Calheta de Nesquim
Encyclopedia
Calheta de Nesquim is a civil parish In the municipality of Lajes do Pico
In the Azores
. The population In 2001 is 417, its density is 26.3/km² and the area is 15.85 km²; it is the second smallest parish In the municipality.
The religious parish of São Sebastião da Calheta already existed by 1680, although the chapel constructed there was not clear. The construction of the church began on July 8, 1851, and concluded during its blessing on September 7, 1856; it was constructed on the ruins of an older chapel, that existed from the 15th Century. Its great motivator was the parish priest Father António Silveira de Ávila, who lived in Calheta de Nesquim for many years. The temple is a building with two bell-towers, and constructed facing the ocean, owing to its communities focus on the sea. In 1948, new bells and a clock were added to the front fachade, along with images of Santa Filomena
and Santa Teresinha, due to the patronage of Lourenço Oliveira, a U.S. emigrant and former resident. In 1983, new renovations, supported by Emília Vieira da Silva (another U.S. emigrant), the Civil Parish Committee, the Municipal Council of Lajes do Pico, and the Azorean Regional Government.
It was Father Manuel Alvernaz, a citizen of Prainha do Norte, who help found the Cooperativa Progresso Calhetense a benevolent group dedicated to economic growth and assisting their members in the eastern municipality, and parish. It constructed a building to produce many of the local goods for export, including ceramics, pottery and local metal-works. Around 1925 a small boat was built by one of its members, Manuel António Furtado Simas (better known as Master Manuel Bentes) a resident of Santo Amaro
, and sentimentally referred to as a Rainha das Lanchas (Queen of Launches), but christened Calheta in honor of the people's of the Cooperative. In 1931, the little launch was sold to the municipality of Horta, and later incorporated into the fleet of Transmaçor (the Azorean Maritime Transport company), where it ended its days making regular scheduled trips between Madalena and Horta. Until then it was responsible for transporting people and goods between Pico
, Faial
, São Jorge and Terceira, under the command of João do José Goulart (and his mates João da Antonica, of Piedade
and Francisco Goulart of Santa Cruz
. Around 1927, Father Manuel Alvernaz became the confessor in Santa Cruz da Graciosa
, and left the Cooperative, starting a slow decline that would finally see it close down in the following years.
, and connected to the parishes of Piedade (Lajes do Pico)
and Ribeiras by the Regional E.R.1-1ª motorway.
Its heart is the town of the same name, and is covered in dense vegetation in the interior and rugged cliffs to along the coast, extending to smaller hamlets: Foros, Cruz da Calheta, Jogo da Bola, Fetais, Canada da Saúde, Canadas, Terreiro and Feteira. The old ramal was adapted for transit in 1942 (inaugurated on May 22), and accesses the center of the village (referred to as Terreiro) where the main church, the port and Polivalente (the multi-purpose civic center), as well most commercial businesses are located.
Annually, the Festa da Lira Fraternal Calhetense on the second weekend of July, is a consequence of the elevated stature of this institution to the community. It brings other musical groups from around the island, as well as abroad, for a couple days of concerts.
Lajes do Pico
Lajes do Pico is a municipality in the southern part of the Azores.The municipality is located is on the southern part of the Pico Island. The northern area of the municipality is mountainous while the Atlantic Ocean is in the south. The only road linking to the northern part of the island runs...
In the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. The population In 2001 is 417, its density is 26.3/km² and the area is 15.85 km²; it is the second smallest parish In the municipality.
