Dorchester native and former Brockton mayoral candidate Tina Cardoso (above) gave the keynote speech at the fourth annual Cape Verdean Association of Boston (CVAB) Women’s Day Celebration on March 26 at Restaurante Cesária on Bowdoin Street. The annual event seeks to honor the unheralded work of Cape Verdean women in the community to coincide with Women’s History Month and the Cape Verdean Women’s Day – both in March.
“We’ve been doing this for four years because there are a lot of young and older Cape Verdean women who do great work and go entirely unnoticed,” said Paulo DeBarros, director of CVAB. “No matter what kind of work they’re doing, we want to help these leaders and let them know we are paying attention and lift them up as role models.”
Elected officials supporting the event included state Sens. Nick Collins and Liz Miranda, and state Rep. Chris Worrell.
Cardoso, 54, grew up in Dorchester on Meetinghouse Hill where many of her relatives still live. She attended the Mather School, as did her daughter Lea-Antoinette Serena – current vice president of the Boston Teacher’s Union. However, Cardoso said once attending Boston Latin School (BLS), she fell in with the wrong crowd and ended up having to quit school at age 16 when she became pregnant.
In time, she said she was able to pull herself up, not give up, and go back to get her high school equivalency and then attend UMass Boston nursing school.
“I credit my mom with helping me because she was always a strong woman and we did not get along and that’s why I rebelled,” said Cardoso. “Her strength was incredible and a lot of what I did was watching her strength and persevering. She raised six kids in Dorchester and my father wasn’t really there. My brothers never got in trouble and did well. My mother’s strength made me tough, and I knew I had to do something even though I screwed up.”
Cardoso recently moved to Fall River and works at Boston Medical Center while pursuing her nurse practitioner’s license through clinical rotations at Bowdoin Street Health Center. Meanwhile, she has operated the Cape Verdean Women’s United non-profit in Brockton for 10 years to provide community support and services in an area that can be a “service desert.”
“I was a teen-age mom and a high school dropout and was focused on work and getting my nursing degree,” she said. “When the kids grew up and left, I wanted to give back. As a survivor of domestic violence, I felt the need to do something for others in that situation.”
In a wild card move, she also entered the political arena and served a term as an at-large city councillor in Brockton, then ran for mayor in 2021. She survived the preliminary election but lost in the final.
“It was a good experience,” she said. “I don’t know if I’d do it again, but I learned a lot.”
Another ‘heroina’ honored was Nancy Depina Araujo, 47, (above) who has been a Boston Public Schools (BPS) educator for 15 years, now at the Murphy School, but is also well known for her women’s empowerment work as a certified life coach. Depina grew up in Dorchester and attended BLS and UMass Amherst, leading the Cape Verdean student associations at both schools.
In her business, Mindset Cultural Coaching, she focuses specifically on mothers and encouraging them to pursue their goals and also take care of their families – that it doesn’t have to be and either/or decision.
“Growing up the way I did, and unfortunately a lot of times in the Cape Verdean culture, women didn’t have a voice, and they were to be dependent on others,” she said, noting that she also has raised two boys.
Her journey to confidence and unleashing her “inner badass” has propelled her to do the same for women balancing career and motherhood – and her program has become extremely popular.
“I learned that it’s possible for you to have life goals and be a good mom and work at the same time,” she said. “Because you’re driven and have goals, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad mom…If a woman is empowered and follows her desires and dreams, the whole family is happier. Many generations of women didn’t get to do that. I’m trying to break generational cycles, especially in the Cape Verdean community.”
Others honored included: Angela DaSilva, Aicha Almeida Tavares, Aleida Garcia Soares, Alice Barros, Ana De Pina, Arminda B. Cabral, Claudina Martins Mendes, Darcy de Pina, Deise Andrade, Deise Paiva, Delmira Cardoso, Djamila Daveiga, Francisca Barros Himmer, Ildulce Brandão-DaSilva, Julieta Tavares, Lizabeth Da Silva-Monteiro, Loduvina Carvalho, Lucette Tavares, Marcy Fontes, Marlene Pontes, Melinda Santos, Natalina Fernandes, Natercia Dias, Neuza De Pina, Raquel Semedo, Rosalina Cardoso, Rute Pires, Salete Costa da Rosa, Samira Pinto, Sandra Correia, Sandra V. Silva, Tatiana Vicente, Vania Pereira, and Licia Pires (Tininha).
