Point Loma family tradition: Annual Festa do Espírito Santo June 1-8 ...Middle East

POINT LOMA – The 115th annual U.P.S.E.S. Festa do Espírito Santo, honoring Portuguese religious and cultural traditions in Point Loma, will be held June 1-8.

The annual Festival of the Holy Spirit commences with recitation of the Holy Rosary on Sunday, June 1, culminating on Sunday, June 8, with the Festa Parade departing at 10 a.m. from U.P.S.E.S. Portuguese Hall to Saint Agnes Church. A solemn high mass and coronation follow there at 11 a.m.

The Festa Bazaar at UPSES Hall opens at 11:30 a.m. The Queen’s luncheon follows at noon, with live music and dancing starting at 1:30 p.m. The evening is capped by the Queen’s Ball Presentation of the 2025 Festa Royal Court at 6:30 p.m., with the Queen’s Ball music and dancing with The Kick’s closing out the evening.

This year’s Festa is being sponsored by Jason and Darlene Byrne and their family. Darlene Byrne discussed how her family was chosen. “Every year, if you’re interested in doing the Festa, you put your name into the running, and if nobody else wants it, you’re automatically selected,” she said. “But this year someone else put their name in.”

How was this year’s Festa sponsor picked? “They put the two families’ names into an actual hat and picked a name out,” Darlene Byrne said. “My name got picked.”

Darlene Byrne wanted her family to be selected as this year’s Festa sponsor to continue their legacy of participating in the event. “The reason I’m doing it is because my mother passed away in 2023, and she and my father were both huge contributors to the event over the years,” she said.

“They both worked the Festa in the kitchen. My mother always ran the cake booth every year, and that was special for her. When she went into hospice in 2023, I told the Holy Spirit that, if she were given a painless and suffering-free passing, I would put my name in (for the sponsor) in her honor.”

Sponsoring an annual Portuguese Festa is a huge undertaking and responsibility. “It’s a year-long project and the day you get picked, you’re off and running,” said Darlene Byrne, pointing out that the sponsoring family must plan and execute a handful of fundraisers promoting the event throughout the year.

“You’re responsible for ticket sales and making sure that everything goes well,” she said, adding that those responsibilities include successfully running the three-day Festa Bazaar, as well as purchasing all the food and supplies used there.

In a broader sense, participating in the annual Festa is all about exercising your family’s role as a Portuguese Point Loma resident. “The tradition is something dear to this community for sure,” Darlene Byrne said. “It is paying homage to our ancestors, honoring our parents and grandparents. There are people here who donate year after year. It’s part of a tradition that we’re all so proud of.

“The outpouring of love, support, and donations; it’s very satisfying to know this is a community that you belong to that carries this tradition on year after year. And there are just so many people, hundreds of volunteers, who spend their time making this happen.”

Volunteers, both men and women, are still being sought to volunteer at this year’s Festa. If you are interested, call Steve Virissimo at 619-818-4344. Donations of baked goods are needed for the Festa Holy Rosary and the Festa cake booth. Donations for Rosary Week can be dropped off in the hall kitchen beginning on May 31, and for the cake booth on June 5.

2025 Festa royalty

U.P.A.S.E.S. history

In 1920, M.O. Medina saw the need for a common place for the Portuguese community to gather to celebrate the Festa do Espírito Santo, “Festival of the Holy Spirit.” He developed a committee to gather the funds needed to build a chapel and community hall. He also led his committee throughout California to procure donations, although roads were difficult to travel on. To complete construction work on the chapel, boat owners would leave a crew member at home, paying him 25 cents a ton for his efforts.

In 1922, the Portuguese community of San Diego inaugurated the United Portuguese Azorean Society of the Holy Spirit, Capela, or the U.P.A.S.E.S. Chapel and Hall. The chapel is one of only two original California Portuguese chapels. As more Portuguese immigrants moved to San Diego, the need for a larger hall was recognized, as there were immigrants from the Azores, Madeira, and mainland Portugal. The community pooled together resources and acquired financing.

The original hall from 1922 was then moved, and a new hall was constructed. In 1948, the current U.P.S.E.S. Inc. Hall was opened. Medina served as the first president and remained so for 51 years.

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