A fax message was received from Dr. Mario Brandaõ inviting our Casa to meet with Dr. Carlos Monjardino and Dr. Mario Brandaõ on June 28, 1998 - there were two meetings: firstly, members of our Executive Committee met Drs. Monjardino and Brandaõ for a brief and private meeting, and the second was a joint meeting with the President and other members of the Executive Council of the Macau Cultural Association (Casa de Macau) of Western Canada.

During the meeting, Dr. Monjardino confirmed that the Fundaçaõ Oriente was pleased to provide the Sede Social to the Macanese Community (with a big "C") in Vancouver for cultural, social and recreational activities; it was not the intention of the Fundaçaõ Oriente to provide the Sede Social to only one or two Macanese organizations.

In summary, the following steps would be followed in making the Sede Social a reality for Vancouver:

(1) A lease agreement would be signed between the Fundaçaõ Oriente and the Macau Cultural Association (Casa de Macau) of Western Canada (the "Association"), respecting previous "agreements" between the Fundaçaõ Oriente and the Association;

(2) A shared usage agreement would be signed between the Association and our Casa, with all terms and conditions mutually reached and agreed to on a friendly and fair basis (At all times, the Fundaçaõ Oriente would be kept informed of all proceedings and would be provided with copies of all documentation pertaining hereto );

(3) Following execution of the said lease agreement in (1) and the shared usage agreement in (2), the Fundaçaõ Oriente would proceed with the acquisition of the property for the Sede Social;

(4) The opening of the Sede Social would then follow.

Our Casa has since communicated with and as well has confirmed to the Fundaçaõ Oriente that our Casa is ready, willing and able to work (with the Association) towards the success of the Sede Social in Vancouver. In reply, the Fundaçaõ Oriente has confirmed to our Casa that it shall bear all costs of ownership, such as property taxes, insurance arid maintenance costs, etc.

The following are letters received by electronic mail. It is gratifying to know that our web site has been so enthusiastically received.

Thanks for sending your latest Voz. It’s an awesome publication. From it one can perceive the vitality of your club and I hope this fact is not lost with the Macau people.Regards to all the wonderful people up there.
Delano

Just a few lines to let you know how impressed I am with the wealth of interesting information you have in your website. A commendable addition to the wonderful world of the internet. Keep up the good work!
Your new fan,
Dorothy Ribeiro Stewart
formerly of Hong Kong, now of Walnut Creek, California

Just wanted to let you know how very much we enjoyed your website. The music too was great. Keep up the good work!! Hope to meet you at one of your club functions in the near future.
Regards,
Bob and Yvonne Rozario
(Pacifica, California)

My congratulations on the web page. It looks good and I know you spent an enormous amount of time designing the page up and keeping it updated. I’m just now trying to learn how to create web pages on my own and is it confusing.
You’re probably wondering who I am. I should have started out by way of an introduction. Sorry. I’m John de Carvalho’s brother Marcus and yes I am a member of your club.
Marcus de Carvalho
Exmos. Senhores:

Muito agradeciamos, que nos ajudassem a divulgar o nosso site. Somos o Roteiro Gastronómico de Portugal e estamos em: www.gastronomias.com e o nosso e-mail é: webmaster@gastronomias.com
Desde já o nosso obrigado
José Alves
Calçada da Tapada, 163A, 1300 Lisboa

 I would like to thank the Casa and the Seniors for the cards sent to me during my recent hospital stay. Thank you so much for your prayers for my recovery. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Cissy Butler

This letter from Julie Reynolds (Ribeiro) indicates that the hugely successful Cooking and Conversation classes have an international following.
Little did I envisage that when I arrived in Vancouver after a 12-hour flight from London recently to see my best school and childhood friend, Cathy Fung, that I would also have the great pleasure of meeting up with so many filhos de Macau from Hong Kong; a few of whom were even at school with me, i.e. Betty Sousae and Lyce Rozario. I also discovered that I am distantly related to Angelina and Mariazinha through our grandmothers being cousins.

