Agostinho Da Rocha Cardoso, 84 of Kearny passed away on August 6, 2019, at Mountainside Hospital Glen Ridge, NJ.
Funeral is from the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Dr. Kearny on Saturday at 9 AM. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Cecilia’s Church in Kearny at 10 AM. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Visitation is on Friday from 4-9 PM at the funeral home.
Agostinho Cardoso was born March 26, 1935, in Oliveira, Arcos de Valdevez, Portugal. His passion for Portuguese folklore began at a young age and he first shared his talent as a “concertina” player with the dance group “Rancho São Paio” in his native Arcos de Valdevez.
He married his beloved late wife Maria Celeste Vilaverde Cardoso in 1958. Striving for a better future for their growing family and after immigrating to Lisbon and France, Mr. Cardoso settled in the United States in 1968.
Mr. Cardoso lived in Harrison and Newark before moving to Kearny in 1979, coincidentally the same year the Portuguese Cultural Center of Kearny was founded. His passion for Portuguese folklore inspired him to inaugurate “Sonhos de Portugal” in 1981, Kearny’s Portuguese folklore group composed then of family and friends and continues to live on today, 38 years later, after many generations of dancers and musicians and hundreds of performances celebrating and representing Portuguese culture. His inspiring vision has even been documented by “Local Legacies” and is archived in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Agostinho Cardoso will be forever remembered by his children: Antonio (Tony) and Daughter-in-law, Isabel; his daughter, Maria de Fatima Giangeruso and her husband, George; his grandchildren, Michael and his wife, Nathalie, Kevin, Gavin and Brandon; and countless friends and family.