- Calheta de Nesquim is one of the more precious pearls that circles the neck of Pico. There the sights jump from side to side, trying to capture in total the magic...the memories so graceful, such tenderness, such splendor. It is what comes from, apathy and darkness, in the Square of Laziness, to see, to guard, as if there existed the Monte Tabor, as if there the light had a luminescence more intense...Calheta de Nesquim, a place where we unite the ideal of beauty, that we search for constantly...and where we feel soaring and reflecting, in an air of mystery, the abbreviated song, of passion... (Guido de Monterey, 1978)
History
In the 16th Century, during tempestuous and dark night, a ship returning from Brazil, loaded with wood, shipwrecked along the southern coast of Pico. Three survived the shipwreck (João Redondo or Rodolfo, João Valim and ship's captain Diogo Vaz Dourado), and were guided to safety by the ships dog, to a small bay. The dog was named "Nesquim", and the small bay was referred to as the Calheta (which is Portuguese for "small bay") de Nesquim. As the story goes, Nesquim had originally survived the tempest by jumping to safety onto a dyke located along the coast, called Morricão. This is the reason why the heraldry of the parish includes a dog, to represent Nesquim, the discoverer of the small bay.The religious parish of São Sebastião da Calheta already existed by 1680, although the chapel constructed there was not clear. The construction of the church began on July 8, 1851, and concluded during its blessing on September 7, 1856; it was constructed on the ruins of an older chapel, that existed from the 15th Century. Its great motivator was the parish priest Father António Silveira de Ávila, who lived in Calheta de Nesquim for many years. The temple is a building with two bell-towers, and constructed facing the ocean, owing to its communities focus on the sea. In 1948, new bells and a clock were added to the front fachade, along with images of Santa Filomena
Philomena
Saint Philomena is venerated as a virgin martyr saint of the Catholic Church, said to have been a young Greek princess martyred in the 4th century. Her veneration began in the early 19th century after the archaeological discovery in the Catacombs of Priscilla of the bones of a young woman, which...
and Santa Teresinha, due to the patronage of Lourenço Oliveira, a U.S. emigrant and former resident. In 1983, new renovations, supported by Emília Vieira da Silva (another U.S. emigrant), the Civil Parish Committee, the Municipal Council of Lajes do Pico, and the Azorean Regional Government.
It was Father Manuel Alvernaz, a citizen of Prainha do Norte, who help found the Cooperativa Progresso Calhetense a benevolent group dedicated to economic growth and assisting their members in the eastern municipality, and parish. It constructed a building to produce many of the local goods for export, including ceramics, pottery and local metal-works. Around 1925 a small boat was built by one of its members, Manuel António Furtado Simas (better known as Master Manuel Bentes) a resident of Santo Amaro
Santo Amaro (São Roque do Pico)
Santo Amaro is a civil parish northern coast of the island of Pico, in the eastern part of the municipality of São Roque do Pico in the Azores. In 2001, the population The population in 2001 was 329, divided into several agglomerations along the northern branch of the Estrada Regional E.R. 1-1ª,...
, and sentimentally referred to as a Rainha das Lanchas (Queen of Launches), but christened Calheta in honor of the people's of the Cooperative. In 1931, the little launch was sold to the municipality of Horta, and later incorporated into the fleet of Transmaçor (the Azorean Maritime Transport company), where it ended its days making regular scheduled trips between Madalena and Horta. Until then it was responsible for transporting people and goods between Pico
Pico Island
Pico Island , is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores noted for its eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge...
, Faial
Faial Island
Faial Island , also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group of the Azores....
, São Jorge and Terceira, under the command of João do José Goulart (and his mates João da Antonica, of Piedade
Piedade
-=*Piedade , a city in the State of São Paulo*Piedade, Rio de Janeiro, is a barrio in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the state of Rio de Janeiro:=In the archipelago of the Azores:...
and Francisco Goulart of Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz da Graciosa
Santa Cruz da Graciosa is a Portuguese municipality on the island of Graciosa, in the archipelago of the Azores. Its population was 4,777 inhabitants , and included four local parishes, and one municipal government structure, that administered the entire island.-History:While the date of its first...
. Around 1927, Father Manuel Alvernaz became the confessor in Santa Cruz da Graciosa
Santa Cruz da Graciosa
Santa Cruz da Graciosa is a Portuguese municipality on the island of Graciosa, in the archipelago of the Azores. Its population was 4,777 inhabitants , and included four local parishes, and one municipal government structure, that administered the entire island.-History:While the date of its first...
, and left the Cooperative, starting a slow decline that would finally see it close down in the following years.
Geography
Calheta de Nesquim, is situated in the southwest coast of Pico, 18 kilometers from the municipal seat of Lajes do PicoLajes do Pico
Lajes do Pico is a municipality in the southern part of the Azores.The municipality is located is on the southern part of the Pico Island. The northern area of the municipality is mountainous while the Atlantic Ocean is in the south. The only road linking to the northern part of the island runs...
