From Humble Beginnings to Community Pillar: The Legacy of José Eustáquio – Part 4

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For decades, a narrow stereotype painted immigrants as individuals escaping poverty with little to contribute beyond manual labor. But the truth was — and remains — far more compelling. Many of these newcomers brought with them resilience, ambition, and vision. All they needed was the right environment to thrive. In Canada, they found it. Among these immigrant stories, the journey of the Portuguese community stands out. Since the arrival of just 69 individuals in Halifax in 1953, the community has grown to over half a million strong. Some members have lived quietly, shaping their families and neighborhoods behind the scenes. Others have made lasting contributions in the cultural, social, and professional fabric of Canadian life. One of the most prominent figures among them is José Eustáquio. Born in Peniche and a Nazareno at heart, Eustáquio arrived in Canada in 1974. Even when he wasn’t actively seeking it, the Portuguese community surrounded and influenced him. So when he was elected President of the Alliance of Portuguese Clubs and Associations of Ontario (ACAPO) in 1997, it came as no surprise. Over the years, his name became inseparable from the organization. A tireless leader, advocate, and champion of Portuguese culture, José Eustáquio has carved out a legacy that has made him a legend within the community. Opinions about him may vary — some praise him, others critique — but his impact is undeniable. Admiration is something he has earned across the board. In the coming days, we will be publishing a series of articles exploring the life of José Eustáquio, drawn from a recent four-hour conversation with him. Each piece is presented in the first person, transcribed directly from José Eustáquio’s own words, to preserve the authenticity and nuance of his voice across the various topics we discussed. Once the series is complete, all the articles will be compiled into a single, comprehensive narrative. Enjoy, comment, contribute. Let’s write history together!

In the fourth and final segment of the series, José Eustáquio talks about various topics, including the anniversary celebrations of Portuguese immigration in Canada, Magellan, Casa de Portugal, Brockton Stadium, his tenure at LiUNA, his most difficult time and the influence his community work has had on his personal and professional life, among others.

Disclaimer: The opinions and statements in the article that follows are those of José Eustáquio and do not represent the position or opinions of Luso Canada Media Corp. or lusocanada.com.

CELEBRATION OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF PORTUGUESE IMMIGRATION TO CANADA

The year 2003 was horrible. The ACAPO was  asked to organize a community commission with the president of the Federation, the president of the Congress, Abrigo, the Consulate General, several entities such as CIRV…Alvarez was part of the commission…many were part of it. We had an official visit from the Prime Minister of Portugal at the time, a gala dinner on Thursday in Ottawa at the invitation of Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, in which I did not participate but sent someone to represent the Alliance.

Then, between Thursday and Friday there is an outbreak of SARS in Markham and suddenly, in 24 hours, from Thursday to Friday morning, the Prime Minister of Portugal chooses not to come to Toronto and in RTP and in the media in Portugal it was said that everyone was dying in Toronto. Really? There were three cases at the hospital in Markham. I was at the airport waiting for João Pedro Pais and other artists, and no one showed up. I had already paid the fee and everything. I received information from Thursday to Friday warning me that the Prime Minister chose not to visit Toronto because everyone was dying.

The worst part was that Friday we had a Gala Dinner at the Liberty Grand for the 50th anniversary celebration. The committee was organizing the dinner but the responsibilities were all with the ACAPO and it was $180 per plate. We were selling tickets for $100, so we had commitments. Nick DiDonato was my friend and owner of the Liberty Grand. We went from 860 confirmed guests to 80 in 24 hours. Without the Prime Minister, no one wanted to go.

The Alliance is in shit. There was no João Pedro Pais, all the artists left the program and I was left to deal with it all. Alvarez was with me at the time because CIRV was the radio station of Portugal Week and he told me, “call Jorge Ferreira, I can bring Jorge Ferreira. You will at least still have a show for Saturday night.” And Jorge, “ah, my band is in Paris, if you pay from Paris to Toronto, give me 20 thousand US dollars and I’ll show up at the last minute.” Torrential rain on Saturday. I was on stage at Trinity Bellwoods Park dancing alone and they were all in the tent behind the stage so they wouldn’t get wet. Two days of rain. We had $280,000 in losses that are still being paid today…a lot of people forget that.

