Charles P. do Rego’s book The Portuguese Immigrant in Curaçao: Immigration, Participation, and Integration in the 20th Century will be presented on Sunday, August 5, 2012, between 6:00 and 8:00pm at a festive Portuguese cultural evening, organized by NAAM in Willemstad, Curaçao. The presentation is open to the general public.

Description: The rapid industrialization of Curaçao, based on oil refining, resulted in an urgent need for labor which the small community could not provide sufficiently. The Portuguese, mostly from Madeira, were among the immigrant laborers who came by the thousands from the 1920s until the 1950s. A small group managed to stay either at the refinery or in the agricultural and grocery sector while others came to join them. This core of permanent Portuguese citizens evolved since the 1960s into a group with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, particularly in the supermarket sector, but also in some other market segments.

Today, the Portuguese no longer belong to a distinct migrant group, but are an integral part of the Curaçao society. The second and subsequent generations have been assimilated in the Curaçao society and culture.

Charles P. do Rego has analyzed the process of immigration, participation and integration within the framework of both the sending and the receiving countries. The book presents, also through the eyes of the immigrant, an excellent insight on the outcome of the struggle to preserve their own culture and to adapt and thrive in a new society.

Source: http://repeatingislands.com/