Every year around this time, a colorful, cultural parade walks
the streets of downtown Hollister and celebrates one of the oldest
traditions in the county.
Every year around this time, a colorful, cultural parade walks the streets of downtown Hollister and celebrates one of the oldest traditions in the county.
More than 1,000 people are expected to fill the streets and join in the fun of the Portuguese Festival, but volunteer Adele Leal said since the celebration has landed on the holiday weekend this year, organizers are unsure about what kind of turn-out they’ll see.
“We don’t have a say about the date because it always lands on Pentecost Sunday,” she said. “Because of the holiday we may have people coming in from all over or heading out to other places, so we just don’t know what to expect.”
Regardless, the celebration kicks off with a dance at the Portuguese Hall on Seventh Street, and the coronation of the queen, 16-year-old Briana Pires, and her sidemaids, Latoya Pires and Jenevieve Stevens on Saturday night. Highly decorated with beaded white gowns, purple capes and sparkling tiaras, the Portuguese court has always been an attention getter at the parade. Pires has been attending the festival since third grade and always dreamed about being queen one day.
“I’m all grown up now and so excited about being queen,” she said. “It’s more than just a parade for me. It has religious meaning.”
On Sunday morning, the three women will join members of the Portuguese halls in Gilroy, Los Banos and other Central Coast communities in a downtown procession. The parade will march east on San Benito Street, then turn to Fifth Street and walk to Sacred Heart Church where a mass will be held. After church, everyone will return to the hall for live music, traditional Portuguese cuisine and the releasing of a dove, which, according to tradition, represents the Holy Ghost.
“It represents peace,” volunteer Kay Soares said.
While enjoying the music, guests will dine on the traditional Portuguese meal, sopas, which consists of bread soaked in beef broth with cabbage and boiled beef.
The meal revolves around an old Portuguese legend that Queen Isabel visited villages in her land to help the poor. According to the tale, one village was so famished, it only had a small amount of barley and enough flour to make one slice of bread. Because of the village’s effort to give all they had, their food was magically turned into enough for everyone there, and since then, the Portuguese community has made it a point for centuries to celebrate Isabel.
