has been written to preserve the history of Macau, its patois and related literature, but not enough done to recognize and remember the Macanese of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Treaty Ports.  The MCC will endeavor to contribute to that wealth.

A library will be installed to house the books the Clubs have been given over the years.  Macanese artists, artisans, musicians, scholars and others who go unknown in our community deserve recognition.  The Cultural Center will offer opportunities to feature their work.  Artwork by Macanese artists, if loaned or donated, will be displayed, as will historical artifacts when those are collected.  Our cuisine is unique and social/cultural functions will allow us to share in that wealth.  Cooking and language classes to teach Portuguese and Chinese will be among the educational programs we intend to promote.

The three clubs will use the Cultural Center for their meetings and club functions they manifest.  The MCC will seek to sponsor specific social functions such as Chá Gordo, New Year’s Eve dance and other such events to be determined by the Board of Directors.  This will include functions of our community in Southern California.

The MCC will strive to unify and restructure the 3 clubs to merge them into one single entity.  The incorporation of the Macau Cultural Center is a major step toward unification as it moves toward joint functions, and when the building is purchased, the provision of a center for all to meet in friendship and share in our common bond.

The MCC looks for support from our community; it is for them and future generations of Macanese descendants that the Center will exist.  The MCC will be looking to foundations and organizations that are interested in our culture to lend us support, financially, educationally and in the spirit of cooperation.  Slowly, as we can afford it, through donations or otherwise, the Center will be one that the Macanese and their descendants will be proud of.  Macau and the Macanese will, at last, have a place to affirm their history and culture in the United States of America.

Antonio M. Jorge da Silva

President

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JTM Interviews President of Casa de Macau USA – 2-16-05

Setting aside their old differences, the three California Macanese clubs started the Lunar Year of the Rooster auspiciously, reaching agreement on the creation of a cultural center.  This long felt want should materialize this year, the President of Casa de Macau USA revealed to Jornal Tribuna de Macau.

The three Macanese clubs in California reached a good understanding, putting aside all the disagreements, misunderstandings, and impediments, emphasized Henrique Manhão, congratulating them for seeing that good sense overcame all obstacles.

According to the President of Casa de Macau USA, each of the three clubs named three trustees who will become responsible for the administration and management of the cultural center, the inauguration of which should take place during the current year.  The cultural center will have conference rooms, an ample kitchen, a library and a hall for festivities, the clubs having made a bid for the acquisition of a building located on Harrison Street in Oakland in a nice location near Lake Merritt.

For Henrique Manhão, the solution to the big problem represented by the discord over the acquisition of premises for a common headquarters is due essentially to the intervention of Comendador Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales, President of Club Lusitano of Hong Kong, Jorge Rangel, President of Instituto Internacional de Macau, José Manuel Rodrigues, President of APIM, Gabriela César, of the Delegação Económica e Comercial da RAEM in Portuugal, and José Luis Sales Marques, member of the Conselho das Comunidades Macaenses.

The differences which long divided União Macaense Americana, Lusitano Club of California and Casa de Macau USA hindered the creation of a cultural center so demanded by the Macanese living in that North American state, and not even the agreement in principle arrived at by the leaders of the three clubs in the RAEM – in November of 2003, during the preparatory meeting of the Comunidades Macaenses –had been enough to resolve the problem definitively.

At this point, Henrique Manhão remembered that he had pointed out that a great distance lies between words and action in which to manifest any reservations on the feasibility of the platform of accord then celebrated.  “Even though there exists friendship among the members of the three clubs, the misunderstandings at the management level still constitute a problem.”  That is why, Henrique Manhão told JTM, it is still difficult to set in motion a concrete plan of understanding.

The truth is it was necessary to wait more than one year for the directors of the clubs to return to smoke the peace pipe, in a definitive way, according to all indications.

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Three California Macaense Clubs Form Cultural Center

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

OF

MACAU CULTURAL CENTER, INC.,

A California Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation

I

The name of this corporation is Macau Cultural Center, Inc.

II

This corporation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person.  It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for public purposes.  The purpose of this corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which a corporation may be organized under such laws.

III