FRANK ALVAREZ WAY AND COMMUNITY MEDIA

The slogan “The Voice of the Community” was created by me. If you ask Frank Alvarez and if he’s honest, he will tell you that the “Voice of the Community” patent is under my name. It was José Eustáquio who understood the power of the voice of the Portuguese community. CIRV had a huge voice from 4 to 6 pm on the way home. Chin still has enormous power on the way to work today. Unfortunately, CIRV is no longer ours, but CHIN still exists and I give a lot of value to Dário Amaral for that.

At that time, you were successful with anything you put on CIRV. Portugal Week, great success. At that time, Alvarez had three clients: Labatt, José da Costa from Addison on Bay who is still there, and Manuel from ArtNova Furniture. Over $100,000 annually spent each. Alvarez was smart with the business. I value him, but we’re not friends. I am the president of the ACAPO, he was the president of the CIRV. The president of the ACAPO supported the Frank Alvarez Way. If there is a Johnny Lombardi Way on College, we were celebrating 25 years of CIRV, why not a Frank Alvarez Way? It is from Ossington to Shaw, not all of Dundas. The fact that he is not of Portuguese origin is irrelevant because he has done more for the Portuguese than most Portuguese until me. And since me.

A lot of people can criticize. I am imperfect in my work, but if anyone has tried to do something for the Portuguese culture here , it has been me for 30 years. I value Manuel de Carvalho’s work. Nobody is perfect. We have had great club presidents, but José Eustáquio has done a lot of things that deserve to be recognized.

MAGELLAN

I would like to see the president of the ACAPO, the president of the Federation, the leadership of Abrigo, the leadership of Luso Charities, and if there is a Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, the five of them come together, create a corporate identity as far as legal representation, offices, structure, and all of them support Magellan. And for the next four or 5 years, until the project is built, work towards one common goal to make sure that the project is done and that it represents everybody. With respect to the local entities in Toronto, Provincially and federally, with all the funds that are coming in, understand that we have power and unity. Here, the unions are important. Invite them as well and speak as a common voice. Until that project is done, that should be our goal. Once that project is done, and the doors are open, go back to your original roots.

Now, we are scattered. There is not one common voice. If there has been a need for anything in the community for the past 25 or 30 years, it is a nursing home. We have a great opportunity now and we must all be united. It shouldn’t be a two or three person project. It should be a community-wide project. Thank you for the tenacity of Manuel da Costa to lead this, but Manuel needs help and he’s ready to accept the help.

CASA DE PORTUGAL

If the objective is Magellan, within Magellan there is Casa de Portugal. Now, put Magellan there in four or five years with 262 people living there, a shopping centre, three residential towers. And then we have space to create Casa de Portugal, because inside Magellan you have to have a Casa de Portugal.

Those who think that there are many folk-dance groups and many clubs, and that they will disappear, are completely wrong. I have been president of the Alliance for 27 years. In those 27 years, Asas do Atlântico stopped being a member of the Alliance for seven years, returned to be a member, left again and is now a member again. There is parochialism. I am a Nazarene. Eight kilometers away is Alcobaça. The culture is completely different. This won’t end. You have the pride, be it my son or my grandson against a guy who is from Peniche. I want to have my own folk-dance group. We are different from any other ethnic community.