I was invited and made to feel very welcome at the Casa’s get-together at Lyce’s home and at the cooking class on Saturday, 13th June where everyone was very friendly and where the atmosphere was one of fun, belonging and camaraderie. I was so touched to be able to share in this "muito alegré" occasion where I learned how to make paõ de leite properly at last. Obrigada, Margie. Somehow, I also participated in a hilarious skit masterminded by Betty Sousae where I ended up lying on the floor under a table (buraço) hiding from the marido!

I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of my time spent with some of the members of the Casa and I felt and feel so proud of my Portuguese heritage, and want to thank each and everyone of you for the generous hospitality extended to me my sister Louisa and our friend, Vera, especially to Cathy for introducing us to your Casa and making all this possible and our stay in Vancouver such a memorable one.

I think of you all often and God bless you and ‘The Casa de Macau’.
Julie Reynolds (née Ribeiro)

Marchia Agon would like to thank the executives and members of Casa de Macau for their messages of sympathy and prayers following the death of her father Edward on August 15, 1998 in Richmond, B.C.

Marcus Rozario, brother of Cicero Rozario (Margie) and Gus Rozario (Naty), passed away at the end of May, 1998.

 My Last Editorial

Thanks, it’s been fun..............

Yes, it’s time to move on.  My term as Editor has come to a voluntary end and I proudly pass the baton onto Pat Adams who has, up to this point, been our layout person and quasi-Editor anyway. Pat is an extremely talented individual who, as many of you may know, designed the club logo for us when we were first formed. I know you will see many other ongoing improvements and changes to the Voz under her leadership and I look forward to seeing and reading her creative work in the issues ahead.

As I made certain changes when taking over from our first Editor, Fernie Pereira, so too will Pat upon taking over the Voz from me. Change is not only inevitable but necessary if we are to continue to put out an interesting and informative product in our newsletter.

Part of the reason I am stepping down at this time is that I firmly believe in the gist of several of my more recent Editorials and articles. The Editor of this or any other newsletter has a tremendous advantage in being able to communicate freely and easily to the membership of the club on any topic he/she so desires. Sometimes, this advantage becomes distasteful, unfair and unconstitutional when the advantage is used to further one’s own cause and/or to "ram" his/her own views down the collective throats of the readership!!!

I am stepping down as I plan on assisting our club in another area - one that involves negotiations centering around the planned purchase of a clubhouse in Vancouver. I hope to be of some help to our club during these negotiations as I am one of several who was present when our club, yet unborn, came under fire by certain members of the other Vancouver club. As these negotiations might not proceed as smoothly as hoped, I could not guarantee my impartiality when serving the club as Editor and especially in my editorials.   Hence my decision to step down.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see the other Editor do likewise? Having served our club on the Executive Committee and now as Editor, I for one, cannot see how it can be possible to fulfill both roles simultaneously yet remain impartial and objective.

My sincere thanks to all who have helped me these past couple of years, especially to Pat, whose talents are most appreciated. A big thank you as well to all those who were generous of their time in submitting all those wonderful articles and ideas. Thanks as well to both editors of UMA Inc. (Jorge Remedios) and Lusitano Club of California (Mike McDougall) - your assistance, guidance and support was and is invaluable.

 Opinion
Pat Adams

There is no doubt that Michael Guterres’ absence from the Voz will be keenly felt, for he set the tone of this newsletter. In the time that Mike has held the position of editor, he has been instrumental in setting down some parameters which will allow the newsletter to continue to be the vital and vibrant extension of our Casa.

His contributions to this newsletter, whether consciously made or not, are evident as soon as you see the masthead. He had the foresight to realize that the newsletter really did need a specific designation. He instigated the contest to give the Voz a name and did the leg work to make it happen. (Mickey and Robert da Roza did the rest!)

