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Fall 2011
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Dinner Article
My Prima
Mary daRosa Giglitto
Submitted by Daniel A Silva
Mary
daRosa Giglitto, or as I knew her, Prima Mary died on Sunday,
February 27, 2011, just a couple weeks shy of
her 73rd birthday on March 12th. Words can not express the
sadness and hurt the devastating news brought me. Mary was
a person who touched my heart from the start. With her great
sense of humor to her intellect, Mary was truly an inspiration
to all young adults within the Portuguese community of San
Diego. She was a woman of education, religion, tradition,
and culture. Many of you know how dedicated Mary was to the
Portuguese community here in San Diego. From the Cabrillo
Festival Inc, Portuguese Historical Center, Portuguese-American
Dancers of San Diego, and Festa do Espirito Santo; Mary was
always just a phone call away.
The Festa do Espirito Santo
is one place where we all knew we would see Mary around.
She was on the roof year after
year lining up the parade and getting
the participants in order. You better watch out for Mary, especially if you
were wearing sunglasses and chewing gum. She was not afraid to call you out
on the loud speaker and make sure you followed the rules. Sometimes I even
hoped she would forget my name because believe me I got a shout out, “Daniel
Silva take off your s
unglasses
and spit your gum out, you know better!” Some
people would think they were sneaky and would wait until they got out of Mary’s
sight and start wearing the sunglasses and chewing the gum. They thought
wrong. The minute we reached the church, there was Mary again shouting from
the crowd.
She also began to build her own little posse that were on the look out for
her. Mary truly warmed my heart.
The
Portuguese-American Dancers of San Diego will be forever
grateful for the work Mary did for their
trip to Portugal in 2004. Mary played a crucial role
in organizing the many locations the dancers performed, both in Madeira and
the Açores. Mary is very well known in the Portuguese community both
in the United States and in Portugal. She is decorated by the Portuguese
government and is considered a dignitary. From her experiences with the Cabrillo
Festival,
Mary used her knowledge and contacts to schedule many performances for the
Portuguese-American Dancers in Portugal. Although Mary was from the island
of the Açores she also had many contacts on the Madeira Island. 
1The
Portuguese-American Dancers of San Diego could not have done it with out
her.
The Cabrillo Festival Inc is
another aspect Mary was truly fond of. From the Miss Cabrillo
pageant to the Cabrillo Festival’s in San Diego and
Ensenada, Mary was always around to assist. Mary was in
charge of the Miss Cabrillo judges
for many years. She made sure there was no audience interaction with the
judges throughout the show. When intermission came around,
there the judges went right
to the bar to have some quiet time. Mary also had the privilege to accompany
many of the Miss Cabrillo Queens to Portugal. She would take them around
Portugal to all the consulates and dignitaries and from
what I hear from a couple of
the past Miss Cabrillo Queens, they truly were treated like royalty. From
limo rides to five-star dinners, Mary made sure these Queens
were taken care of.
Mary has been a part of the Portuguese Historical Center
(PHC) since it was founded in 1977. The PHC was her
baby. Through the good and bad times,
Mary
was always there to help out the PHC and make sure they moved in a positive
path. Although in the end Mary didn’t have the strength to attend
meetings, Mary always was just a phone call away for some advice. Mary
was named President
Emeriti of the PHC several years ago. She was honored but informed us that
the title made her feel ancient.
Mary
always was ready to make you laugh. I remember many times when I would
see her drive up in her Lexus sedan with the license plate “No 1,” I
would always call out, “Here comes our # 1!” and she would reply, “Or
depending how you read it, it also reads no one…” I would always
reassure her that she truly was someone and was probably # 1 in a lot of people’s
book. Any time you saw Mary around town, you have made it a habit to
give her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. If not, you will sure be
hearing it from
her later. Mary always loved to joke and have a good time. Especially
when it came to Religious Education at Saint Agnes, Mary loved to educate
young
adults with the Catholic religion and would use her personal life as
examples in her teachings.
I have many cherished memories
of Mary. She always had the time to talk to all of her “Primas” and “Primos,” and believe me she
sure did have a lot of them. 
She
had many adopted grandchildren who respected, cherished, and loved
her with all their hearts. Mary is truly an inspiration
to us all. She was and will always continue to be a role model and
icon to the Portuguese community in San Diego. I can only hope to accomplish
half
what Mary accomplished. Mary will always be remembered and will truly
be missed.
Prima Mary this is not good
bye…it’s see you
later…Love you!
