Belmiro Rodrigues

Belmiro ("Junie") Rodrigues, a Cape Verdean stonemason, is a member of a Cape Verdean family that has worked in this occupation for several generations in the Norwich area. Belmiro learned from his father in the course of working on masonry since his teens. He has built a successful business in southeastern Connecticut while serving important roles in the Cape Verdean community, most notably as president and past president of the Santiago Society, an active Cape Verdean cultural organization. Belmiro mentored the Cape Verdean youth dance group Estrellas at Norwich Free Academy, and assisted them when they apprenticed to musician Joao Monteiro in 2005, under the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program.