The editorial policy that we follow probably existed from the time of the Casa’s very first newsletters, but Mike stated formally and publicly how we would conduct ourselves in print. Adhering to a level of professionalism, we check and credit sources of submitted articles and gain permission for reprinting articles. And we refrain from attack, because, despite personal differences or organizational divisions, we are all Macanese. These policies are all clearly outlined in Michael’s editorial in the May 1998 issue of the Voz.

Under Mike’s editorship, Casa members were urged to submit articles in order to stamp the Voz as being indisputably our very own. The mandate of the Voz is to serve our members, reflecting our concerns and conveying our enthusiasm.

These are valuable guidelines for the editorship of this newsletter, no matter who takes the helm. These policies, like guiding stars in the night sky, help to keep us on a true, consistent course. And for that, we owe Michael a vote of thanks.

 3rd Encontro da Communidades Macaenses ... Here We Come!
by Robert da Roza

Members wishing to participate in the 3rd. Encontro, which would be held in Macau on March 22 - 26th. 1999, are requested to register with the following Encontro Ad-Hoc Committee members:

Robert Da Roza tel. 594 - 6938 or Betty Baptista tel. 438-3861

All participants must register by September 26th. 1998 (deadline) of their intentions in order that preparation for airline and hotel accommodations be finalized.Should member(s) fail to register by the deadline, travel funding will not be issued to the participant(s).An Information Meeting will be held on October 24th. 1998 at the Community Center of Metrotown at 10:30 a.m. (SHARP!!) when questions regarding the Encontro would be forwarded.Deposit for the travel and accommodation will be required by December 1st. 1998. Amount of deposit (approximately 50%) will be determined later.

"Comendador Arnaldo (Sonny) de Oliveira Sales, . . .was recently honoured by the Government of Hong Kong on the occasion of the first anniversary of the hand-over. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Mr. C.H.Tung, awarded Mr. Sales the Grand Gold Bauhinia Medal for his contributions to sports, sport culture, civic affairs and community betterment for the past 50 years. This is the highest honour that Hong Kong has to offer.
There were only four such awards, and Sales’ name topped the list, receiving wide public acclaim......"

Alison Rodrigues enjoys running around in circles— an activity she performs very well, indeed. By winning six gold medals in Track and Field at the BC Special Olympics last summer, she had qualified for a position with Team B.C.

So, in July of this year, she competed in the Canadian Special Olympics 1998 National Summer Games held in Sudbury, Ontario. Alison repeated her winning ability, only this time at the national level. She garnered six gold medals in the following Track and Field events: 100m, 200m, 400m, running long jump, the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay.

Not one to rest on her laurels, she is warming up for more competition of a different sort. In February, 1999, she will represent Coquitlam in Speed Skating at the BC Special Olympics 1999 Provincial Winter Games.

Our congratulations, Alison, on your astounding achievements, from all of us in the Casa!

Passer-by: "And who did you say you were and where were you from originally?"

Author: "I am of predominantly Portuguese descent. You see, my ancestors,the ancient Portuguese, were explorers among whom was Vasco da Gama, and many sailed from Portugal to the East to discover Macau.

Unfortunately, I do not speak, write or read Portuguese. However, I do understand my parents when they speak Macanese, and if required, I could carry on a simple conversation in Macanese. My family is one of the original 450 Macanese families.

But I was born and raised in HongKong (now part of China). I attended the Portuguese Community School (Escola Camoes) and in my Grade 5 year (Primary 5 in HongKong), I transferred to a convent school (Maryknoll Convent School) run by American nuns.

I regard my mother tongue as English; I studied French as a second language at school; my spoken Cantonese is fair.

My home is now Vancouver, BC Canada, my nationality is Canadian, and in view of all of the foregoing, my heart, values, race, heritage, and culture will always be Macanese. I am Macanese, no more, no less."

Passer-By: "And so is your "heong-ha" Portugal , Macau or HongKong. . . or all of the above? Would you please explain?"

Author: "Shall I start from the beginning? I am predominantly of Portuguese descent..."

