Luso the Series
A mini-series about Peter Francisco, Portuguese Revolutionary War hero
Featured!
Date & Time
Location
About
Kidnapped by pirates in the Azores.
Forced into slavery on a Virginia plantation.
Feeling abandoned, rejected and alone, yet...
God had an plan for his life!
CALuso is pleased to suppport and promote "Luso" - a mini series currently in development of the life of Peter "Pedro" Francisco who was born on July 9th, 1760 in Porto Judeu on Terceira Island in the Azores. Unfortunately, in real life, Peter never knew where he was from, but a birth record was found in the Azores in 1960. Peter would later recount that he was kidnapped on the Day of Pentecost from an island, and Virginia documents record that he was found on June 23, 1765 in City Point (now Hopewell, VA). Young Pedro (later changed to Peter) was referred as George Washington’s “One Man Army” and known as the "Virginia Giant", as he fought in most of the major revoluitionary war battles of the Northern and Southern campaigns for a total of five years . . . from the beginning to the very end . . . and was wounded six times and left for dead twice. A true American hero.
Key Details
The Portuguese-American communities in New England have been preserving Peter’s legacy for over 50 years by building monuments in his honor, naming parks after him, and even giving out the Peter Francisco Award every five years. The first recipient was John F. Kennedy.
Today, five monuments stand in Peter Francisco’s honor, four states observe Peter Francisco Day on March 15th, and the US Postal service enshrined him on a stamp in 1976. Two of the five monuments refer to him as “Hercules”. There are several museums in Virginia and North Carolina that have artifacts on display that were owned by Peter, and his home, called Locust Grove, has been a registered national historic site in Dillwyn, Virginia since 1972. A portrait painting of Peter hangs in the Virginia Capitol building right next to the Speaker of the House’s office door.
Peter lived a long life and was serving in the Virginia Senate when he passed away at the age of 71 on January 16th, 1831. The Virginia government shut down for a day to mourn the loss of a Revolutionary hero, and they paid for his funeral. The Richmond Times reported this was the largest funeral procession Virginia had ever seen. He is buried in a famous cemetery in downtown Richmond, Virginia.
Materials/Gallery
LUSO: The TRAILER
Watch the preview of "Luso".