Vaughan
Community Organizations: Portuguese Cultural Club of Vaughan
VAUGHAN’S POPULATION: 105,450
STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN VAUGHAN:
| AS MOTHER TONGUE | AS MOST SPOKEN | KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE | BORN IN PORTUGAL | ETHNIC ORIGIN |
| 1,885 1.8% of population | 665 0.6% of population | 2,335 2.2% of population | 1,115 1.1% of population | 3,715 3.5% of population |
FOLLOW THE ITALIANS
Audio Version:
Some in the Portuguese community have joked over the years that we tend to follow the Italians. From Dundas to College, then to St. Clair, and then to Vaughan. If Woodbridge, which is now part of the City of Vaughan, continues to be very much an Italian stronghold, we can now safely say the Portuguese are slowly trying to give them a run for their money. The reality is that our community has spread to Vaughan in large numbers over the past 20 years in search of more spacious homes.
Just as it happens in other communities where the Portuguese settle, an association is eventually formed to promote and celebrate our culture…and it usually starts with either a soccer team, a rancho or a group of churchgoers. In Vaughan, it was the latter.
Saint David’s Church, on Major McKenzie and Jane, has been the choice for most Portuguese who look for a Sunday mass. At the turn of the millennium, a group of faithful men and women approached Frei Jose Costa to request that a mass in Portuguese be held every Sunday. On Christmas Eve of 2005, the pleas had come to fruition and the first mass in the language of Camoes was held here.
As a result, a choir was formed and the parishioners began to take on different roles within the church. This led to the formation of a commission. Manuel Correia was elected the first president. The first event was held on March 25, 2006, at the church hall. The group continued to organize many other social events to help the Portuguese-speaking community of Vaughan gather and share experiences.
More recently, in 2011, the Portuguese Cultural Club of Vaughan was formed outside of the church to promote other aspects of our culture such as folklore. Since then, it has taken over as the Portuguese community organization of reference in the city.
| With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008 |
| 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. |
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First Community Event Held in Maple
On March 28, 2006, Jornal Flash published a short piece written by the newspaper’s Editor, David Silva, about the first ever social event held in Maple by the local Portuguese community. This event was held the previous weekend, on Saturday, March 25, 2006, at the community hall of St. David’s Parish, in Vaughan. The original article is written in Portuguese (click on the language icon on the main menu to read this page in Portuguese).
Following is the English version of the article:
By David Silva for Jornal Flash, March 28, 2006
It was this past Saturday that the Portuguese community of Maple held its first social event. It was organized by a group of parishioners from St. David’s Parish, and it was a success. It included the presence of four hundred people, including priests from the parish, an Italian representation of lay people, and a few sponsors. A special mention goes to Diana Rocha from ReMax Central, Tony do Vale from Local 506, and to representatives of the community media. The event was served with exceptional food of great taste and quality, with the special touch of Red Rooster, in Maple, and with a musical show that included community artists such as Porfirio Ribeiro, Otilia de Jesus, Sandra e Hermes, who marveled the crowd and received consecutive ovations. And they deserved them because they sang, danced, made the crowd sing and dance, and amazed the audience. Congratulations!
DJ Ana-Hermes closed the party and was able to bring many people to the dance floor to dance until late. Sandra was a last-minute surprise and sang very well.
Congratulations to the organizers and to all who, by whichever way, helped make this event of the Portuguese community of Maple a success.
| 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. |