Coming Events

September 5, 1998 (Saturday)- Cha Gordo
Socials Committee/Executive Committee
- to welcome Filhomacaus from California
Place: River Club, 11111 Horseshoe Way, Richmond
(where we used to go for our meetings)
All welcome! Please assist with the preparation of our usual Filhomacau finger foods (phone Lyce 271-0034 as soon as possible)

Time: 5:30 p.m. onwards
Cost: $5.00 participation fee

September 12, 1998 (Saturday) - General Meeting and Cha Gordo
to welcome Filhomacaus from California (a different group)
Place: Eaton Centre - All welcome! Please offer to assist with our usual Filhomacau finger foods (phone Lyce 271-0034 as soon as possible)

Time: 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Cost: $2.00 (the usual refreshment amount)

 September 26, 1998 (Saturday) - Deadline for registering for the 3rd Encontro -
(see page 4 for details)

October 17, 1998 (Saturday) - Fall Fest ’98
by Social Committee - Multicultural Theme
Place: South Arm Community Hall, Richmond

Time: 6:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m.
Tickets on sale on September 12, 1998 at the general meeting.
All Welcome.

Cost: $16.00 per member
$22.00 per member guest
member child 10 years and under: FREE
member guest child 10 years and under: $10.00

Born: On June 25,1998, TWIN BOYS, Cody Michael (5 lbs) and Riley Thomas (4 lbs) were born to Tony and Cindy Archer. Proud grandmother is Grace Johnson, and proud great-grandmother is Tina Archer.

Members' birthdays falling within the timeline of this issue include:

A hearty welcome to the following new members who have recently joined our club:

Justina Lau, Caroline Haslam,Timothy Haslam,Jeanette Turner,Andrea Turner,  Christopher Turner, David A. Turner, Lourdes Rozario, Molly Diaz, Jojo Alonco

Lyce, you have done it again! Congratulations! This year’s picnic is the most successful of all picnics our Casa had organized since its beginning.

Never before had the weather been so beautiful. Usually it rains on São João Day. Not a drop fell this year. All who came enjoyed themselves tremendously. This is the first time the picnickers could bask in the sun, stroll, play games (no mah jong this time, imagine!) and watch a performance in a pavilion nearby.

As usual, there was plenty to eat – what a spread! Prego, hot dogs, different kinds of salads: tossed salad, Caesar’s Salad. Thai salad and vegetable dips; meat ball curry, noodles, chow fan, chicken wings and "Arroz Carregado and Balichão Tamarinho", which is a traditional filho Macau picnic dish.

For dessert we had finger jelly, "gummy", an assortment of cakes (of which the lemon cake was the favourite) and plenty of fruit - water melon, honey dew melon, cantaloupe, oranges, apples and bananas. Fruit, again, is a tradition.

Every year at São João, families in Hong Kong would go on picnics. They’d go to the beach; to their shacks at 11 Miles, or to Repulse Bay, Shek-O or VRC to swim. What was also another way of celebrating was to go on launch picnics, or go out in their junks or boats at Pak Sa Wan or Deep Water Bay. These were really wonderful times we had in our yesteryears.

This year’s picnic brought back to me recollections of the good old days. There was an atmosphere of camaraderie among the seventy-eight members and friends who attended.

The food was plentiful, the weather fine, meeting old friends and making new ones - all contributed to the success of this picnic. Incidentally, Jan Turner and her children (Joey and Hilda Remedios) joined our Casa that day.

Muitos Parabens, Lyce! Thank you and your committee for all the great effort and hard work you all put in, making this an unforgettable day for all who came to have a wonderful time.

A modest profit of $240.09 was made (after deducting expenses) for the club. Isn’t it terrific!

More than $600 was raised when we hosted our annual Garage Sale at Lyce and Rick Rozario’s house in Richmond on Saturday, July 18. Over fifty members attended the day long event, which began very, very early (at 7 am) when the early birds (all non-members) asked to inspect the garage sale goodies, even before they were properly displayed for sale.

