Associação Filarmónica Portuguesa de Calgary
| Founding Date: | October, 1983 |
| Address: | 4550 32 Street SE Calgary, Alberta T2B 3J7 |
| Telephone: | (403) 287-9884 |
| Email: | afpcband@shaw.ca |
| Website: | afpcband.com |
YOUNGER GENERATION OF LUSO-CANADIANS GUARANTEE SURVIVAL OF THE ORGANIZATION
Audio Version:
The Portuguese community of Calgary did not take long to organize after its arrival in the area. For some, it was the church, and for others it was the Canadian Luso Soccer Club or the Portuguese Society of Calgary. It took the community a bit more time to introduce crucial cultural elements into the fold, such as folk-dance group and a marching band. The latter was finally founded in October of 1983 and took on the name of Associação Filarmónica Portuguesa de Calgary.
The band was founded by a group of men and women who had the knowledge and the passion for instrumental music. Some of these founders are still currently active with the band, as is the case of Sandra Raposo, Manuel Raposo, Carlos Miguéns, João Cabral, Francisco Teixeira, and Joe Faria. Over nearly four decades of existence, the band has only had three conductors, a sign of the dedication and perseverance of its members. The first was Francisco Cabral, who was followed by Cristina Cabral. Since 2012, Ricardo Fonseca, a young Luso-Canadian who arrived in Calgary from Lisbon at the tender age of seven, has led the band as conductor and propelled it into the national musical scene.
Ricardo Fonseca’s appointment as conductor for the Filarmónica relied heavily on his formal musical education, which he practices professionally as a music teacher. However, it was also the result of many years of dedication to the community in various roles and organizations. He was a musician for the Filarmónica, played piano for the church choir and accordion for the Portuguese Folk Group of Calgary, and he was also a student at the Portuguese school and a member of the Portuguese Society of Calgary.
“Now, I’m only the conductor. I’m the third conductor. We have an executive board with a president, vice-president and treasurer. We always organized parties for our community and the community of Edmonton. Before, we used to go to Edmonton three or four times a year. Since I took over as conductor, we tried to evolve. We started playing for the Italian community and we opened our doors to others who are not Portuguese. We have Canadians, Italians and people from other cultures playing in our band. We had to evolve,” Ricardo Fonseca told us during a conversation held in May of 2022.
The Filarmónica is composed of around thirty men and women of all ages. “We have a mix of men, women, and youth. For example, my son is four years old and already participated in his first procession, by my side, with a plastic trumpet. We also have a gentleman whose age nobody knows, but he must be in his eighties. We also have different levels, amateur and professional musicians. For example, my wife is a professional flautist,” Fonseca said.
The band has always been independent from any other organization but, for exactly two decades, it did not have a permanent rehearsal hall. It all changed in 2003 when it acquired the current headquarters. In that same year, it also released its first CD. The new hall not only provided the band with a permanent rehearsal space, but also allowed it to open a music school and to create extra revenue by renting the building for private functions. The hall has a bar that is open to its members and supporters every Sunday.
For many years, the Filarmónica performed mostly in Calgary and in Edmonton, mainly for the Portuguese community, and at local festivities such as the Calgary Stampede Parade and Global Fest. As the band evolved, so did its reach across the North American continent. While it continued to perform at its home turf, it also traveled to various locations in Canada and the United States of America, including Manitoba, British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario, Massachusetts and California. Although these trips brought maturity and confidence to the group, it was at home that the evolution to a whole new level started to take shape when, in 2019, the band participated in the Alberta International Band Festival and won the gold medal. This feat led to an invitation to participate in The Nationals, a nationwide competition, held annually mostly in Ontario, that gathers the best of the best in Canada. “In 2019, we went to Ottawa and Montreal. In Ottawa, we participated in a national band competition and, fortunately, our performance won the gold medal. The initiative of being part of a competition was something different for us, it was out of the ordinary, out of our comfort zone to participate in a competition with other bands that were not Portuguese. We were the only Portuguese band there. For us, it was a huge success and something that brought us recognition because it is something different and unusual for Portuguese filarmónicas,”, Ricardo Fonseca proudly stated.
The Covid-19 pandemic affected the band, but it did not hinder its ability to pick up from where it left off. This forced hiatus compelled Fonseca to strategize a plan around rebuilding the Filarmónica in order to protect those most vulnerable. This led to the addition of new musicians who are gradually being joined by the older members as the restrictions ease and as they begin to feel more comfortable among large crowds. “We still have some members who have not returned but we also have others who weren’t with us before. Our goal is to rebuild relationships, to create music. That has been my focus. I am not going to look toward the future now but to the day to day, weekend to weekend,” Fonseca said.
Associação Filarmónica Portuguesa de Calgary is a dynamic organization, relying on its mature musicians as guides to the youth who continually show interest and join the group. This is a model that has helped it survive and evolve under the guidance of a young Luso-Canadian who serves as example and inspiration. “The youth join us. We have many young people,” Fonseca stated.
Ricardo Fonseca is doing his part, not only with his musicians but also with his family. At home, although his wife is from the Netherlands, he speaks Portuguese to his children and passes on the culture transferred to him by his parents. “I value and thank my parents because at home we always spoke Portuguese. At the table, we always spoke Portuguese and then my parents made the effort to take us to Portugal every three years during the summer to visit family and to maintain the language. I value that. Now, I have two children and I try to do the same, which is difficult because my wife is not Portuguese, but we have been together for a long time and she has been to Portugal around 15 times. Our children are Portuguese and I speak Portuguese to them while they respond in English. It’s a bit more difficult but I am trying to give them the same opportunities, to go to Portugal and listen to the language, live the culture. I also take them to the [band] rehearsals,” Fonseca said.
It is with the integration of the younger generation of Luso-Canadians into leadership roles that our community organizations will continue to strive. Ricardo Fonseca and Associação Filarmónica Portuguesa de Calgary are a living example of this phenomenon.
| If you notice errors or misrepresentations in the article, please e-mail contact@lusocanada.com |
| Help us write History. Contribute your story, memory or experience related to this organization by sending an email to contact@lusocanada.com. |