Portuguese Community of Windsor – Casa do Espírito Santo
| Founding Date: | December 1, 1992 |
| Address: | 848 South Pacific Drive Windsor, Ontario N8X 2X2 |
| Telephone: | 519-250-9200 |
BRIEF HISTORY
Audio Version:
The Portuguese community in Windsor first organized around a soccer team in the nineteen-seventies. The enthusiasm around this group led some of its members to implement the inaugural Festa do Espírito Santo in the city, which naturally led to the formation of the first community organization, then called Portuguese Catholic Mission of Windsor. In 1992, the organization acquired its own headquarters and permanently changed its name to Portuguese Community of Windsor – Casa do Espírito Santo.
John Alves, who is the organization’s current president, moved from Harrow to Windsor in the late sixties when he was still a child. More than a decade later, although he was not heavily involved in the Portuguese community at the time, he still recalls the first Festa do Espírito Santo. “That’s when it all started, in 1980, but they didn’t have a hall at the time. Each member of the committee had meetings at their houses, one each month. They were a religious organization”, he told us during a conversation held at the association’s headquarters in December of 2022.
Joe Correia, who hails from Ribeira Grande, in Sao Miguel, arrived in Canada in 1967. His wife, Helena, who is from the same hometown, came a decade later. Currently, they are part of the Board of Directors of the association. Just like John Alves, they both also witnessed that initial event, in 1980. “It was Padre Silvio Lesperado, a Brazilian priest, who started it. Then, we had another Portuguese priest, Nelson Cabral, celebrating mass at the Assumption Church. He was from Leamington”, Helena recalled. Joe Correia, who was a member of that celebrated soccer team in the seventies, remembers that some of his colleagues helped start the movement. “The soccer club were a separate group, but some from there came to the club. Humberto Carvalho is one who was involved with soccer, who started it. People from the soccer team were involved in both organizations, but they were separate”, he stated.
The soccer team lasted for about two decades. In its latter years, it had changed its name to Lisboa.
For about a dozen years, the Portuguese Community of Windsor – Casa do Espírito Santo did not own or rent a permanent location. It remained mainly a religious organization focused on organizing the festivities to the Divino Espírito Santo, Cristo Rei, and Our Lady of Fatima. These celebrations took place at the church of Our Lady of Perpetual Health.
Each year, a new Mordomo would be appointed or elected to manage the preparations and delivery of the festivities. A record of all the Mordomos is listed at the end of the article.
João Alves, father of the current president, John, was once a crucial member of the local Portuguese community. He held different roles within this organization, including Mordomo in 1987. He was also part of a group that advocated for the purchase of a building where the community could come together. In 1992, the organization found the perfect building and completed the purchase, on December 1st, for just under $75,000. Lino De Arruda, Emilia Carreira, John Pimentel, and António Rodrigues signed the deed.
The purchase also signaled the changing of the association’s name. At the time, the church informed that the Catholic Mission designation could no longer be used, thus prompting the Board to rename the organization to the current Portuguese Community of Windsor – Casa do Espírito Santo. The Board, then led by Emilia Carreira, was composed of ten members who approved and signed the document renaming of the association.
Helena Correia recalled, with nostalgia, those early days of finally owning a clubhouse: “What changed here? We had our own place, we organized our dinners, and people would come. For many years, we always had a full house. We had a special event once a month. Later, we founded Grupo da Terceira Idade (a group for the elderly) and they gathered here every Tuesday. They would have lunch and knit. It was a gathering point, and even those who were not elderly would come.”
During the heyday of the organization, many events were held here beyond the annual religious celebrations that it continued to promote. These events included the traditional matança do porco, dances, comedy shows, and live music.
Although the organization enjoyed a healthy momentum during the nineties and well into the new millennium, it never had its own folk-dance group or soccer team.
The attention from the community prompted the Board of Directors to open the hall every day for people to socialize and reminisce about the old country. However, with the aging of the community and the integration of the younger Luso-Canadians into the general society, the organization began to witness dwindling interest and reduced numbers. First, the elderly group ceased to operate for lack of enough members. Some got ill, others passed. By 2012, it had become a longing memory.
“They are getting older and some are sick. One group would do groceries one week, the other group would cook and the following week they would change. Some got sick and couldn’t go and then there weren’t enough. A lot of them passed away. We don’t have enough in the community”, Helena Correia said.
