For Portuguese immigrants, festas maintain ties to faith, culture

The traditions of the festa originate in the example of St. Isabel, Queen of Portugal, who lived in the late 1200s.

On a late summer afternoon, the sound of Portuguese folk music drifts across the campus of Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Turlock, California.

Cups of lupin bean shells are scattered around the parish grounds, remnants of a salty snack called Tremoço, which is only found this time of year.

Beyond a shrine of the Holy Family in the center of…