São José (Ponta Delgada)

São José is a civil parish in the municipality of Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. It is one of the constituent parts of the city of Ponta Delgada and centre of a cultural and patrimonial inventory of historical, commercial and residential buildings extending from the port to regional Via Rápida freeway. It is the largest civil parish in the municipality, highly urbanized between an area of cinder cones and relative flatlands. The population in 2002 was 5500 inhabitants, its density 3273.81 km² in an area of approximately 1.68 km².

History

Historically, the region of the parish of São José was the dropping-off point for the settlers to the western part of the island. Its past is naturally confused with the history of Ponta Delgada, or Ponta de Santa Clara, in the writings of Gaspar Frutuoso, which was transformed into town by King Manuel I of Portugal in 1499.^[1] Later it was elevated to the status of city in 1546, under the decrees of John III of Portugal.^[2]

In July 2002, owing to the population and administrative issues, the civil parish of Santa Clara separated from São José.

On 20 March 2009, the local government authority inaugurated symbolically, during the celebrations of the feast day of the local patron saint, its parish seat on the Rua da Lisboa.^[3] This event which included representatives of the regional authority, former politicians (such as João Bosco Mota Amaral) and municipal council (such as the President Berta Cabral), was celebrated with blessings from deacon José Garcia, speeches, plaque unveiling and presentation of a photographic gallery of former notable figures from the parishes history and past parish presidents.^[4]

Geography

Its urban extent, which extends into the new parish of Santa Clara, is one of the most built-up regions, preserving a patrimonial identity that is multi-secular, that includes administrative, political, military and religious buildings. It includes a population of 5,500 inhabitants confined within a territory of approximately 1.6 km² between Santa Clara, Arrifes, São Sebastião and the ocean.

São José also has a few schools, a few lyceums, some gymnasiums, churches and a few squares (praças).

Notable citizens

• António Borges da Câmara Medeiros (Fajã de Baixo, 14 June 1812 — Ponta Delgada, 18 March 1879), a property-owner, businessman and Azorean politician;
• Luís Soares de Sousa (Ponta Delgada, 16 October 1846 — Ponta Delgada, 10 February 1901), businessman, Republican politician and benefactor;
• José Bensaúde (c. 1835 - c. 1922), industrialist and businessman
• José Joaquim de Sena Freitas (Ponta Delgada, 27 July 1840 — Rio de Janeiro, 21 December 1913), a priest, orator and publicist responsible for public works envolving questions of religion and morals, who quarrelled with Portuguese and Brazilian intelecturals and journalists;
• Joaquim Teófilo Fernandes Braga (São José (Ponta Delgada) 24 February 1843 – Lisbon, 28 January 1924) was a Portuguese writer, playwright, politician and the leader of the Republican Provisional Government after the abdication of King Manuel II
• Domingos Maria Xavier Rebelo (Ponta Delgada, 3 December 1891 — Lisbon, 11 January 1975), better known as Domingos Rebelo, was a teacher and Azorean regionalist painter, author of many iconographic representations of the Azores, in particular his painting Os Emigrantes, his most recognizable image (of immigrants on the dock of Ponta Delgada);
• Manuel Ferreira
• João Bosco Soares da Mota Amaral (born 15 April 1943), is a politician, serving as the first President of the Autonomous Regional Government of the Azores from 1976 to 1995.

References

Notes

Sources

• Dias, Fátima Sequeira (20 March 2009), Junta Freguesia de São José, ed. (in Portuguese), Inauguração da nova sede da Junta de Freguesia de São José, Nova Gráfica Lda.