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Face to Face


Face to Face with Salomão Amado

by MIGUEL VIEIRA 13. October 2008
Cape Verdeans living in Boston and other parts of New England who wish to open checking or high interest rate savings accounts in banks in Cape Verde and resolve other professional matters in the motherland can now do so in a fast and efficient manner without any needless red tape, thanks to the tireless and benevolent efforts of Salomão Amado, a respected notary and owner of Amado Enterprises Incorporated.

FORCV recently interviewed Mr. Amado in a FACE to FACE style though from afar, via an ever effective telecommunication tool, the telephone.

The excerpts of the interview and the contextual analysis (in italics) of the interviewee's biography and business are as follows:


Mr. Amado in front of his company, Amado Enterprises

FORCV: Where were you born?

Salomão Amado (SA): I was born in the island of Fogo.

In case the non-Cape Verdean readers aren’t exactly sure, Fogo is one of the ten Cape Verde islands where there’s an inactive volcano, the only one where a volcano exists, in fact. The island’s name derives from this geological fact. Many, arguably most Cape Verdeans living in America, descend or come from Fogo.


Map of Cape Verde Islands

"Fogos” and “Bravas” were one time collective nomenclatures to all Cape Verdeans as CVs from these two islands were the first ones to immigrate to the U.S. to work as crewmen for the whaling industry in the early 1800’s.

Additionally, one or more of the characters from the famous Moby Dick novel are believed to have been real- life Cape Verdean individuals that Herman Melville met in New Bedford when he lived there in the early 1800’s. This is just one of the many interesting historical innuendos about the island of Fogo, birth place of Salomon Amado, and coincidently, of the first Face to Face interviewee, President Pedro Pires.

Did you attend elementary and secondary schools in Fogo?

SA: I attended primary and middle schools in Fogo and Liceu (High School), in Praia.

Praia is the Capital City of the Republic of Cape Verde. It is located in Santiago, the largest and most populous Island.

Was it Liceu Domingos Ramos that you attended in Praia?

SA: Yes. But it was actually called Liceu (High School) Adriano Ramos back then.

Liceu Adriano Ramos was renamed Liceu Domingos Ramos after the independence in 1975 to honor Ramos's role as an independence combatant.

Did you graduate, and if so, what year was it?

SA: I did graduate in 1974.

1974, was a year of political transition in Cape Verde and other former Portuguese colonies in Africa. After more than 500 years of colonialism, Portuguese colonial rule had practically been toppled. The next year Cape Verde became a sovereign nation. That historical awareness gave birth to the next question.

Being a year of political transition that 1974 was, did you take part in any political activities after your graduation?

SA: Not really. I was unusual apolitical considering the political climate of those days and the fact most of my peers were much politicized.

So you never had any problems with the infamous PIDE, the then Portuguese political police?

SA: No. But I was once summoned by them for some questioning. But I was never arrested.

In the colonial days in Cape Verde, High School graduates or anyone considered to be educated who was not explicitly Pro-Portuguese was perceived as a potential threat to the colonial power structure. This may explain the reason why Salomon was called in for some questioning, in spite of his relative apolitical stance.

What did you do after you graduated from Liceu Adriano Ramos?

SA: I taught History and Portuguese at a middle school in the island of Sao Antao for about three years until I immigrated to America.

When exactly did you immigrate to the United States?

SA: I arrived in Boston in 1977.


Did you continue your education after your arrival in America?

SA: I took English classes off and on at Roxbury Community and continued to improve my education on an autodidact basis for the first few years until I enrolled at Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT).

After Wentworth Tech, what did you do?

SA: I worked in various technical fields for different companies as well as for myself until late 1980’s.

From the late 1980’s going on to the early 1990’s, what did you do?

SA: Around 1989 going on to 1990, I began to see a strong need for community services like help with immigration issues, income taxes, translation services, help with medical records, et cetera. It was that community services void that compelled me to create the Amado Enterprises Incorporated in the early 1990’s.


Amado Enterprises Inc. has been a vital institution in the CV community in the US (Photo: Alberto Pina)

Was it difficult in the beginning?

SA: Oh, yes, I first started from the basement of my house and eventually I moved to an office on Columbia Road. Finally, I got to where I am now on, 775 Dudley Street. I’ve been here since 2004.

Besides immigration and income tax assistance, what other services does Amado Enterprises provide to the Cape Verdean community?

SA: We also buy land and do consultations on real estate markets in Cabo Verde.

What would you say has been Salomon’s Enterprises biggest accomplishment so far?

SA: I would say it’s probably our recent partnership with Banco Commercial do Atlântico (BCA) - Commercial Bank of Atlantic.

BCA is major commercial bank in Cape Verde that offers high interest checking account rates to Cape Verdeans living abroad.


Mr. Salomão Amado and Mr. Fernando Moeda after signing a partnership agreement between Amado Enterprises Inc. and BCA on September 27, 2008 (Photo: Nuno Barbosa)

Why do you think your contractual partnership with BCA in particular is your most important accomplishment?

SA: Well, you see, our partnership with BCA has elevated our overall public image to a significantly higher level, but in the final analysis, it is our community in general that is the victor. Cape Verdeans living in Boston or other parts of New England, for example, who want to open bank accounts and take care of other professional concerns in Cape Verde can do it in a faster and more efficient manner with us.

Improved professional services

Mr. Amado is on point with his assertions about the efficiency of Amado Enterprises Inc. and the services it provides to the Cape Verdean community. BCA would not have entrusted upon Amado Enterprises Inc. the trust that up until recently it only afforded the Consulate of Cape Verde in Boston.

Amado Enterprises is now an official representative of BCA in the United States. It is located on 775 Dudley Street, right in the heart of the Boston Cape Verdean community.

Furthermore, we should note that until recently if a Cape Verdean living in America wanted to open a bank account with BCA, for instance, he or she, would have had to go to the Consulate and deal with unnecessary red tape to establish a professional relationship with bank in his/her country or revolve any other official matter in Cabo Verde.

Such hypothetical client would not have to endure needless red tape anymore. All he or she would have to open a bank account with BCA or get an official document sent to or brought from Cabo Verde, is to bring the pertinent documents, the minimum funds necessary, and voila, within the same day, she'd be resolving a matter that in the not so distant past would have taken weeks if not months to complete.

All in All, as the readers can imagine the above mentioned hypothetical Cape Verdean client would be better satisfied with services rendered by Amado Enterprises. This is now possible, we conclude, because of the tireless and benevolent efforts of Mr. Amado and his associates, which includes his son, Amado Jr., whom he hopes will emulate his entrepreneurial vision and passion for the sake of empowering the beloved Cape Verdean communities at home and abroad, done always in the spirit and rhythm of morabeza.

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Face to Face


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