Onésimo Teotónio de Almeida 

Writer and University Lecturer

Ponta Delgada, partnering with all the municipalities of the Azores, intends to mobilise this unique and exemplary cultural capital and serve as the magnetic pole of a programme that will cover the entire archipelago, making the Azores an attractive, even fascinating destination for Europeans and others alike.

Europe, which has recently come to realise the existence of this remarkable group of islands, will have the opportunity to become more aware of a vast heritage that was previously unknown to it. Nevertheless, it will be one that it will discover with pleasure and enthusiasm once it realises that it is Europe itself that extends out into the Atlantic on the way westwards, beyond its continental borders. (...)

Europe will discover our experience of European values in a physical space of unparalleled beauty, in a geography that has managed to preserve the best that nature has to offer, combined with a history full of vigour and creativity. We have never lacked European cultural capital in almost six centuries of our existence. All that remains now is to transform it into the European Capital of Culture.

Onésimo Teotónio de Almeida

Álamo Oliveira
Poet and Writer

Álvaro França
Sculptor

Álvaro Laborinho Lúcio
Writer. Emeritus Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice and former Minister of Justice

Ana Príncipe
Healthcare worker

Ângela Costa Simões
Chair of the Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States (PALCUS)

Anthony De Sá
Writer and Professor

António Bensaude de Castro Freire
Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Bensaude Group

Anthony De Sá
Writer and Professor

António Frias
Construction Business owner (USA)

António Machado Pires
1942-2022
Former Rector of the University of the Azores; Essayist and researcher

António Maria Gonçalves
Artist and politician

António Pedroso
Artist and business owner

António Valdemar
Journalist and researcher

Artur Teodoro de Matos
Historian and Full Professor

Augusto de Athayde
Lawyer

Avelino de Freitas de Meneses
Historian and Full Professor and former Rector of the University of the Azores

Berta Cabral
Former Mayor of Ponta Delgada

Carlos Alberto Moniz
Conductor, musician and composer

Carlos Carreiro
Visual artist

Carlos César
Former President of the Government of the Azores

Carlos Costa Neves
Former Member of the European Parliament

Carlos Melo Bento
Lawyer

Carlos Pacheco Andrade
Business owner (USA)

Carlos Salema
Professor. President of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences

Dom Carlos Ximenes Belo
Former Bishop of Dili - 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner

Catarina Wallenstein
Actress

Chrys Chrystello
Journalist and writer

Cinelândia Cogumbreiro
Former Member of the Legislative Regional Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores
Honorary President of the Azores Child Support Institute (Instituto de Apoio à Criança - Açores)

Daniel da Ponte
Former State Senator of Rhode Island and financial consultant

Delfina Porto
President of the Casa dos Açores (House of the Azores) in Lisbon

Diniz Borges
University lecturer in Fresno and director of the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute

Dionisio Leite
Former President of the Municipal Assembly of Ponta Delgada

D. Duarte of Bragança
Duke of Bragança

Duarte Freitas
Politician and former Member of the European Parliament

Duarte M. da Ponte Miranda
Commander of the Order of Merit of Portugal

Duarte Silva
Researcher at Stanford University, USA

Dulce Scott
Full Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Anderson University, Indiana

Eduardo Bettencourt Pinto
Poet and Writer

Eduardo Ferraz da Rosa
University lecturer, researcher, writer and essayist

Eduíno de Jesus
Poet, essayist and literary critic

Fábio Manuel Machado Mendes
Teacher and Pianist

Fernando Dacosta
Journalist and Writer

Fernando de Melo Gomes
Admiral Former Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Navy

Fernando Menezes
Former President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores

Fernando Tordo
Singer and Songwriter

Francisco Cota Fagundes
Emeritus Professor of Portuguese at the University of Massachusetts - USA

Francisco Gomes de Menezes
Architect

Francisco Pacheco Rêgo Costa
President of the Municipal Assembly of Ponta Delgada

Frank Sousa
Professor of Portuguese and Director of the Saab Center for Portuguese Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell

Frank X. Gaspar
Writer

Gilberta Rocha
Full Professor

Gonçalo Botelho
President of Fundação dos Botelhos de Nossa Senhora da Vida (foundation)

