Marcelo graces the centenary Sport Clube Português de Newark

The head of state visited the Sport Club Português, where he was already in 1987, when he was not performing political functions, shortly after arriving in the United States of America, where he will remain until Wednesday to attend the 76th meeting. session of the UN General Assembly (UN).

In the main hall of the club, in front of several dozen people sitting distantly due to the covid-19 pandemic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced that he would award this institution, founded on December 17, 1921, the Order of Merit “for what they did with the school. with children, with younger ones, because they are preparing their future. “

At the ceremony, which featured the national anthems of Portugal and the United States of America, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who thanked the President of the Republic present in Portuguese, said “thank you” and emphasized the “great ties” that bind this city to Portugal, noting: “If if not covid-19, this place would be overcrowded. “

The Consul General of Portugal in Newark, Pedro Monteiro, said it is “the oldest club in the entire area from Florida to Connecticut, marking the first century.”

The President of the Sport Club Português, Jack Costa, drew attention to the teaching of Portuguese to young people of Portuguese descent at Escola Luís de Camões. “We have to teach, keep Portugal alive, because this is Portugal, there will always be Portugal,” he exclaimed.

After visiting the club’s museum, the head of state signed a book of honor and received a commemorative 2009 edition, in which he is depicted in a photograph of his visit in 1987, “in a bar, playing cards to check for fraud. in Sweden, ”as Jack Costa describes.

Speaking to reporters, at the end of his visit, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that “without such clubs, the communities would not have the power they have,” and praised the “associative spirit” of Portuguese expatriates, challenging the idea that “Portuguese are individualists.” …

“This is a lie, and outside of the physical Portuguese territory, they must unite to protect the language, culture, community, for the community to have weight,” he said, considering that even “young people feel it too. “.

On the way out, the President of the Republic skipped the program and instead of going to New York, he went to the Luís de Camões Português sports club school, where preschoolers are taught Portuguese and Portuguese history. in grade 9.

See also: Marcelo today meets with Portuguese and Portuguese descendants in Newark.