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Chapter 10: You Are Cape Verdean

By The Architect of NextBlock City February 27, 2026

A Sad Day

Julia Reis died April 4, 1974, at forty-eight. It was the first death in the family.1

“A sad day for me and my whole family. We had never had death in our family before. I don’t think any of us handled it well. I know I didn’t.”

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • Julia’s Son

    After her death, Julian asked Uncle John if his grandfather was still alive. John was hesitant. Julian said: “If there is a problem, I can find it myself.” John gave him the address in New Bedford.1

    Julian drove alone. He found Antonio Raymond Bento sitting on a stoop, alone, at eighty-seven years old.

    “I approached and asked, was he Nana? He replied yes. Not knowing if he would know who I was, I said: ‘I’m Julia’s son.’ He started crying.”

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • For the First Time

    “I stayed with him for three days. I saw the Cape Verdean culture for the first time. I heard the Creole language for the first time. I saw people who looked like me, in abundance, for the first time.”1

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • American Born

    “Then he said something to me that changed my whole view of life and who I was as a person. He said: ‘You are American born, but you are Cape Verdean.’”1

    “For once I was not that kid that got sent away. I was not that kid looking to find a beach in Jamaica. I was not the kid trying to find who I was. I was Cape Verdean, and everything about me was to change inside.”

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • Raw Fish

    Antonio Bento — a Cape Verdean immigrant of outstanding strength and health, always ready to fight, loved to dance — had no health issues at 89 except athlete’s foot from working in ditches. He developed an infection that led to gangrene and amputation of both legs.1

    Before entering the hospital, he bought Emily a car because he said he would not be here anymore. He believed the hospital was where you went to die.

  • Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

    • The Moonshine

    In the hospital, Julian visited. Antonio lay in bed moving his hands and mouth. Julian asked Uncle John what he was doing. John said: “He’s eating raw fish — something they did in Cape Verde.”1

    Cousins from Brazil came to the hospital with moonshine from Antonio’s brother. They spoke no English. Julian spoke no Portuguese. They put the liquor in Antonio’s coffee. His temperature went from 103 to 100.

    Antonio died in 1984 in New Bedford.

    1. Julian Reis, memoir. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

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