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John Philip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C.; however, his father, John Antonio Sousa, was born in Spain to Portuguese parents (they had fled to Spain from Portugal during the Peninsular War), and his mother, Marie Elisabeth Trinkaus, was from Bavaria, Germany. Mother and father met in New York while John Antonio was enlisted in the US Navy (stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard) and Marie Elisabeth was staying in Brooklyn with some relatives. They later moved to DC when John Antonio joined the US Marine Band as a trombonist.

So, Sousa is a Portuguese name (pronounced soo-sa, not soo-za) and John Philip is half of Portuguese ancestry.

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12y ago

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