What is the role of House of the Azores in Bermuda?
The House of the Azores in Bermuda was created with the purpose of promoting, celebrating, preserving, and sharing with everyone in Bermuda the rich culture of the Azores: Azorean traditions, the history of Azorean emigration to Bermuda and all the contributions made by Azoreans to this destination since the beginning of emigration in the late 1840s. We also recognize and celebrate the influence of Azorean culture in Bermuda and vice-versa.
Our institution is independent and not-for-profit. We believe it is important for all the people of Bermuda to celebrate not only who we are today, but also where we come from. The mission of our House is to help bring the people of Bermuda together and remove historical, ethnic, and other barriers.
Our House opens its doors to everyone and invites everyone in Bermuda to discover the meaning of being an Azorean. Our House also considers it crucial for Bermuda that its people celebrate the cultural diversity and traditions present in the archipelago. We defend the importance of understanding, recognizing, and celebrating the history of all people of Bermuda. While historically there have been many trials and tribulations, we firmly believe that, by removing barriers and opening arms to each other's historical and cultural traditions, as well as by sharing, celebrating and honoring these differences that actually unite us, we can take a step closer to connecting the people of Bermuda.

How do you describe the relationship between the Azorean community living in Bermuda and its archipelago?
The history of the Azorean community in Bermuda is like that of most emigrants. We emigrated to provide our families with a better life and, although we have achieved our goal, there is always an emptiness in our hearts. We continue to miss our Azores, our homeland. Although we have emigrated and established new lives, the fact is we still consider ourselves Azoreans.
Our beautiful Azorean islands and our Azorean families remain in our hearts. The feeling in our hearts when we land in the Azores is indescribable, and the heartbreak we feel when we leave is very painful.

How does the House of the Azores contribute to the preservation of the Azorean heritage and culture in Bermuda?
The House of the Azores organizes and participates in numerous events aimed at preserving our Azorean heritage. All our events are centered on Azorean traditions, although in many of them we add a Bermudian touch.
We also participate in events held in the Bermudian community in general, so as to share our cultural traditions and the history of the Azorean community on the island.  We have established a great relationship with the Government of Bermuda, which has been very welcoming and supportive of our mission to preserve the heritage of the Azores.

How many members does the House of the Azores of Bermuda have?
It has 150 supporting members; currently they are all Azoreans or descendants of Azoreans. However, our community center is open to everyone; although we encourage membership and offer benefits to our members, it is not necessary to be a member to participate and support House of the Azores. In fact, we have been very lucky and gathered a lot of support and interest from the Bermuda community at large, whether from Azorean descent or not.

Is attracting investment to the Azores one of your concerns?
Promoting the Azores in general is one of our primary goals, so anything that can attract investment to the Azores is inevitably our concern. Each time the name "Casa dos Açores/House of the Azores" comes up in Bermuda, it represents another positive step in promoting and possibly investing in the Azores.
The House of the Azores of Bermuda is very active in the community and, through social networks, regularly promotes the Azores. We are currently carrying out some projects, in which we hope to have the collaboration of the regional department of Tourism in the Azores, as well as other partnerships that will help promote the Azores in Bermuda and vice-versa.
We believe that the first step to attract investment to the Azores is to take Bermudians to travel to our beautiful islands; then, we need that travel experience to bring them the desire to see and discover more of the Azores.
The Azores islands have so much to offer and we hope that many will feel like returning and investing in our islands.