Eat your sweets! Today is Malassada Day!

Today is the fat Tuesday, also known as “Malassada Day” or “Semal Sended Tuesday” in the Portuguese community. It is a day to enjoy rich foods and desserts before fasting the Lent.

After all, I recommend that you treat you to sweets today. Many Rhode island residents have recently been in their feeling for nostalgia. Change is in the air We have some of our beloved institutions like Bennys and lost Joe Marzilli's old canteen. Some of our favorite places for the creation of childhood memories were sold to a new owner, including Flo's Clam Shacks and Olneyville New York System. But that does not mean that everything will change. It's just different. Our neighborhoods continue to develop and are becoming more and more gentrified, including Providence's Fox Point, which was once dominated by Portuguese residents.

Fortunately there are still many places that are Traditionally Portuguese In the neighborhood, including Silver Star Bakery and Central Meat Market. Via in East Providence there is Taunton Avenue Bakery and O Dinis restaurant. And there is a church in Fox Point, which is still loved by the Portuguese community, our dear wife of the Catholic Church of Rosary.

Here the local filmmaker Dante Bellini Jr. decided to set his latest documentary, Malassada dayMark the incredible women in the church who create the sweet fried Portuguese pastries on Sundays to collect money for the church. Bellini is an expert in documentaries based on nostalgia, such as his latest film about Benny's.

Malassada day.

There will be an informal screening of Malassada day In the church where Bellini made the film, further Sunday, March 9th at 1 p.m. A second larger screening will specify Thursday, March 20th at 5:30 p.m. on New Bedford Waling Museum. The event on March 20 will highlight the rich cultural traditions of Portuguese-American communities by the lens of a beloved culinary tradition: the Malassada.

On March 20, guests will not only see the film, but will also be treated with a panel discussion with the award -winning director and filmmaker. Dante Bellini Jr.Local food personality Maria Lawtonwho is also the author, culinary expert and moderator of “Maria's Portuguese table”, and Michael BenevidesCultural lawyer and Vice President of the Portugalia Marketplace in River case. Tickets For the personal program, cost $ 5 for museum members or $ 10 for the general public, but there are also Free registration For the virtual program that is available via Zoom Webinar.

The film was a long -term passion for Bellini, who fears that many of our important cultural traditions could be lost with the next generation. It was fascinated by the process and the community behind the production of the Portuguese fried dough, called fIlhósOr more well known than the Malassadas. He hopes that his film will make awareness so that tradition can live on for future generations.

“The essence of history? Sometimes simple fried dough is not really fried dough – especially if it is a Malassada. In this apparently simple delicacy, an art, a science and a tradition that has been passed on for generations, ”says Bellini. “But will the Portuguese Malassada survive forward? Or will time and indifference separate a younger generation from their sacred rituals of the ancestors? What we discovered exceeds the country, region and kitchen. In short, do we lose our efforts, who we are and where we came from? “

Celestina Alves, the leader of the Malassada day.

There is a woman behind the production of the Malassadas for the semi -annual festivals in the rosary. Her name is Celestina Alves, who is referred to by Pastor Vater Joseph Escobar as the “Queen of Malassada”, and has headed a committed group of women from Malassada for decades. Unfortunately, many of the women involved in this process get older, get sick or have died, says Bellini.

Malassada day Raises the following questions: “Will the next generation be ready and be ready to keep this tradition alive? Will the older generation accept a younger team? Is the future of the authentic Portuguese tradition to make Malassada really endangered? “

The short film throws concern and build the alarm for young people. “In less than eighteen minutes, Malassada day tells a universal story about the importance of capturing our culture and rituals, whatever they may be, from wherever we come in a constantly changing society, ”says Bellini. “What is clear is that we often idealize the nostalgica. This is an unexpected and warm film in which you think about her grandmother and possibly her grandmother and the traditions that we keep, and even the one we lose. “

Related articles

The local filmmaker wants her best Benny stories for a new documentary

River Food Guide case

Where can you find Portuguese pastries in Rhode Island