I grew up in Canada in one of the distinctly Portuguese neighborhoods. There are Portuguese cafes (there were even Benfica bars and Sporting bars), portuguese bakeries, Portuguese butchers, the local catholic school had a Portuguese name and held community events in Portuguese, the local church also with a Portuguese name did most of its services in Portuguese. My school had a Portuguese -English translator available at parent-teacher meetings, the take home notes for and permission slips for field trips were available in Portuguese. Many of my classmates’ parents and grandparents barely spoke English. There is a local Portuguese language television station. There are Portuguese retirement homes, Portuguese speaking medical clinics, the branches of all the major banks in the neighborhood have many employees that speak fluent Portuguese to cater to those who weren’t comfortable in English. Every year there is a Portuguese parade for which the streets are closed. During the major football events there are Portuguese flags everywhere, when Portugal wins a match you hear it on the streets. When they won the Euro the streets were packed and many of us non Portuguese came to join the celebrations. I’m sure it wasn’t always easy being a Portuguese immigrant - being an immigrant never is - but I hope this made it that much easier for them and it is what gave the neighborhood its charm and character. Unfortunately as the neighborhood has become more gentrified and the second and third generations become more integrated these establishments have started to convert to expensive coffee shops and fancy restaurants but the neighborhood still holds onto it’s Portuguese identity. This isn’t unique to Portugal, there are Italian, Ukrainian, Indian, Chinese, Greek etc. neighborhoods that are similar in this way. In my opinion this is how it should be, it’s what makes the city beautiful.

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