Paulo Costa Trio Entrevista - Dora Veríssimo
Paulo Costa Trio Entrevista
Paulo Costa Trio presents a new series of interviews with Brazilians, Latinos, and people connected with the Brazilian culture who live in Cleveland, Ohio. Our mission is to build a stronger community among Brazilians living in the city, telling their histories, promoting their work, and helping new members to feel welcome in Cleveland. We will post one new interview every week! Every guest will have an opportunity to sing a song with us. We hope you all enjoy it. - Paulo Costa, Felipe Brito, Davi Lira
Interview with Dora Veríssimo
February 19, 2018 | Cleveland, Ohio
Dora Veríssimo is from Portugal, but she has a Brazilian soul. She loves MPB and is very well known within the Brazilian community. She calls herself the “undercover Portuguese.“
Could you tell us a little bit of your story?
On 09.09.2009, my family and I moved from Portugal to the United States because my husband, João, was invited to work here. I used to work as a Social Worker and worked with homeless kids. I really liked my job, but I decided to come along with my husband. I always say that parents never forget their children and that we Portuguese feel a bit like the “parents” of Brazil and are always very connected to the country. The Portuguese is “sad” because of the fado. The beats in Brazilian music bring the energy. I was always very curious about Brazilian culture, and once I moved to the U.S. I started doing more research on it. I already loved samba, MPB, and Chico Buarque. I feel more in love with Cartola, Paulinho da Viola, Noel Rosa, and many others. I was part of the Carnaval parade with “Grande Rio.” It was an out-of-body experience. I don’t even know how to explain it. But my favorite school is “Portela.”
Community Service
The church that I’m a part of in Cleveland has many different social projects. I participated in the project in El Salvador for a couple of years. In my trips with the other volunteers, I noticed that El Salvador women don’t feel very comfortable talking about their personal hygiene. Since I speak a little Spanish, I decided to start talking to them about more personal topics to help them with feminine hygiene problems. I know being poor is hard, but being poor and a woman makes it even harder. After we started talking more, I began organizing fundraisers to collect underwear and feminine hygiene products. With other fundraisers, we could even send teenagers to college, with the cost of U$1,200 per year. The mission trips happen up to 5 times a year. Two times only with doctors, once with only the younger members of the church and the other ones with the entire community, I usually participate.
Our Social Life
My family and I are very outgoing, so since there weren’t only Portuguese people, I became closer with the Brazilians. Since then, I started organizing parties, mostly at my house, for the kids, and now annually in June, we have our Saint Anthony’s party. I’m a “portuga” (slang for Portuguese woman) with a Brazilian soul. I’m very well known here in Cleveland, together with the Brazilian community. So much so that even though I’m from Portugal, I was invited by Brazilians to an interview! (laughs)
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Paulo Costa Trio
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