A gala on Bowdoin Street last week honored the lives of 50 Cape Verdean ‘heroinas’ in an event that coincided with Cape Verdean Women’s Day and Women’s History Month celebrations.

The third annual celebration was hosted once again by the Cape Verdean Association of Boston (CVAB) and held at Ristorante Cesária with live music, food, and a showcase of women from the community doing great things without much fanfare.

CVAB Director Paulo Debarros said Women’s Day in Cape Verde holds a very special place in the culture, with official celebrations there going back to 1981. The fact that the day coincides with Women’s History Month in the United States has made it an opportune time on both fronts to recognize so many women who continue to go above and beyond in the community.

Those recognized included Elizabeth Gomes, who grew up in Boston in a Cape Verdean home while attending St. Patrick’s grammar school and Madison Park High School. Now in the prime of her community activism, she is an advocate for autistic children who founded a public safety officer-training program that is currently in the pilot phase at Boston Medical Center and trained six classes of officers for dealing with autistic children and adults.

“The reason I got into something like this is that I’ve very outspoken, bold, and blunt and don’t sugarcoat crap,” she said, noting that her 21-year-old son has autism, and she has always worried about law enforcement interactions with him.

“Sometimes officers think they have the upper hand in a situation when they don’t, and they don’t know how to approach the situation. What can you do with an autistic child? You’re going to make the situation worse if you yell, and have the firearm, the badge, and the radio.”

She said her son flourished once in a Boston Public School, and now travels on the subway as he has a “passion for trains.” And her advocacy with public safety officers using her experience with autism is breaking down barriers.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to expand and work with them to make the training available to Boston Police and state troopers,” she said. “The saddest thing about autism is that it is an invisible disease, and many people don’t recognize it in an interaction.”

Also recognized was 56-year-old Noemia Monteiro-DoCanto, who has spent 30 years advocating for public safety and prosperity on Bowdoin Street with various organizations. Now a community health worker for Bowdoin Street Health Center, she recalled gathering residents and business leaders to form the long-standing public safety task force. “It’s so special to see what that has come to do now many years later – all on Bowdoin,” she said.

“It feels good to be honored; I don’t like the spotlight,” she added. “But it’s nice to be recognized, and to know in the third year this makes 150 women in the spotlight who can all connect and work together to make the community even better.”

Other notables in the audience included Dr. Ambrizeth Lima, 60, who retired from Boston Public Schools in January after decades of teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in schools like the Jeremiah Burke High School, the Mildred Avenue School, and Madison Park High.

“I enjoyed the daily interactions with students most definitely, and Boston is such an exciting school district to work in,” she said.

Another standout was Nazare Martins, who has lived in the Bowdoin-Geneva area for 50 years, raising six of her own children and many others from the community. She was honored not only for her work at Bowdoin Street Health Center, but also for her open-door policy at home where she has cared for countless young people who needed a helping hand.

The list of heroinas also includes: Adalgisa Ramos, Adalicia de Pina, Ana Maria Fidalgo, Ana Lopes, Ana Monteiro, Ana Semedo, Carla Alina Rodrigues DePina, Cecilia De Andrade, Cristina Santos, Elsie Dias; Hena Lopes, Ineida Alves, Jessica Correia, Dr. Joanne DaSilva, Joyce Galvao, Julie Cabral, Kleusa Andrade, Lea-Antoinette Serena, Lourenca Barros-Randolph, Maria Alice Mendes Cardoso; Maria ‘Tchibita’ Correia, Maria Lucia Fonseca-Grooms, Maria ‘Aaliyah’ Soares, Maria Socorro Barbosa, Marisa Babcock, Mary Ann Lomba, Mina DeBarros DePina, Narcisa Araujo, Natalina Mendes, Neusa Pina; Neusa Ribeiro, Nuria Silva, Orisa Tomar, Ruddmila Barros, Vanusa dos Santos, Zuleica Rosario, Adalina Alves, Assuncao Teixeira, Euridice Fonseca, Ineida Tavares; Iracema Tavares, Juju Brito, Paula Silveira, Maria Lomba, Elizabeth Gomes, and Sabina Depina.

Ambrizeth Lima, Loduvina Barros, and Joao Lopes.

Anaya Moreira, Lucy Grooms, Joanne DaSilva, Maria Sachetta, and Maria Dafonseca.

Heroinas Noemia Monteiro DoCanto and Elizabeth Gomes with CVAB Director Paulo Debarros in center.

Jessica Correia, CVAB Director Paulo Debarros, Nazare Martins, and Lucy Grooms. Seth Daniel photos

Mayoral candidate Josh Kraft made the rounds at Thursday’s event talking to the ‘heroinas’ and their guests.

Mother and daughter restaurant team, Rudmilla Barros and Ana Semedo. They operate Cape Verde Taste on Geneva Avenue.