, and connected to the parishes of Piedade (Lajes do Pico)
Piedade (Lajes do Pico)
Piedade is a civil parish in the municipality of Lajes do Pico on the island of Pico, the Portuguese Azores. The population in 2001 was 902, giving it a population density of 69.7 persons/km² as its area is 12.94km²; although a relatively spacious location, it is considered the densest parish in...
and Ribeiras by the Regional E.R.1-1ª motorway.
Its heart is the town of the same name, and is covered in dense vegetation in the interior and rugged cliffs to along the coast, extending to smaller hamlets: Foros, Cruz da Calheta, Jogo da Bola, Fetais, Canada da Saúde, Canadas, Terreiro and Feteira. The old ramal was adapted for transit in 1942 (inaugurated on May 22), and accesses the center of the village (referred to as Terreiro) where the main church, the port and Polivalente (the multi-purpose civic center), as well most commercial businesses are located.
Festivities
Being both a civil parish and religious community, the population celebrates a mixture of secular and religious celebrations annually. They include the religious festivals of: the Feast Day of São Sebastião (celebrated on the 24th of January), São Pedro Gonçalves (January 31), the festival of Nossa Senhora de Fátima (on the Sunday closest to the 13th of May), the Feast of Bom Jesus (August 6) and semi-secular festival of São Martinho (with traditional festivities on 11, 13 and 14 November). In addition, the ubiquitous religious celebration of the Holy Spirit, occurs at Calheta de Nesquim's império and chapel during the Sunday and Monday of Pentecosts. In addition, the community also has a festival of band music supported by the local Filarmónica from 9-11 July, not to mention the Festa da Cabra e Cavala (literally, the "festival of the goat and mackerel") on August 7-8th.Sociedade Filarmónica Lira Fraternal Calhetense
The Sociedade Filarmónica Lira Fraternal Calhetense was formed in 1888, from a small group of Republicans, that included the teacher Manuel Pereira Gomes, who organized a group of fourteen musicians that played until around 1910. After a period of inactivity, a new band was established during the 1920s by a group of youth supported by Father Lourenço of Ribeirinha (then parish priest). In 1930 the Lira Fraternal Calhetense returned, this time under the directorship of Gregório Reis, until he left to form the União Musical Calhetense beginning a rivalry between the established bands in 1934. Some families stopped talking to each other, friends parted ways, as the distinction between the Musica Nova (the "new music"), of the União Musical, and the Musica Velha ("old music") of the traditionalist Lira Fraternal Calhetense. This rivalry would remain bitter as the Lira Fraternal Calhetense was directed by João Ávial de Melo, and would persist until the 1940s when few musicians and financial difficulties would force the integration of both bands. Over the years many musicians and band directors would flow into and out of the Fraternal Calhetense, but none of the antagonisms from the mid-century would persist.Annually, the Festa da Lira Fraternal Calhetense on the second weekend of July, is a consequence of the elevated stature of this institution to the community. It brings other musical groups from around the island, as well as abroad, for a couple days of concerts.
Cultural Sites & Points of Interest
The civil parish has undertaken several projects to attract tourist dollars, in this mainly agriculture and fishing community. These include park areas in Morricão and Feteira, the remodeling of the antique windmill, and construction or expansion of existing natural pools at Poço das Mujas and Portinho da Feteira.Civil and Civic Architecture
- Whale-hunting buildings and installations used to demonstrate Calheta de Nesquim tradition of whaling during since the 16th Century
- Morricão Windmill - example of the traditional windmills that were used during the formative period of the communities growth
Religious Sanctuaries
- Parochial Church of São Sebastião - congregational church located in the center of the village, the zone referred to as the Terreiro
- Chapel of São Sebastião - located in the cemetery, it is one of the examples of early 16th Century architecture
- Chapel of the Divino Espírito Santo - used during the Pentecostal celebrations devoted to the Holy Spirit
Notable Calhetenses
- Anselmo Silveira da Silva - Captain, and entrepreneur, responsible for the commercialization of whaling in the parish
- Júlio Carias - parish doctor
- João Flores - artisan, specializing in whale bone sculptures
- Manuel Serafim - musician and music teacher
- José Dias de MeloJosé Dias de MeloJosé Dias de Melo , was an Azorean author and writer.-Biography:...
- author, noted for many of his writings on whaling, emigration and Azorean life