The problem is those who have assets, who have land and buildings. I accept what Casa das Beiras did. They fought, they spent many years on Caledonia, and they sold it for almost 8 million dollars. When they sold that piece of heritage, they could have symbolically called an assembly to propose donating two million dollars to Magellan for a future Casa de Portugal where Beiras has a constant entity. An avenue, a floor, a living room, a theater room, whatever. Sporting has now been sold at Dupont. Four and a half million dollars. The same thing. One million dollars to Magellan. I want a Sporting avenue, a library, fifty computers, whatever. Vision. And it will happen with Casa da Madeira, Casa do Alentejo, Associação Cultural do Minho at Dynevor… those who have assets that are paid for, forget about selfishness. Get close to Magellan and create a Casa de Portugal. Be it a bedroom, a library, a theater room, a gym, a swimming pool. Whatever it is, it has a name. This is what Casa de Portugal is. Give the money to Magellan with conditions that you are visible forever. Casa de Portugal.

Challenges of Volunteer Work

The Portuguese are different. Portugal may be 1400 km from north to south, but we still have that parochialism. It is different from any other country in Europe. And that’s why we have such rich folklore. Many people think we have too many clubs, but we don’t. Our differences create our unity, and we strive to support and celebrate our differences. For example, Alcobaça and Nazaré are close. Whoever is from Nazaré is completely different from Alcobaça. But there is respect. Therefore, with these differences, the Portuguese community is even more vibrant, and there is no problem with having many clubs.

Now, what about leadership? The associative movement is more complicated, people are tired. We like to celebrate and participate in our associations, but our main challenge is criticism. Any of us, we are fed up with abuse. Lack of support. There is a lot of criticism. In volunteer work, no one is perfect, but that cannot be an excuse. To lead an organization requires responsibility. But let the people work. Less criticism and more support. For 27 or 28 years, economically, there has been a lot of growth and there are many rich people in the community. Where are they?

Their wealth was all because of timing, not because they were great business people. Yes, they fought to create an opportunity for themselves and their families. I value everyone and many of them are friends. I say that they climbed the mountain of life. If you climb the mountain with someone by your side, the more mountains you will climb. And success in life is climbing mountains. If you plan to climb the mountains alone, you no longer climb the next mountain, but if you have 20 or 30 with you, you will climb many mountains in life. This is what this Community needs. That’s what the Italians have done. And other communities. The Jews, for example.

We are more united than we think, but those conversations before or after the Benfica game, or in a bar playing cards is what destroys this Community. There are many people who fight for what we are doing every day. That’s what I like, that’s why I’ve been leading the Alliance for 27 years. I’m a fanatic. I think the people deserve it. I can receive complaints anywhere, but I go to Dundas or College Street and when a family shows up, they know me and say, “keep working. If it’s not you, this ends.”

PROUD TO BE PORTUGUESE

Historically, if you look at the immigration of the Portuguese community, we came here out of necessity. A lot of people forget the fact that there’s a big division about the immigration of Portuguese to Canada. The Azoreans came here out of necessity. The ones from the continent came out of privilege to take advantage and eventually finance investment to go back to Portugal. That created a major shift in the division in our community. That’s why we were never able to become one. And then, unfortunately, we have leadership that maintains the division. The church, and certain leaders like me. You can criticize the Alliance or certain members of the media that chose to maintain that division for their own self-interest.

The Portuguese are extremely passionate about their culture. A lot of us don’t comprehend or don’t know that our borders are the oldest borders in Europe. We’ve been around for over 1100 years. Much longer than Italy and much longer than Spain. Why are the Portuguese not proud? Why? I was always irritated when somebody would come up to me and say “you’re a pork chop.” Don’t call me a pork chop. I’m Portuguese. I’m still irritated today. I understand we eat pork, but I’m not a pork chop. I’m over 1100 years of history. Respect that. I have generations behind me. My grandparents were here in Terra Nova fishing for cod. Many of us had other adventures all over the world. I am not a pork chop. I am Portuguese. 

COMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

I think there are many differences between Portuguese and Portuguese Canadian. They’re not the same. Imagine your second generation of Portuguese who go to visit Portugal and who are immersed here in this Canadian community. There isn’t that experience that I had and that you had, for example, but when will we distinguish the difference? When will we tell the difference? This is important. I am lucky to be from Nazaré. Nazaré is a peninsula where there are many, many immigrants.  