Members aged between 2 and 98 (plus three dogs) started showing up shortly after 8 am and throughout the day. According to Lyce (who heads the fund raising committee), members dropped off and bought more sale goodies, including a ceramic pig, made and donated by Rowena Tan, and won by Therese Rozario in a special $1 donation draw. There were also crafts made and donated by Diana Pires which went on sale that night at the potluck dinner.

To celebrate this year’s garage sale, many members also cooked a feast for the potluck dinner. The excellent fare included diabo, curry meat balls, minche, harm-suen-choy, mui-choy with pork, roast duck, samosas, shrimp toast, fried rice, ham, roast pork, sweet and sour pork, vegetables, PLUS a table full of desserts: cream caramel, pineapple tarts, chocolate Jell-O, almond Jell-O, cakes, melons,etc.

Charles and Rita Curry donated a box of sweet Mexican mangoes, which was enjoyed by all the members who helped at the garage sale. They were great, especially on a hot summer day!  After dinner, the real fun began with line and Hawaiian dancing till way past 1 am.

"It was a tremendous success," said Lyce. "Everybody had fun, lots of laughs, lots to eat and everybody went home happy."

MACAU
Text : Teresa Borges da Silva, Werner Radasewsky

This hard cover coffee table book is one of my most prized souvenirs of the last Encontro. I purchased it in Macau in a charming little book shop run by nuns, I believe.

This is essentially a picture book of Macau, boasting ninety-one pages of colour photographs which follow thirty-seven pages of text.The foreword, by Antonio Manuel Salavessa da Costa, the State Secretary for Communication, Tourism and Culture, states,"The authors of this book, with their youthful perspective, show Macau as a fantastic kaleidoscope which uniquely reveals an infinite variety of facets that seem impossible in such a small area."

And through a minimum of text and a substantial amount of photography, these facets are revealed.

The story of Macau is told in a concise, easy-to-read format, which is perhaps all that is needed, since the inclination of the reader is to skip over to the photos. Macau’s history as a trading port is quickly traced, Dr. Sun Yat Sen is given mention, the Macau of today is explored, and an attempt is made to cover the provisions of the 1999 handover to China. Surprisingly, all this is covered within the first thirty-seven pages.

The following ninety-one pages are given over to excellent colour plates showing the tiny colony in all its variable moods. Sensitively depicted are Macau’s architecture, art, industry and people— at work and at play. The photos are truly a feast for the eye.One of my favourite photos, taken at the Seminario de São José, shows a bearded priest poring over a book at a desk overwhelmed by a dishevelment of papers. Another shows the grand stairway at the Palácio do Governo, which we all ascended at the last Encontro, to be formally greeted by the governor and his officials.

The captions are lengthy, but appropriate, and often give welcome background information about the subject.

With unpredictable changes on the horizon, leafing through this book is one way of holding onto the Macau that we knew.

Nobody who has ever tried it will tell you balichão smells good. So why did the Security Guard make such a big fuss?

While I was demonstrating how to prepare "Porco Balichão Tamarinho" (Pork with Shrimp and Tamarind Sauce), there was a loud and frantic knock at our classroom door.

A security guard entered under the pretext that he was concerned that something was burning. We assured him everything was okay, and he left, only to return ten minutes later. This time he said the mall office staff next door complained of a "strange" smell emanating from our room through the ventilation system.

We tried to shut the door promptly behind him, but he got suspicious and thought we were trying to hide something from him. Maria Duguay, head of the Cultural Committee, calmly reassured him that we were merely cooking shrimp sauce (so why the big stink?) and if we kept on opening the door the odour would spread to the rest of the shopping mall! This scared him off and he disappeared in a flash, which gave me a chance to continue with my cooking instructions in peace. Frankly, I was getting a little nervous as I thought he was going to escort me (the culprit) with my pot of balichão out of the building! Wouldn’t this have made headline news!