Adding to the challenges, in 2012, the organization was also stripped of the responsibility to organize the religious events it had initially promoted and, with it, of an important source of revenue. Since then, these celebrations have been carried out by a group connected to the church. Strangely, this occurrence coincided with renovations to the hall that included new windows and a brand-new roof, among other improvements. “When the club was broken down, it was packed and we had no room. Now that we fixed it up, we have all kinds of room and no people,” Joe Correia lamented.
“When I became mordomo in 2009, they were going to shut this place down”, John Alves stated, “because nobody wanted to get involved, nobody wanted to be part of the Board”, Helena Correia complemented. “I said to myself”, Alves continued, “what is going to happen to the festa? We organized the festa. I decided to become president and I have been the president since then. Nobody wants it”, John Alves stated. “If it wasn’t for him, this place would be shut down”, Joe Correia concluded.
Currently, John Alves continues to open the hall daily from mid-afternoon to early evening. Unfortunately, there aren’t many who patronize the organization, as Joe Correia illustrated: “We had a world cup game and only two people showed up. Then we had another and three people showed up. When Portugal was playing, this place should have been packed.”
The organization boasts around thirty members in good-standing, who are mostly elderly and exempt from paying membership dues. Every year, at the end of January, the association organizes a member’s party that is usually attended by a few dozen, mostly retired community members.
Currently, it survives mostly on renting its hall to religious and social functions, and on the few who come by for a drink once in a while. “We are getting a lot of birthday parties, baptisms. We don’t charge much. As long as we can make enough to pay the bills for the month, I’m happy. Nobody makes a salary. We are all volunteers”, John Alves stated.
The local Luso-Canadian youth have long ago lost interest in the association and, in fact, in most activities related to their heritage. Many do not speak the language, although the city still boasts a Portuguese school. A few others have moved to other locations in the province or have married into another culture, further separating from their traditions.
“When you lose something, it’s harder to get it back. It would be nice if the kids would take over. This generation will not live forever. If they don’t take over, this will not last”, Joe Correia advised under John Alves’ resolute gaze: “I’m not giving up. Until I die, this place will be open.” “Then, you better not die because I don’t want to be in charge”, Correia erupted in contagious laughter.
The current Board of Directors is composed of six members: Elia Conceição, Mariazinha, John Alves, Joe Correia, Helena Correia, and Maria Helena Arruda. These individuals are committed to preserving a valuable landmark that represents our heritage in the city of Windsor. For as long as they are capable, the organization will remain focused on its purpose. This is the good news. The writing of another chapter in this rich story depends solely on the resolve of the newer generation of Luso-Canadians who reside in the region. Our presence here depends on it.
| MORDOMOS (for event organized by Portuguese Community of Windsor – Casa do Espírito Santo) |
| 1980: Lindo de Arruda, Cristina Silva, Fernando Rocha, Januário Mota, Humberto Carvalho, Salvador Ferreira | 1981: Ernesto Cabral |
| 1982: Manuel Pereira | 1983: Januário Mota |
| 1984: Hildeberto Carreira | 1985: Lindo de Arruda |
| 1986: Manuel Teves | 1987: João Alves |
| 1988: José Luis Pavão | 1989: Manuel Melo |
| 1990: José Pedro | 1991: José Luis Alves |
| 1992: João Pimentel | 1993: António Rodrigues |
| 1994: Edalmira Pereira | 1995: Maria Silva |
| 1996: Carlos Melo | 1997: Luis Pedro |
| 1998: Casa do Espírito Santo | 1999: Francisco Martins |
| 2000: António Conceição | 2001: Emanuel Pires |
| 2002: Ilídio Silva | 2003: Fernando Conto |
| 2004: Luis de Ponte | 2005: Joaquim Bartlo |
| 2006: Paul Parreira | 2007: Walter Pedro |
| 2008: Casa do Espírito Santo | 2009: John Alves |
| 2010: Simon de Sousa | 2011: Joe Correia |
| MORDOMOS (for event not organized by Portuguese Community of Windsor – Casa do Espírito Santo) |
| 2012: John Furtado | 2013: Henrique Ávila |
| 2014: Mark Barbosa | 2015: Tom Rajic |
| 2016: Ron Kosluk | 2017: Luis Simas |
| 2018: Ilídio Silva | 2019: Gus Santos |
| 2020: No event (covid-19) | 2021: No event (covid-19) |
| 2022: Manuel Rocha | 2023: Manny Conto |
| If you notice errors or misrepresentations in the article, please e-mail contact@lusocanada.com |
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