Oshawa Portuguese Club
| Founding Date: | February 1, 1978 |
| Address: | 520 Simcoe Street South Oshawa, Ontario L1H 4J8 |
| Telephone: | (905) 240-5225 |
| Website: | http://www.oshawaportugueseclub.com/ |
Brief History
Audio Version:
The Portuguese Club of Oshawa was the first organization representative of the Portuguese culture and traditions in this city. Over the years, the association fulfilled its objectives but also added valuable assets to guarantee its financial health and cultural significance.
In 1978, at a time when Oshawa was home to around 1,000 Portuguese, Vitor Silva, Chico Branco, António Bonifácio, Fernando Sousa, and Rafael Roberto decided to create the Oshawa Portuguese Club. Vitor Silva became the first ever President.
A united community was suddenly broken into two factions 5 years later. One group remained with the Portuguese Club, the other founded the Northern Portugal Cultural Centre. Despite this setback, the Portuguese Club of Oshawa maintained its objectives and continued to enjoy a lot of support from the community. It was during these trying times that the organization purchased a large property with a soccer field, just north of Highway 401, for $64,000. There was a small house in the property that served as the headquarters for meetings and small social gatherings.
This move allowed the club to compete in the local soccer leagues. At one point, it had a youth squad, a men’s team, and an old-timers squad. People began to gather here not only to watch and play soccer but also to participate in numerous activities that included traditional games, barbeques, and card tournaments. However, the organization was unable to build its hall here because the property sits near the river and any construction in this location needs to be standing on pillars. The Board rejected that idea and looked for another location to organize its indoor events.
The purchase of the first association’s hall, located on Bloor Street, happened in 1993. It was an important step because it gave the association the opportunity to organize its own events without having to leave ‘home’. It wasn’t, however, a purchase that gathered consensus among the Board members. Then President João Cruz believed in the project and gathered enough support to pass the motion. The property was purchased for $185,000. The Club accomplished this with interest-free loans from its members.
By the turn of the millennium, both the property by the river and the club hall had been paid in full. However, the building on Bloor Street has been sold and the organization has settled on Simcoe Street South.
The Oshawa Portuguese Club has received two distinctions of merit awarded by the Alliance of Portuguese Clubs and Associations of Ontario (ACAPO). In 1994, the organization hosted the first ever ACAPO meeting in Oshawa. Joaquim Júlio Silva was the president at the time. It was also in 1994 that the men won the Camões Cup and the juniors reached the final of the competition.
The rancho is the oldest organized group within the club and remains strong to this day. It represents all regions of Portugal but uses recorded instrumentals.
As for more recent projects, the construction of a new headquarters on the property by the river seems to be a recurring point of discussion. For now, the organization is thriving at its new home.
| With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008 |
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