Let’s talk about the historical part. I think the villages and cities represent the history of cod fishing. We talk about Castelo de Neiva, Vila do Conde, Aveiro, Nazaré, Peniche, Setúbal, Sesimbra. I think the culture is identical. That phase of nine, ten, eleven months when men disappeared, went to the other side of the world… the Portuguese have been coming here to fish for cod for 500 years. When Sampaio came here in 2001, we built a monument in Saint John’s, Newfoundland, celebrating 500 years of Portuguese cod fishing. Canada was founded in 1867. The Portuguese take that for granted. We were here way before anybody else

Did the Portuguese Government and certain companies abuse the labourers and the fishermen? Yes. A lot of them would disappear in dowries. They were given a lamp in the middle of the Atlantic and, in the fog, we would never find them. Many Nazarenes lost their children and husbands here in Newfoundland, in the Land of Cod. Not today, but in the 1950s, 60s and 70s that was the reality. Nobody talks about that. It should be spoken about. That was our reality.

Our parents, our grandparents fought for this. It was a hard life, but they tried to do something for us. Nowadays, everyone is fine. I don’t think there’s a family from the cod years that isn’t well off. They have land, houses, etc…but they suffered a lot. If a parent or a grandparent has been away from the family for nine or ten years, there is no communication and there is a tendency to be cold. The women did everything. Mothers were family assets that invested in the future. The men came to the house for eight or nine months and got the women pregnant. That’s why there are families of ten, 11, 12, 14 children, and everything was fine. But suffering was not easy.

At the beginning of the 1980s, they bought clothes, they bought BMWs and Mercedes from Peter Santos of World Fine Cars, from Tito of Azores Car Sales, they rented entire houses, and they had three or four, and the restaurants were full. It was the creation of the Portuguese movement here. Leão D’ouro, on Augusta and then there at College and Augusta. Everybody was doing well. Sea King, the Boat on Augusta, Casa Abril on Augusta, Amadeus on Augusta, Brasil on Nassau. A lot of people forget. Many of the great entrepreneurs in the Portuguese community were created at that time. Many made money and returned to Portugal. Many were illegal. They altered this community.

On the civic side, there was a lot of lack of information. Many were supposed to become Canadian and never fought for it. We had 20 or 30 years there where our community leaders weren’t even Canadian. They wouldn’t vote. That is why we had no power, because without voice you have no respect. We built this city, this province. I am tired of hearing politicians say that. We are much more than that, and that we are the people who clean offices. We have economic power if we are united. That’s another reason why I got involved with community, to work with the Alliance, because I feel we should empower ourselves to be much more.

PROMOTION OF PORTUGAL IN CANADA

Portugal, among all communities, has no visibility. We have great products. The best wine in the world. Our cuisine should be known throughout the world, but it is not respected. What does ICEP, the Portuguese Trade Commission, do? They’ve changed the name so many times…There’s no marketing, there’s no vision, there’s no respect. Right now, Portugal is one of the sexiest countries to visit in the world. Where is the Portuguese Government? Zero. Did you ever try to fly into Lisbon? It’s horrible. It’s a horrible experience. There is no organization, no communication. I should be able to pick up a rental car in 10 minutes, not in an hour and a half. It is those things that we represent to the world? Much of the technology the kids have on their cell phones is created in Portugal. Technology is great. We are doing amazing things in clothing, in leather goods. We have a beautiful country, great beaches, great food, vastly different culturally from the interior to the ocean. Many of my non-Portuguese friends say, “I had no idea that Portugal was that nice.” My friends are telling me that their parents are going to Portugal. The Portuguese leaders should be telling us that. Not a Greek or a Persian.

DOES THE PORTUGUESE GOVERNMENT SEE US AS PORTUGUESE OR AS IMMIGRANTS?

