Celebration of the traditional 112th Festa do Espirito Santo June 3-5 is returning to normal this year.

COVID restrictions forced the Portuguese festival to be downsized into a drive-thru, pick-up-your-dinner event in 2020.

In 2021, for the first time in its century-plus history, Point Loma Portuguese community’s signature annual event was not sponsored by a family, but by UPSES Inc.

That ends in 2022.

“Our family was originally chosen and preparing for the 2020 Festa when sadly the COVID pandemic shut us down at the beginning of March,” said Deborah Dutra who, along with her husband Brian, are 2022 Festa presidents. “Unfortunately, the decision was made to cancel the Festa in 2020. There would not be a parade, bazaar booths in the UPSES Hall parking lot, feeding our community, or our queen and king being crowned in the Sunday mass as we had dreamed of for so long.”

But the Dutras still wanted to do something for their community.

“My husband came up with the idea of the drive-thru event on what was supposed to be our Festa weekend,” noted Deborah Dutra, adding her family followed through with the first-ever drive-thru sopas (traditional Portuguese soup served every Festa Sunday) to “feed the community including parade participants, our hardworking volunteers, and all who would like to come to eat and celebrate with us. We only asked for a small donation of whatever the community could afford.”

The makeshift alternative event proved extremely successful.

Noted Deborah Dutra: “People came in their cars, some decorated with Portuguese flags, etc., and drove through our UPSES Hall parking lot picking up their sopas. Many of our royalty, along with our son and daughter, helped deliver the meals to the cars. It was a way to still celebrate our Festa, our heritage, and our traditions, which COVID took away from us.”

Last year, Deborah Dutra noted the UPSES board took on “the gigantic feat of taking on the first ‘Community Festa’ when pandemic regulations were constantly changing for indoor and outdoor venues. They did a fantastic job continuing our traditions as best as possible given the strict COVID rules our state was still under.”

But this year, the Portuguese community is looking forward to holding a “normal” Festa.

“We were finally able to hold the fundraisers that we were never able to hold in 2020,” said Deborah Dutra.

“We finally held our BBQ Fundraiser, our Portuguese Heritage Night with the San Diego Seals, and, for good measure, we decided to throw in one extra fundraiser to raise funds for one of our parade floats. So we held our inaugural Cornhole Tournament, which was a great success, and we hope that Festa families to follow will choose to add this as one of their fundraisers for their year.”

On May 27, the Dutras held their largest fundraiser, an invite-only successful 69th annual Fish Fry kicking off Festa week. “What will be different this year is that during Festa weekend, we usually have a large tent that spans and covers the entire length of the UPSES hall’s parking lot,” noted Deborah Dutra. “We are going back to old traditions when the parking lot was not covered with a tent.

“With COVID still lingering, we want everyone to feel comfortable and the bazaar will be more of an open-air event. We are definitely recommending everyone bring a jacket or sweater when attending Festa weekend, because we know it can get a bit chilly at night, especially without that large tent over our heads.”

FESTA DO ESPIRITO SANTO

Friday, June 3

6 p.m.: Opening of Festa Bazaar and raising of the flags.

Saturday, June 4

5:30 p.m.: Bazaar re-opens.

6:30 p.m.: Procession to Saint Agnes Church.

7 p.m.: Recitation of the Holy Rosary, Novena, and Benediction at Saint Agnes Catholic Church.

7:45 p.m.: Candlelight procession to the U.P.S.E.S. Hall.

8 p.m.: Exchanging of Crowns at Chapel (Capela).

Sunday, June 5

9 a.m.: Parade formation for all participants at U.P.S.E.S. Portuguese Hall.

10 a.m.: Parade departs from the U.P.S.E.S Portuguese Hall to Saint Agnes Catholic Church.

11 a.m.: Celebration of Solemn High Mass and Coronation by Father Romeo Velos.

– Festa do Espírito Santo is a religious event commemorating Portugal’s Queen St. Isabel, who is said during her reign to have saved bread from her own table to give to the hungry during a terrible famine. Depleting all her funds while seeking food for her people, the queen had no financial resources left. One morning at mass she promised the Holy Spirit to “give my crown to the church if you will send me a miracle so my people will be relieved of their hunger.”

As she left the church, Queen St. Isabel saw ships coming into the harbor loaded with wheat and corn. For over 700 years, the Portuguese have celebrated this event in the Festa do Espírito Santo (Feast of the Holy Spirit), thanking and praying to the Holy Spirit to intercede in times of danger or calamity. Visit upses.com for more information on the event.

Origin of United Portuguese S.E.S. Inc. Hall

The Festa do Espirito Santo and the U.P.S.E.S. Inc. Hall are inextricably linked. In 1920, M.O. Medina saw the need for a commonplace for the community to gather to celebrate the Festa and developed a committee to begin gathering the funds needed to build a “Capela” or Chapel and a community hall. He led his committee throughout California to procure donations, despite roads being very difficult to travel then.

In 1922, the Portuguese community of San Diego proudly inaugurated the União Portuguesa Açoreana Sociedade do Espírito Santo, which translates to the United Portuguese Azorean Society of the Holy Spirit, Capela or the U.P.A.S.E.S. Chapel and Hall.

As more and more Portuguese immigrated to San Diego, the need for a larger hall was recognized. The community pooled together resources and acquired financing. The original hall from 1922 was then moved and a new hall was constructed. In 1948 the current U.P.S.E.S. Inc. Hall was opened. M.O. Medina served as the hall’s first president, a position he held for 51 years.