Arriving late on Aug. 25, her footsteps around the region began the following day.
During the commemoration ceremony for SER-Jobs For Progress, Inc. 30th anniversary held at the Cultural Center of Fall River, on Wednesday, Aug. 26, Mayor Cabral stated that Fall River is the most important Azorean city outside the Azores.
"All Azoreans feel at home here," she said. "The great work of the Gates of the City of Fall River was made possible through the collaboration of many entrepreneurs from the Azores and the Luso-Americans and it was just one of many and varied exchanges that exist between the two sister cities."
Her footsteps continued on to Thursday. Her journey started with a reception/breakfast at the Quequechan Club in Fall River, hosted by State Representative Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport). Attending were some of the highest representative bodies of the Luso-American community, as well as senators, the Consul of Portugal in Boston and the mayors of Fall River, New Bedford and Newport, among many others.
During the reception, Mayor Cabral reinforced the idea that a good relationship exists between Ponta Delgada and Fall River. She said even though it is necessary to strengthen this relationship at all levels it is also important to never forget to preserve the Azorean culture and traditions.
Included in her agenda was a visit to Bristol Community College, where she met with college officials and community leaders who have helped form a partnership between the islands and BCC.
Mayor Cabral stated, "BCC is the college where most Azorean immigrants attend school."
Mayor Cabral also toured the new cancer treatment center at Charlton Memorial Hospital. The visit's goal is to help warn the Luso-American community about the benefits of early detection of diseases like diabetes, cholesterol and cancer.
Friday's footsteps took her to New Bedford City Hall, where Mayor Scott W. Lang welcomed her.
During the meeting, Mayor Cabral stated that the local Azorean community is an extremely important part of Azores. She spoke of the need to increase the "mercado da saudade" and take third generation Azoreans to the Azores.
"The connection between the Azores and their emigrants are extremely important to us," stated Mayor Cabral.
Following the morning meeting, Mayor Cabral visited the Casa da Saudade Library and the Immigrants' Assistance Center in New Bedford, continuing her footsteps to the Whaling Museum. The delegation then continued on to the University of Massachusetts, where Cabral, at the invitation of Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack, visited the Ferreira Mendes Portuguese-American Archives, due to be dedicated on Sept. 18.
It was announced during this visit, that the City Hall of Ponta Delgada will offer UMass Dartmouth a statue alluding to emigration that will be placed in front of the archives.
That evening, during the opening ceremonies of the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England, Mayor Cabral, one of the honored guests, insisted that during these festivities, all the roads "lead to Fall River" and Kennedy Park becomes the meeting point for all Azoreans throughout the United States and Canada.
"It's a great honor to be at the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England along with thousands of immigrants who come from across America and Canada. Today, all roads lead to Fall River and all Azoreans are united by faith in the Holy Ghost," stated Mayor Cabral. "Ponta Delgada and Fall River feel increasingly sisters. Due to the partnerships that exist between the two cities, we can unite even more the Azoreans that stayed and the Azoreans far from their land."
Mayor Cabral's journey did not end here, Saturday Mayor Robert Correia of Fall River offered Mayor Cabral a reception at Fall River Government Center, where it was noted that one of the most important projects between the two cities was the erection of the City Gates.
"The Gates of the City of Fall River are a symbol of the union with Ponta Delgada and a symbol of our city. The City Gates, which exist thanks to Mayor Cabral, is a piece of the Azores in Fall River," said Mayor Correia, while also thanking the feast committee for keeping alive the Azorean tradition.
Mayor Cabral took the opportunity to re-emphasize the importance of Azoreans and their descendants who never forgot their origins and their roots.
"The Azoreans who emigrated should feel proud of the Azores and can never forget their origins, their roots. The Azores they once left behind are not today's Azores that exist today. The Azores of today are developed, more and more beautiful, and deserve to be visited by the children of our immigrants. Our emigrants should encourage their children to spend their vacation in their homeland. This is one of our largest segments of tourism, we should all continue to encourage," concluded Mayor Cabral.
On Sunday, Mayor Cabral participated in the crowning celebrations of the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England.
"I feel honored and proud to be here. These festivities are extremely important and must be passed to new generations. Our immigrants must feel proud to be Azoreans and should continue to preserve our traditions. The huge sea that divides us makes us even more united by the same traditions, where the festivities in honor of the Holy Ghost are considered the most authentic," stated Mayor Cabral with pride to the thousands of emigrants from all over the world.
She took her final footsteps on Monday, by attending the feast's closing banquet at Venus de Milo restaurant. During this last event, she supported the idea for cheaper flights to the Azores.
"The Azorean emigrants should be entitled to cheaper airline tickets in order to bring their families to the Azores and thus make it known to their descendants the land of their birth or where their parents were born," stated Mayor Cabral.
She continued on by saying "it is time to turn the needle, tourism from immigration is more important to the Azores than the Northern European market. This is the challenge I leave behind, today, for the public and private entities, because our immigrants need to have the opportunity to take their family to visit their roots."
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