Founding Date:	1982
Address:	25 Fisherman Drive, Unit 20 Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C9
Telephone:	905-840-6061

Brief History

Audio Version:

The Portuguese community of Brampton has grown in numbers over the years. Its presence is clearly visible through the many Portuguese-Canadian commercial establishments throughout the city. Vasco da Gama is one of a few cultural centres that welcome the Portuguese and its supporters to celebrate the traditions and its cuisine. 

If there is currently a strong Portuguese presence in the city, it was not always so, as one of the former Presidents of the Vasco da Gama Board, Basilio Medeiros, told us, in an interview conducted for Luso-Ontario Magazine, in 2008. “Before the foundation of the club, we were very few in the Portuguese community. There were two or three Portuguese stores and nothing else. There was no unity, there were no parties”, he recalled. “Then the Portuguese Community Centre was founded, which is now Vasco da Gama. It’s the same club but changed its name in 2002, if I’m not mistaken”, he revealed. 

It was Afonso Tavares, in 1982, who started the movement for the foundation of the Portuguese Community Centre. “Mr. Afonso Tavares is a pioneer who arrived in Canada in 1952. He was a person with a lot of compassion, a very religious person,” he said. 

The Brampton community liked the idea and a committee was formed to carry out the project. “There was support from the community and I was part of that group. We went door to door to raise money to rent halls so we could have parties. Then we bought a property to build a hall, but eventually we sold that land. We rented halls and gyms from schools to throw parties. At first, we held meetings in the basement owned by a barber who has passed  away. I was part of the supervisory board. The community adhered but over time some moved away”, reflected  Basilio Medeiros. 

The current headquarters, purchased in the early part of the 1990s, is located in the northern part of the city and has a capacity for 250 people. “When we bought this property, the interest was very high, at 15 and 20%, and naturally there were some difficulties”, he recalled.

The participation of this organization in Carabram – the cultural festival of the City of Brampton – has served, over the years, as a perfect opportunity to showcase the Portuguese culture. “This is an event in which we like to participate and we have represented Portugal well,” he said, proudly.

The association struggles with the involvement of young people, something that worried Basilio Medeiros at the time: “Young people do not get involved.”

This organization continues to do its best to fulfil its objective of keeping our traditions alive by organizing parties and gatherings with the members and friends of Vasco da Gama de Brampton. 

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008

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