The end result was a smelly but tasty Porco Balichão Tamarinho which was sampled by all. I was tempted to bring some over to the complainers to sample our Macanese cooking! Whoever said good food must always smell good?

If any one of you balichão aficionados has any bright ideas on how to "camouflage" balichão, please pass them on to me — I will be most grateful! I even tried placing two lighted scented candles strategically on either side of the skillet, but they didn’t do the trick!

Here are the two recipes that were the cause of all the trouble! If you try them out, make sure there are no security guards around! 

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. Pork (little fat)
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Pepper
• 2 Tbsp. Oil (to fry pork)
• 2 Tbsp. Oil (to fry balichaõ)
• 2 Tbsp. Balichão (2 to 3 Tbsp. depending on concentration/consistencyof balichaõ)
•Tamarind (size of walnut, dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water). Strain.
• 1 - 1 1/2 slabs of Jagara (to taste)
• 2 cups Water
• Cornstarch and Water solution (to thicken sauce)

Method
1. Cut pork into 1-inch cubes (or smaller).
2. Marinate with garlic, (salt) and pepper.
3. Heat oil in wok. Stir pork in oil to sear meat for 5 mins. Remove and set aside.
4. Add more oil to wok. Fry balichao for a few minutes.
5. Add tamarind liquid + jagara. Cook over medium heat until jagara is dissolved. Add pork and stir for a few minutes.
6. Add water. Bring to a boil. Cover wok and simmer pork for approx. 1 1/2 hours until tender.
7. Thicken sauce with cornstarch and water solution.
8. Serve with steamed white rice (hot) or Arroz Carrigado (cold).

Serves 6-8 people - approx. 50 pieces of pork)

Ingredients
• 4 cups* Rice (raw, long grain)*using cup provided with rice cooker
• 10 cups* Water (cold) *using cup provided with rice cooker
• 2 Tbsp. Shortening ("Crisco") or Lard
•1/4 tsp. Salt (optional)
• 1/2 cup Spring onions, chopped (a.k.a. green onions or "chung")

Method
1. Wash rice. Strain. Place rice in teflon rice cooker.
2. Add cold water.
3. Add "Crisco" shortening and salt.
4. Cook rice for 20 minutes
5. When rice is cooked. stir in spring onions.
NOTE: Rice will have the consistency of "papa" (thick congee)
6. Divide rice into 2 portions.
7. Spoon first portion onto a flat dish. Smooth the surface. Make deep line (with the blunt edge of knife) along the centre, lengthwise. Then make slanting lines on either side to resemble a leaf.
8. Spoon the second portion onto another flat dish. Repeat process.
9. Refrigerate cooked rice.

Serve cold with Balichão Tamarinho.(Serves 10- l2 people)

There are cooking instructors and then there are professional cooking instructors. Catriona Haslam, a graduate of the Culinary Arts Program at Vancouver Community College, impressed us at our July cooking class with her culinary skills and techniques. She taught us how to prepare SONHOS (Cream Puffs), explaining each step clearly and precisely in a calm and cheerful manner. Catriona made the mysterious art of "choux pastry" so easy to follow. After the cooking demonstration, we all enjoyed sampling her delicious SONHOS, which she served with whipped cream and fresh blueberries. Some of us even went back for seconds and thirds! "Que sabroso!"

Catriona is our youngest cooking instructor. She enjoys all types of cooking and is interested in trying out her mother’s and grandmother’s Macanese and Portuguese recipes. She is very organized and has all the family recipes stored in her computer.

It is so encouraging to see that the younger generation in our club is showing such a keen interest in learning (and in this case, teaching) macanese cooking. Thanks, Catriona, for sharing your recipe with us. We hope you will teach us more of your creations in the future.

