The year we celebrate is 1983. The year our group of dancers evolved into an organization they could call their own–the Northern Portugal Cultural Centre. An Organization that has gone on to do many great things for our community including raising money for various charities, building a centre for our members to enjoy and most importantly teaching our children Portuguese traditions and providing them with a solid family environment that will help make them successful Canadian adults.
Before we get to our celebrated year, we have to backtrack to 1980 where four young Portuguese friends tinkered with the idea of forming a dance group that would represent the dances of the Minho region of Portugal. These four men–António Cerquiera, José Fernandes, Carlos Pinto and Guilherme Soares–were all born and raised in Arcos de Valdevez, a small town near Viana do Castelo (rightfully nicknamed Portugal’s Capital of Folklore). Growing up surrounded with a rich tradition of Portuguese folklore dancing was their inspiration and once they recruited the late Antonio Barros, a maestro of the concertina, it didn’t take very long before they had a complete group ready to perform. The only thing they were missing was costumes and to overcome this hurdle the talented ladies of our community joined forces and started sewing skirts and vests for the group. With everything in place, the Rancho do Minho de Oshawa was ready for their first performance at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium, and there’s been no looking back.
As time went on and new dancers joined it was decided that to properly represent our culture we needed to purchase authentic costumes from Portugal. To do this, a schedule was set up of four events that would be held every year to raise funds and to serve as a venue to showcase our dance group and the new dances they were learning. These events, or ‘Festas’ as we say in Portuguese, ranged from traditional events like Easter and Sarrabulho (a Festa held in October, that ends the harvest season and revolves around eating and dancing!) to the more general gatherings of New Year’s Eve and our annual picnic.
1982 marked the 25th anniversary of Portuguese immigration in Oshawa, and to mark this eventful moment, a gala evening was held, much like tonight’s, with Portuguese singer Marco Paulo and medals were handed out to our founding fathers.
In 1983 it was decided to name and register our organization, and under the guidance of our founding fathers and all of our members, it was decided to use the more general term of ‘Northern Portugal’ rather than Minho because at the time it best represented our members who were not only from Minho, but also from neighbouring provinces in Portugal. This event marked one of many high points in our community. Not only was our dance group strong, under the leadership of Antonio Barros and with the added local talent of our first homegrown concertina player Avelino DeSousa, but we now had our own identity to stand side by side with the other Portuguese clubs of Ontario. The Northern Portugal Cultural Centre was born, but it would be another 18 years before this centre had a home.
An opportunity arose in 1986 and with dreams of one day building a club for the members to call their own, the NPCC purchased their first property. Fundraising within the community paid for this plot of land, and the NPCC saw a great period of growth and interest. The dance group now had so many members that it was split into two smaller groups–the seniors and the new and always adorable ‘Rancho Infantil’ (junior group). The children and teens that made up these groups formed lasting friendships with each other and have continued to carry the torch that was passed on by these pioneers. These former dancers now have active positions running the Centre and many of these people now have children of their own dancing in our two groups.
For the next 15 years, the NPCC ran smoothly. The dance group continued performing to audiences throughout Ontario, including annual entries in Oshawa’s Fiesta Week Parade. These award winning Fiesta entries showcased not only our lively music and colourful dancers, but also the rich history of our culture with floats built by artisans from within our community. Some of these entries included the Portuguese discoveries, the prestigious University of Coimbra (one of the oldest Universities in the world), ‘O Galo de Barcelos’ (the famous rooster symbol of the city of Barcelos) and homage’s to two of our most famous wines – Mateus and Porto. The duties of concertina playing also changed during these years. Due to a wrist injury, Avelino was no longer able to continue with his passion of leading the group in song, so with a few lessons and great deal of dedication and talent of his own, Henrique Pereira stepped up to challenge and has fronted our group ever since. Over the years he’s had the good fortune of having many accomplished players share the stage with him including Eric Matos (a teenager when he first accompanied Henrique onto a stage) and a former student of Antonio Barros, Davy Neves who still comes in from Toronto to share playing duties. Bruno Vieira, a thirteen-year-old dancer in our senior group, is currently learning the concertina and is hoping to make his debut soon, as is 3 year old Daniel Pereira (Henrique’s son) who follows his father on stage for every performance with his ‘mini concertina’ in tow.
Our festas had gained a reputation as an evening of vibrant dance and delicious meals, which had been traditionally prepared by the skillful ladies of our community. The NPCC had the good fortune of also having some of the best Portuguese chefs in Durham as members. These chefs – Carlos Dias, Antonio Manuel, Carminda Pereira and Alberto Varandas have over the years taken over the leadership of the kitchen and with the help of ladies, have continued to please our pallets.
Another pivotal moment occurred in 2001 when the property was sold and with more financial help from our members, the old Cadillac Billiards was purchased. Finally after 21 years, our community had a home. The last seven years have been dedicated to renovating our Centre and offering fun events that involve all members of the Portuguese community. We have evolved from four friends to over 300 adults and children that are active in our Centre. Our member’s lounge is open daily for our members to enjoy a coffee after dinner, a glass of wine with friends, or to cheer on their favourite soccer team. A monthly newsletter, email list and website keep our members informed of all club activities.
Today the NPCC is stronger than ever, and although our name and dances still represent the northern region of Portugal, our Centre embodies all that is Portugal and the Portuguese-Canadians of Durham Region. We are proud to have members representing the Acores, Madeira and every corner of continental Portugal.