New Bedford and Fall River Portuguese Radio Personality Passes Away

Like many other industries, the broadcast industry is a tight-knit group of professionals who exist in a sometimes crazy world few outsiders would appreciate or understand. Broadcasters can change jobs frequently, but often our paths cross multiple times and friendships made along the journey last a lifetime.

Fatima Moniz Castelo was a well-known radio personality in the New Bedford-Fall River Portuguese community for many years. She was a professional.

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Fatima passed away unexpectedly on Friday, November 10, 2023. She was only 66.

We never worked for the same radio station, but Fatima and I worked in the same building for about a dozen years. Our studios were directly across the hall. She was a joy to be around.

Fatima was born on February 28, 1957, in Achadinha, Sao Miguel, Azores. She emigrated to the United States in 1977, settling in New Bedford and eventually Acushnet. At about that time, Fatima and I began thinking about careers in broadcasting.

For many years, Fatima was a well-known and beloved personality on New Bedford's Portuguese language radio station, WJFD, then located on Union Street. For a time, Fatima served as station manager for WJFD.

Fatima left WJFD in 1991 and began a second career as an interpreter and language specialist while joining the broadcast team at Radio Vos do Emigrante in the Fall River area, where she worked for more than 30 years.

That is where I first met Fatima.

Fatima was adored by the many who listened to her broadcasts over the years she was on the air in the New Bedford-Fall River area. I will miss running into her at the market.

Fatima is survived by her husband of 33 years, Cris Castelo, their daughter, Jennifer Musto, her husband, Mark, and their three children.