[Laughter] it's the whole Washington School crew here okay I guess thank you for Gathering here today to celebrate Portugal day with us a day of great significance for the Portuguese communities around the world on June 10th we honor the rich cultural heritage history and achievements of Portugal a nation whose influence spans continents and centuries re reuning right res a little bit easier now Portugal day or Portugal is a time to remember and celebrate the Life and Legacy of lamo Portugal's greatest poet his epic workes captures the spirit of the Portuguese people in their incredible voyages during the age of discoveries C's Tales of Bravery exploration and resilience are not just stories of the past they are a testament to the enduring Spirit of Portugal and its people this day is important because it reminds us of the will in the vision of our ancestors who set sail into the unknown charting new territories and forging connections that have shaped the modern world the discoveries made by the Portuguese explorers like Vash the Gama and Ferdinand mellan open new Pathways for trade culture and understanding between distant lands creating a legacy of global interconnectedness the Union here in Union celebrating Portugal day allows us to honor our heritage connect with our roots and share the beauty of the Portuguese culture with our friends and neighbors it is a day to celebrate Unity pride and the enduring contributions of the Portuguese people to the world as we come together to celebrate let us remember the values that have defined Portugal throughout history courage curiosity and a deep sense of community these values are not just relics of the past they are guiding principles that continue to inspire us as we look into the future so on behalf of the Portuguese American civic association here in Union I want to thank you all for being here today to celebrate Portugal day with us let us Embrace this opportunity to honor shared Heritage and look forward to the bright future we can build together thank you to the Town Council for having us and letting us raise our flag proudly every year thank you to the Portuguese school for coming and um soon singing our national anthem and thank you all for joining us here tonight as always um our yearly de pugal will be this year June 28th and 29th at the Colombian Club on Janette Avenue we will have food music lots of entertainment so we hope to see you there for [Applause] were you born [Applause] here let's call who was that mom your mom nework New Jersy um thank you everyone good evening joining us today I just want to introduce a few of our dignitaries at the far end we have senator Joseph Cen our assistant business administrator William Reyes we have committee woman Gara Frasier I think she might be half Portuguese with Gara in there you know G committeeman Bowser committee woman Terell and Deputy Mayor Florio June 10th today what a perfect day to pick for the flag raising this is annually celebrated on this day it is a significant occasion commemorating a our Rich culture lingua Historia our language our history this history is filled with remarkable achievements and serves as a source of immense Pride for all of us imagine what it was like in the 1400s and 1500s when Portugal was spread throughout the world today is a day to embrace and take pride in our Portuguese identity it's not only a day for celebration but also an opportunity to acknowledge the collective accomplishments of the Portuguese American community of which you are part of from World exploration trade historical influence to the spread of our language and culture we honor the struggles the determination the faith and the remarkable successes that Define our Journey this Township is a vibrant tapestry of diversity reflects what a salad bowl is of varying ethnicities and traditions our Unity cultural exchange and shared experiences underscore the pursuit of the American dream making each and every one of us an integral part of this our thriving community so on behalf of the township committee I wish you a joyous Portugal day and Express gratitude for your presence here as we come together to honor and celebrate like to call up Senator Joe cry to say a few words not in Portuguese right Joe but he's going to do Viva foral I can safely say this is Mayor Figaro's favorite day all right there you go just to accent that point you okay guys be gone soon like I said I think absolutely this is Mayor Figaro's favorite day you can raise a lot of different flags here but boy when Portugal day comes big smiles and lots of ability to connect I just wanted to take a moment obviously wish everyone well but I wanted to share with you if I could uh suette in your comments you mentioned courage and I think curiosity and Community um and just share with you a little story that my wife and I were at nework airport uh just a few weeks ago actually for a flight and as surprising as this is our flight was late right and we all know that never happens right but uh at the same terminal and just a couple Gates over was a flight to Portugal that I believe also was delayed although I'm not certain of that so if you've ever had the experience of enjoying a delay at norc airport right where your time become minutes become hours and almost you know very quickly I took a walk and I walked around where folks were waiting for their flight to Portugal and in the most beautiful language in that Portuguese language I listen to folks talk now I don't know the language but I could hear people with the excitement in their voice of going home to see family of being able to eat if I heard good food once or things were commenting about the right food to eat there were quite a number of comments about that and folks literally sharing in the pride of the hometown country of where they came from and the opportunity to go back and share those moments with family friends and the opportunity to be may I say home and then bring that Community back here as they do so often here in the township of Union and the surrounding areas with that courage to work hard with that sense of curiosity is about what we can do next especially for our children right the club continues to work to educate so that you guys can be as curious as you can be not just about your language but about your food your culture your family and the things that make the Portuguese people so special and then of course that sense of community which is why we're here tonight to have all that come together and just a rare opportunity to take a walk and look like you're lost and listen to people with that genuine excitement in their voice I think that's what today is there's genuine excitement we recognize the contributions from culture to work to community and everything in between we get to share it again in just two weeks right Paca pac's big event at the Colombian Club get there early if you want parking but we get to come together to celebrate in a few minutes we'll listen to the national anthem and we'll listen and we'll watch the flag be raised but not just today every day we get to celebrate because whether we're the mayor who gets to really puff his shoulders high today and share his language or whether they just some of us who are envious who get an opportunity to share this with you congratulations to everybody on Portugal day and Viva Portugal thank you Senator I'm going to call the township committee to join me Trisha you're going to have to come up now Susanna you can come up too Trisha does not like to come up here come next to me I'm not going to read this whole Proclamation we have a Portuguese flag day ceremony Proclamation uh but I just want to read a little bit we celebrate June 10th which commemorates the death of Louise camo poet and National literary icon his most famous work is titled usad an epic poem which really talks about and celebrates the Portuguese discoveries so we celebrate this day we need to remember the ancestors that created this by color green and red symbol that I have on my lapel up here of new beginnings after the previous monarchial flag red mimicked the color of the Revolutionary flag and the green was added to set it apart from the previous flag the code of arms features a shield as well as a banner with the modela which translate to this is my beloved Blissful homeless so we understand today and we recognize the struggles for freedom and their eventual success which ironically 50 years ago we also are here to celebrate the vibrant Portuguese American Community who have contributed tremendously to the Vitality of this Township by enriching the lives of our citizens therefore I Emanuel figuro the mayor of Union in the county of union state of New Jersey to hereby Proclaim June 10th 2024 as Portugal flag day in the township of Union signed by myself Deputy Mayor Florio committee woman Terell committee woman gar Frasier and committee man Bowser I present this to you Trisha now maybe we'll go in front of the podium and we'll take a picture sure come on I know my man here Che out those glasses all right you guys have to sing okay everyone needs to look my camera sorry ready [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] ch [Music] I know but it's you got to hold the P I get the just to stand behind is that all right