Don’t take this the wrong way, what I’m going to say is reality: the immigrant redneck was from France. The immigrant from Canada was respected. There was more culture. The ‘saloio’ of France never evolved because of the Portuguese Government. The immigrants in France abused all the needs of the Portuguese Government. They had Portuguese education offered by the Camões Institute. One hundred and ten teachers, where in Canada and the United States we had zero. We didn’t even get books for 30, 40 years.

The Government did not respect 500,000 Portuguese living in France. It was simply thinking about the vote of 500,000 Portuguese living in France, starting with Mário Soares. Immigrants in France knocked on the door of the Portuguese Government in Lisbon every day asking for their rights. What about us? Immigrants from across the Atlantic, workers taking care of our families, fighting for our future? We didn’t ask for anything. In return, they turned their backs on us. For 30 years, the politicians who visited here, with all due respect, did a terrible job. They should be ashamed of themselves. They played with us. All of them. The Portuguese Government lacked respect.

When Portugal was in economic misery, all the money came from North America. It didn’t come from France. But they were happy to go to Paris or Saint Dennis. Half a million Portuguese in Saint Dennis. Who are they these days? Look, Roberto Pires had the right to play for the Portuguese national team. Two Portuguese parents, he chose to play for France. Myself, if I were Prime Minister of Portugal, the President of the Republic, do you think Roberto Pires would play for France? Portuguese first.

The Alliance of Clubs in 1987 had 36 large folklore groups. It’s a lot of groups, right?… No, it’s not! It’s our identity that survived and still exists today. Where is Portugal Week, Portugal Day, in France? The Portuguese Government used to give them 500,000 Euros. It disappeared, but before, it was paid by the government. They supported Alfa, which was a radio station in France, and it disappeared. Where is Ferry Street in the United States? For many years the Portuguese Government supported all of that. Zero, now.

In Toronto, what did the Portuguese Government give? Any of the political parties? Nothing. And we are still here. It doesn’t mean we are better, but we are different. We are prouder. The biggest Portugal Day in the world is celebrated in Toronto. In Nazaré, everyone is on the beach, they don’t even know it’s Portugal day. I don’t see a Portuguese flag on Nazaré beach, and here you will see 10,000. And I love being from Nazaré, but there is a lack of understanding here between us or between them.

Portuguese politicians are weak. So, what role should this Government have in our community? So what about the Communities Council? I was North American President of the Community Council, and this body is an excuse to keep us stupid. We went to the Assembly of the Republic twice a year. We were at the Assembly of the Republic for 2 hours and then we went to Viseu for lunch. I wanted to work. I wanted to defend the interests of the emigrants outside Portugal. They don’t care about our opinion. Never. It’s all window washing. That is my opinion. There should be more respect for those who represent Portugal abroad.

PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE – TEACHING AND LEARNING

In my opinion, it should be the same for any community in the world. The Portuguese Government is willing to finance 110 teachers for France and zero for North America, including the United States and Canada. We are talking about over a million Portuguese people. They give us zero. With all due respect, it makes no sense if the excuse is the Atlantic, the distance from one side to the other. This to me is a lack of vision of political power.

BROCKTON STADIUM

The community has Brockton stadium because of my relationship that goes back to Bloor Collegiate. I played soccer there. In 2001, Nellie Pedro was a temporary school trustee with the school board, and I approached her. Brockton Stadium was a drug haven, prostitution, people were living there underneath the stands. The school board had no money to support the stadium in 2001. That was the school where I played when I was in high school, and I wanted to give that field back to the community. A lot of people in the community can say whatever they want, but it’s not about Sporting. That stadium belongs to the Alliance, doesn’t belong to Sporting, and it is all because of this president, since 2001. Other clubs came along creating criticism and such, but it’s still ours. Am I happy with the reality of the project today? No, it wasn’t my vision. I wanted more. But I am not giving up yet.

What do you say to the clubs who feel that they don’t have access to the stadium?

