The Sousa family originates from Alheira,
Barcelos in Portugal. On the paternal side of
the family, Manuel and Ana
Sousa
are parents to five children, Filipe, Joao (my
father), Maria, Gloria and Conceicao. On the
maternal side, Paulo and Gloria
Lopes are parents to five children as well. This
includes Maria (my mother), Lurdes, Antonio,
Lucia and Francisco. Paulo
Lopes was the encouragement to immigrating the
family to the United States. He immigrated in
1973 for better opportunities and
a better life for his family. During this time
he brought some of his children along such as
my mother, Maria. Maria came
to America in
1982, when she was 19 with her sister Lurdes.
During this time, they would travel back to
Portugal on vacation
to visit the family. During one Easter
vacation, Maria and Joao had begun a
relationship. Joao and Maria actually grew
up in the same town but only developed a
relationship once they were adults. They
married on February 1st, 1986. In
order to start a better life for their own
family that they hoped to begin, they decided
to immigrate to America as well. They
immigrated overseas and bought the house my
grandfather, Paulo, owned on Long Island. This
home became the start to their
new family and new life together. Less than a
year later, their first child was born, Joao,
named after his father. Two years
later, Raquel, their daughter was born and 6
years after that their daughter, Susana, was
brought into the world. Joao Maria and their
three children grew up in a very loving home.
Fortunately, they weren't completely isolated
from all their family back
in Portugal because most of their siblings
from both of sides immigrated as well. Joao
and Maria are both the oldest of their
siblings, therefore, they loved being able to
provide assistance to their younger siblings
when beginning their lives. Antonio, Francisco, Lucia,
Conceicao and Gloria all lived in the Sousa
household at some point in their lives when
they were entering
adulthood. This
made living in a new country much easier and
more comforting for Joao and Maria because
they had the company
and support
of their siblings. Plus, Joao, Raquel and
Susana had the pleasure of growing up in such
a large and loving home with their
aunts and uncles. Now, with 27 years of
marriage, Joao and Maria are closer than ever.
Joao and Raquel have graduated college
and work full time, while their younger
daughter, Susana, has just begun her college
career. As for their uncles and aunts, some
then got married and started their own family
on Long Island as well, while others moved
back to Portugal to begin their family
there. Although, we all live at
distance, we are proud to say that even with
the hardships and challenges that it brought,
being
away from one another has only made us closer
and more appreciative of life and each other.
We are very blessed to say that the Sousa
family has only grown over the years into a
more beautiful and loving family.
Check out this
incredible song that describes my family!