Casa do Minho Portuguese Centre

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Brief History

For the past few decades, the Portuguese community of Winnipeg has cemented itself as one of the most culturally and socially organized in the region. However, it wasn’t always like that. When Casa do Minho was founded, in the distant year of 1974, the community had grown to about twenty-five thousand but was only served by one association. Although not entirely planned to rival the only existing organization at the time, Casa do Minho was inevitably formed out of necessity. What happened after is an example of perseverance, resilience, commitment, and dedication by its members and supporters.

Manuel Rodrigues Sousa is an example of that devotion. He was one of the founders of Casa do Minho and became a respected figure within the Portuguese community of Winnipeg due to his decades of selfless dedication as a volunteer with varied roles and responsibilities. While still active, his legacy has transposed generations and has inspired other young people to follow in his footsteps. One such example is his youngest son, Samuel Sousa, who has taken a centre stage in many of the organization’s initiatives.

Born on November 10, 1943, in S. Martinho de Gandra, Ponte de Lima, Manuel Sousa worked as a farmhand from an early age. He quickly developed a special affection for folklore and joined his village’s group at the tender of 15. In 1964, he joined the army and a year later traveled to Guinea-Bissau to fight in a hopeless colonial war for three long years. He returned to his hometown in 1967, four days after the passing of his father. In that same year, he got married and began working as a truck driver for a construction materials supplier. Five years later, on June 4, 1972, he left for Canada on a flight that landed in Toronto, a city where he planned to make a home for his family. However, he was then convinced by acquaintances to fly further West to Winnipeg, where he arrived days later. He eventually acquired status in Canada and, on April 16, 1975, landed back in Canada with his wife and two children to make Winnipeg their permanent home.

“When I arrived, the community was large. Some say that at that time we had more Portuguese here than we do now because immigration was open and we had people arriving all the time. […] Although we had a lot of people here, there was little involvement in the community”, Manuel Sousa said in an interview conducted via Zoom. “In 1973, I started getting involved. Associação Portuguesa de Manitoba was the only association at the time, but only a few people were involved,” he added. 

Although community involvement was not prominent, Manuel Sousa witnessed the inaugural participation of a Portuguese rancho at Folklorama, an event that showcases the different cultures and heritages of Winnipeg for two action-packed weeks each August. “Mr. José Vieira, from Oleiros (Ponte da Barca), formed the rancho, in 1967 or 68, that was part of the Portuguese Association. In 1973, Mr. Vieira invited me to be part of the group,” Manuel Sousa recalled. 

It was here that Manuel Sousa first engaged in community work in Winnipeg, but little did he know that the Associação’s folk group would serve as the prelude to the formation of Casa do Minho. It happened that, at the time, the rancho did not have proper sound for the brothers Garcia and Luciano Matias, the accordionists who accompanied the dancers, to be properly heard by the audience. Garcia Matias decided to purchase a microphone and a set of speakers and then proposed that, although he would not charge for practices, he would require $10 for each performance. The rancho members promptly agreed but Mr. Vieira was unable to convince the Board of the Portuguese Association that had two directors who vehemently opposed the proposal. This resulted in a rupture between José Vieira and the Association, which then led him to form his own group called Casa do Minho Portuguese Folk Dances. Thus, the new association had been formed.  José Vieira became the first ever President.

“On May 4, 1974, Mr. Vieira registered the group with the Folk Arts Council. It was in his garage that we had the first practices,” Manuel Sousa recalled. “I am one of the founders, member number 8. We did not have paying members and we formed our own Board composed of volunteers. We called it Casa do Minho but, at the time, very few members were from Minho,” he added.

For about nine years, the folk group remained the organization’s main activity, but it also promoted theatre performed by the organization’s volunteers and began organizing dinners to celebrate special occasions such as Easter and New Year’s. “Our first [theatre] performance was in 1975. Then we began celebrating the Carnival, Easter, and New Year [at a time when] these formal dinners were not organized. We were the ones who started those. We’d rent halls and the volunteers would serve,” Manuel Sousa said. The first New Year’s party was held in 1976.

Although José Vieira’s garage became a viable place to practise in the summer months, things did not look as promising when the first cold winter hit, forcing the group to relocate. “Bomba Club on Sargent [Avenue] had a spacious basement. Since Mr. Vieira was a client there, they agreed to rent the space for us to practise. We paid $20 or $30 a month. After that, we rented a small house on Isabel [Street] where we stayed until 1983. Then, there was a gentleman who owned a bakery (Continental Bakery) who did not use the space on the top floor. We rented it for $100 a month,” Manuel Sousa recalled.

It was in 1983 that Casa do Minho would witness significant growth. After nine years of applying to participate in Winnipeg’s Folklorama, its bid was finally approved. It was Manuel Sousa who became responsible for the whole process since José Vieira was on holidays in Portugal at the time. “Mr. Vieira was in Portugal and we were called to attend a meeting at the Folk Arts Council. My English was weak at the time and I had to bring help. They asked a few questions and I told them that we would represent northern Portugal, from Valença to Coimbra. I also told them that the Azores and Madeira were not well represented [at folklorama] and that we would also represent them. They said that they would consider our participation and suggested that we find a hall to serve as our pavilion. Sir John Franklin [Community Centre] had a hall and a separate kitchen. There, we hosted more people,” Manuel Sousa recounted. Later, the basement of the Imaculada Conceição, a Portuguese catholic church, became the location of Casa do Minho’s Folklorama’s pavilion until the organization purchased its current building in 1997.

It was out of this opportunity that the organization changed its name to Casa do Minho Portuguese Centre. Afonso Cruz became president, the late José Silva the treasurer, and José Vieira was vice-president. From here on, the organization continued to grow not only in number but also in the variety of activities that it offered its members and supporters. Its participation at Folklorama became a yearly occurrence to this day, the folklore program grew to half a dozen groups composed of children and adults of all ages, special occasions continued to be celebrated, theatre, music and comedy shows graced the stages of its halls, and even soccer became part of the repertoire in 1998. 

Casa do Minho remained at Continental Bakery until 1985 when it moved to an establishment by the name of The Cave, located at the back of a Pizzeria, that had a capacity for around 150 people. “We found out [that they were renting] and moved there. There, the rancho practiced and held smaller celebrations such as baptisms and smaller parties. For the larger events, we rented bigger halls. Then, we had a bit more money and purchased a building on William Avenue. It used to be a Mexican restaurant. We built an addition, used the basement for the rancho practices and the main floor for the events. We remained at William Avenue for about 10 years and then we purchased the hall that we’re in currently, on Wall Street. We renovated it, built a kitchen, then a smaller room for the members and a bigger hall for the larger events and for rentals,” Manuel Sousa said. 

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the adult folk group had grown to 14 pairs, a situation that forced the organization to occasionally sit out some of them when it performed in smaller spaces. It also grew to six folk groups that included adults, youth, and children, and the novelty of a group composed only of married couples. “Folklore is the staple of the organization,” Manuel Sousa proudly stated.

The pandemic has significantly affected community organizations throughout the country. Unfortunately, Casa do Minho is not immune to these setbacks. However, its membership possesses the vitality and the dedication necessary to return the organization to the prosperity it enjoyed before Covid-19 changed the world.   

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