Everybody has access. The Alliance of Portuguese Clubs ran the stadium for three years, from 2001 to 2004. It was open to all the clubs, but everybody abused the stadium. Simple things. They would come and wouldn’t even clean up the bathrooms or the showers. Their spikes were beaten up against the wall on rainy days, full of mud. I am a volunteer like everyone else. Was I going there on Friday and Saturday night to clean the mud off the wall? No.

I called an extraordinary assembly of the Alliance and, at that time, the Alliance had a level of competition with very strong clubs. We had Toronto Supra, Portuguese United, Toronto Eagles, Operário, Peniche, Sporting, Benfica, Varzim. We held an assembly and asked who wanted to manage the stadium. In the assembly, democratically, the clubs chose for Sporting to be in charge of the stadium in the name of the Alliance of Clubs. Responsibility with the school board lies with the Alliance. The lease is still under my name as president of the Alliance of Clubs. It was never transferred to Sporting FC. 

Now, has it been a perfect project? No. Alliance member clubs have the privilege of access to the field. Benfica played there, Peniche played there. They can play there whenever they want. They just need to ask. For example, Gil Vicente. The only fields that they have are fields given by Sporting Academy of Toronto. As long as you are a member of the Alliance, you have access to the field. On Sundays, any organization from Davenport can have the field. It is not Sporting that is in charge of Brockton, but the ACAPO. The fact that we have had the field for 23 years needs to be recognized, but it hasn’t been easy.

When we pass by Brockton, we see Sporting, not ACAPO. What do you say to that?

It is the home of the Sporting FC Academy. There is no need for signage, but it is a good point. How many young people are proud to see the Figo or Cristiano Ronaldo as a symbol there? What does the ACAPO symbol represent? One of the biggest criticisms I have from those who live in front of the stadium is the color, green and white. Someone chose to do this. We are three owners, and I only have one vote, but I don’t agree.

In 2004, in an assembly, Sporting took charge of the stadium. This was to be reviewed every two years. Any club member of the Alliance, every two years, should request for the agreement of Brockton Stadium to be put on the table. Nobody has ever said anything. Benfica, six or seven years ago, made a big investment in football in Toronto, and so did Gil Vicente. Why did they never go back to the Alliance’s General Meeting and ask about access to the stadium? At every meeting, we talk about Brockton. But nobody wants to know, nobody asks anything.

HOW DID SPORTING FC BRAKE AWAY FROM SPORTING OF TORONTO

At that time, Sporting had 18 football teams. We said we were going to appeal to Sporting in Lisbon to create an academy. “Do you want to be part of it,” we asked. It was me, Augusto Pires, who was president of Sporting at the time, Carlos Ferreira, who was vice-president. In a meeting, the members of Sporting Clube Português de Toronto voted against. “Our mortgage is almost paid, football only generates expenses, we have no interest in being involved in football,” they said. And I said, as president of the Alliance, in charge of the stadium, “thank you very much.”

This is where the Sporting Academy was launched, independent of Sporting Clube Português de Toronto. One thing has nothing to do with the other. Sporting Clube Português de Toronto had the privilege and the opportunity to be in charge of the stadium. They chose to deny the privilege they had at that time. And the creation of the Sporting FC Academy was made at that assembly. There is no Sporting fan who should criticize the fact that there are two organizations independent of each other. A lot of people don’t know.

ENTERING LIUNA

I created LiUNA Local 183 Family Day at Ontario Place because I felt we needed to create an event to get the members on our side.  João Tavares was one of the managers at Ontario Place. We started at Ontario Place because of the relationship we had. The first was in 2003. At that first Family Day that’s when we were able to convince the leadership, based on the families that came out, that the next leader of 183 had to be Portuguese, and not just the Business Manager, but also the President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer. And out of the 7 members, at least 3 must be Portuguese. When we were going into family day, Dorval Terceira was not going to be the business manager. Daniel Aveiro was going to be the business manager. The success of family day is what convinced the LiUNA leadership to support Dorval, which eventually became a mistake because Dorval turned against us.

