Boas Festas!

This evening begins the annual 4-day event known as the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament in my hometown of New Bedford (New Beige.) Simply called the Portuguese Feast, this is THE main event for the city, steeped in culture and tradition and Madeira wine.

If you are from NB you either love or hate the Portuguese Feast. The North End of the city transforms during the Feast, with carnival rides and games, food vendors, and bandstands. Elbow-to-elbow crowds swarm the Feast grounds in the August heat to soak up the action and partake of the traditional Feast delicacies such as malassadas, cacoila, and carne de espeto.

Large barbecue pits are set up and filled with hot flaming charcoal. People buy cubes of beef or bring their own in tupperware containers (my mother marinates the beef in Madeira wine with garlic and onions before cooking.) The idea is to rent a large metal skewer and wedge your way into the shoulder-to-shoulder lineup by the bbq pit to roast the "carne de espeto" over the open flames. This is a highlight of the Feast. Cooking beef.

Malassadas, for those who do not know, are the Portuguese version of fried sweet dough fritters rolled in sugar.

Cacoila is pork butts slow cooked in a Portuguese-style marinade and is usually eaten inside large, crusty Portuguese rolls. I have lived in many places, and the Portuguese rolls from New Bedford are in a class of their own. I have not seen or tasted anything like them anywhere else on this planet. Yum.

Madeira wine ("Vinho Madeira") is what makes the Feast the wild and crazy place it turns into after dark. Just a small cup will do. This stuff will burn the hair off your tongue. (Or maybe it will grow hair on your tongue?)

As the night goes on, the raucous crowd grows in number and volume. The television show "COPS" has even been known to film episodes at the Feast because the combination of vinho, too many Portuguese people, and ear-splitting noise inevetibly breeds transgression. Police are ubiquitous and there are paddywagons lined up on the street for delinquents. One year both my brothers were locked up in the paddywagon for hours before finally being driven to the jailhouse with a bunch of other Feast-going drunks, but of course, in their case, it was all a misunderstanding. :-)

The Feast ends with a big parade on Sunday afternoon. I used to march in that parade every year twirling a baton or waving a colorguard flag. It was hot as hell, and completely miserable, but I loved every minute. Being part of the Portuguese Feast was an honor to me.

Now that I live far away from home, I miss the Festa. My brother Jon flies in for it every year, without fail. I have not been since 2003, right after Mitch got back from Iraq, and he almost had a PTSD seizure. "This is worse than Baghdad," he said.

Needless to say, if you are not from NB, you might not "appreciate" the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament. And even those of you who are from NB may refuse to go within ten miles of it. But I say, the Feast is New Bedford. It is the ultimate event for the unique city. It brings everyone together. It celebrates the Portuguese heritage of the area. Embrace it. Love it. Live it.

Boas Festas!

http://www.portuguesefeast.com/