Antonio Alberto Costa collection of Portuguese musical recordings

Antonio Alberto Costa was born in Lisbon and immigrated to the United States as a young man. He was a pioneer and on-going supporter of Portuguese-language media outlets in the United States, founding the first Portuguese-language radio station in the United States (now WJFD in New Bedford) and producing the first Portuguese variety television program, “Passport to Portugal”. He initiated a daily TV cable program, now known as The Portuguese Channel, and purchased and published The Portuguese Times newspaper. He relocated to Washington, D.C., to represent Portugal as the Portuguese language broadcasting director for “Voice of America”. In recognition of his services to the Portuguese community, the government of Portugal conferred upon him the rank of Comendador da Ordem do Infante dom Henrique. He received official citations from the Massachusetts and Rhode Island houses of representatives, as well as merit awards from various civic organizations. During his retirement in South Florida, he remained active in media by producing the only Portuguese-language radio program there, and writing periodic articles for O Jornal. He died in 2005.