Regrets

The biggest mistakes I made in my life was not deciding when it was time to leave. I should have left ACAPO and should have stayed with Labatt. I should have left ACAPO and be committed to Liuna. As long as I stayed with ACAPO, the opportunity at Liuna became smaller and smaller.

I created family there. Mancinelli is a very unique leader, a visionary. There’s nobody equal to him. He is a man beyond his stature. He’s a mountain of a man. He might think differently of me today, but I will forever respect him and respect the opportunity he gave me. I think it was unjust and I think LiUNA is much less since I left, and I am to blame for that. I left…it’s simple. I was always loyal and honest and there are things maybe you shouldn’t say. Somethings are better not to be said. I speak from the heart, and I’ll take the consequences. One thing I transmitted I should have never said, and I take that to my grave. But I’m comfortable.

The most difficult time of his life

My parents bought a house on Ossington in January of 1977. Until recently, it was the only house my parents owned here in Canada. My father passed away 11 years ago and my mother is in a nursing home. The most unfortunate part during the time with the union, is that my parents received 40, 50, 60 calls a day with people saying, “your son is gay, he is homosexual, he is a drug addict etc.”

416-533-1268 was our phone number. We had to change it. There were people who knocked on the door calling me everything and anything. They wanted to kill me. It was very complicated. I’ve had lunch with people these days who have treated me terribly. And many who now call themselves my friends were afraid to sit at the same table I sat at during those times.

Now, there are differences in our persona. José Eustáquio, president of the Alliance or José Eustáquio who worked for LiUNA is not the same person. I accept certain things, but I don’t forget. I know who my friends are. I am a well-known person in the community, for better or for worse. I accept this. Unfortunately, nowadays, most of the information that is of interest is usually wrong or unfortunate information. We can’t control everything.

I’m single, and I often come home alone and I don’t like myself, I don’t like being aware that I accept certain people. I am in front of people I help and there is a lack of respect…it’s not that people have a lack of education…it’s a lack of culture. For me, if any people in this world have culture, it is the Portuguese. And when I’m in front of certain people and I notice that they lack culture, it’s on purpose. Why? Because they have no respect for what I represent. There is no one who can say that I owe them money. Or that I stole this or that. On the contrary, I have helped many people. I am completely imperfect. But I continue to love this community, and I have faith that this community is good.

Staying connected to the community even after the abuse

I have a complex that I need to be someone. It’s my self-criticism. Maybe I should have been more responsible as a father to Nicolas and gotten closer to him, as he is now 19. If there are problems in that relationship, it has a lot to do with my lack of understanding or time for him. When I needed to run away, I ran away. I’ve traveled my entire life. That was my release, getting away from here. I’m not saying it’s my luck, but I abused the fact of being single my whole life. I never had a commitment to a relationship. I think that if I had been married, I would have changed a lot of things, but I don’t regret it. I accept my failures and I failed a lot, but I also think that in my 27 years linked to the ACAPO and the other 10 years linked to Labatt, I left a mark in this community and did something different.

I could have helped the Alliance do even more, but it is also probable that without José Eustáquio ACAPO would not exist today. The Alliance has the responsibility to offer a dynamic and a professional approach and needs to be connected to the community and the associations it represents. The Alliance needs to be more professional. For that to happen, this president needs to change his approach.

FINAL THOUGHTS

None of this is perfect. I am passionately convinced that in 1400 kilometers of difference from north to south, in Portugal, we are so vastly culturally different, but that’s what brings us together. And that’s why we always have visibility and presence in Toronto and in Ontario. Where other ethnic groups cease to exist, the Portuguese will always prevail. As much as we are indifferent to each other, we have actually much more in common, and that’s why I believe we are more united than we are separated.

We should criticize less and love a little bit more.

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