Gualter Furtado
Economist and President of the Economic and Social Council of the Azores

Hélio Costa
Writer, author of musical themes for the Carnaval da Ilha Terceira (Terceira Island Carnival)

Henrique de Aguiar
President of the Instituto Cultural de Ponta Delgada (Cultural Institute of Ponta Delgada)
and former President of the Municipal Assembly of Ponta Delgada

Humberto Melo
Former President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores

Irene Blayer
Full Professor, Brock University, Canada

Jaime José Matos da Gama
Former President of the Portuguese Parliament

Joana Marques Vidal
Former Prosecutor General of the Portuguese Republic

João Aguiar Machado
Head of the Permanent Mission of the European Union to the World Trade Organization (WTO)

João Bosco Mota Amaral
First President of the Government of the Azores and former President of the Portuguese Parliament

João de Melo
Writer

João Luís Roque Baptista Gaspar
Rector of the University of the Azores

Bishop João Lavrador
Bishop of Angra

Jorge Costa Pereira
Teacher, director of the newspaper Tribuna das Ilhas and vice-president of Núcleo Cultural da Horta (NCH)

Jorge Couto
Professor

José Alfredo Ferreira Almeida
Researcher and essayist

José Carlos Teixeira
Full Professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada

José Francisco Costa
Retired Professor at Bristol Community College and writer

José Germano Rego de Sousa
Former President of the Portuguese Medical Association

José Lopes de Araújo
Journalist, lawyer, former Director of RTP-Açores TV channel and currently Director of Public,
International Affairs and Archive at RTP-Portuguese Public Broadcaster

José Manuel Bolieiro
President of the Regional Government of the Azores

José Manuel Martins Goulart
University Lecturer and PhD in Mathematics

José Oulman Carp
President of the board of the Israeli Community of Lisbon

José Reis Leite
Former President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores,
Researcher and essayist

Katherine Vaz
Writer

Lélia Nunes
Writer

Linhares Furtado
Surgeon and University lecturer

Luís Garcia
President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores

Luís Gil Bettencourt
Musician

Luís Miranda
Politician (Canada)

Luís Paulo Alves
Former Member of the European Parliament

Luís Paulo Faria Ribeiro
Architect

Luís Pedroso
Business owner (USA)

Luiz Antônio Assis Brasil
Writer and University lecturer

Luiz Fagundes Duarte
University lecturer, researcher and essayist

Manuel Arruda
Former Mayor of Ponta Delgada

Manuel da Costa Fontes
Retired professor at Kent State University, Ohio

Manuel Sousa Lima
Designer and Member of the Royal Society of Arts

Manuela Eanes
Founder and former president of the Portuguese Child Support Institute (IAC)

Maria do Céu Patrão Neves
Full Professor

Michael Benevides
Business owner (USA)

Michael J. Rodrigues
Senator of Massachusetts

Norberto Ávila
1936-2022
Playwright, novelist, short story writer and poet

Nuno Bettencourt
Musician

Paulina Arruda
Psychologist and co-owner of radio station WGFD (New Bedford)

Paulo Casaca
Former Member of the European Parliament

Pedro Bicudo
Journalist and researcher

Pedro Pauleta
Former football player and President of the Fundação Pauleta (foundation)

Pedro Verona Pires
Former President of the Republic of Cape Verde

Ricardo Serrão Santos
Senior Researcher, University of the Azores Minister of Sea and former Member of the European Parliament

Roberto Carneiro
Engineer, University Lecturer and former Minister for Education

Romão Braz
Vice President of Finançor Group

Rosa Simas
University Lecturer and activist

Rubens de Almeida Pavão
Former school headmaster of Ponta Delgada and researcher

Sofia Ribeiro
Former Member of the European Parliament and current Regional Secretary for Education

Susana Goulart Costa
University lecturer and former Regional Director for Culture

Tomaz Borba Vieira
Teacher, painter and writer

Urbano Bettencourt
Poet and writer

Vamberto Freitas
University lecturer and writer

Vasco Garcia
Former rector of the University of the Azores and former Member of the European Parliament

Victor Rui Dores
Teacher and writer

Zeca Medeiros
Film director, actor and composer