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups flour
• Pinch of salt
• 6 eggs

Method
1. Melt butter in boiling water and bring to a boil again in a medium sized saucepan.
2. Add flour and salt all at once and stir until mixed (if dough is too thick, add a little more boiling water)
3. Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time. Mix well after each addition until smooth and dough leaves the side of the pan.
4.Spoon dough onto greased cookie sheet (inverted) and make them nice and round.
5.Bake at 400° oven for 20 to 25 minutes. DO NOT open the door for at least 10 minutes!!
6. When the puffs are golden in colour, remove from oven.
7.When cool, slice open horizontally and remove the soft dough from the inside of the puff.
8. Fill the centre with whipped cream (sweetened with a little sugar) and fresh fruit (blueberries or strawberries,or any other fruit).
9.A savoury filling may be substituted.
Makes 15 large or 30 small puffs — the size is optional.

Anyone for a pleasant afternoon of food and laughter? The place to be is the Eaton Centre Community Room, at 1 pm on Saturdays. (See Calendar of Events). Angelina Rozario, co-ordinator of the "Macanese Cooking " classes will welcome you warmly. You’ll meet friends who are willing to share their best recipes, especially those handed down from generation to generation. You not only get the ‘know how’ but also get to taste them. That’s not all. Thanks to Mariazinha Rozario Duguay who heads the Cultural Committee, you will receive a folder complete with the recipes demonstrated monthly as well as historical information and various other recipes of Macanese origin.

Is the afternoon over? Certainly not! There’s entertainment — entertainment never experienced before. Join the laughter induced by the Patua Skits enacted by some members under the direction of Betty Sousae, co-ordinator of the "Macanese Conversation" classes. It was hilarious, even though some of the members could not catch on the linguagem.

An afternoon well spent in an atmosphere of complete camaraderie, and this is our first step in handing down our traditions and culture to the next generation. Our thanks to the Cultural Committee and all those who helped to bring about such a fun, as well as an educational day, and I’m looking forward to the next gathering. Come and join me. you will not regret it. Até à vista!

 ERRATA:

In the last issue we printed a recipe for "Pateis de Bacalhau". The title should read: "Bolinhos de Bacalhau". Please correct your recipes accordingly. (The food will taste just as good.)

George Chinnery, artist, arrived in Macau on September 29,1825. He had come from Madras and Calcutta, where he had achieved a measure of recognition as a portrait painter.

The circumstances under which he left India were never fully revealed, however, it was thought that either he owed a great deal of money to creditors or he was taking evasive action where Mrs. Chinnery was concerned, having left her back in Calcutta, or both.

Nevertheless, with Chinnery’s arrival, Macau had the services of a highly trained artist, who, for the next twenty seven years of his life would remain on her soil, depicting life in this Portuguese outpost in his prolific outpouring of sketches and paintings.

Chinnery was Irish, but had attended the Royal Academy in London. He made inroads into the society of the foreign community of Macau, painting the portraits of society matrons, and was befriended by Sir James Matheson, who, as Chinnery’s patron, expended considerable sums of money in efforts to alleviate his debt.

Preferring to sketch from nature, Chinnery would go out almost every morning to draw, leaving a unique record of the architecture and activities of life in Macau within the pages of his many sketchbooks. He resourcefully devised a unique method to fix his pencil sketches and glaze his watercolours by using the liquid from congee rather than beaten egg whites, which was the accepted method of the day.

Chinnery never had a showing of his works in Macau in his lifetime. Most of his drawings were references for his paintings and not intended to be displayed. When he died in 1852 his effects, which included numerous sketches and oil paintings, were auctioned. Consequently, little of his work remains in Macau, although, today, extensive collections of his work can be found in Hong Kong (the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), London (the Victoria and Albert Museum) and Salem, Massachusetts (the Peabody Museum).

Although he professed a wish to return to England, Chinnery never left Macau except for brief sojourns in Canton and Hong Kong. He died in 1852 and is buried in the Old Protestant Cemetery. His tomb, until 1974, bore only his name. On the bicentennial of his death, the Macau government, in a tribute to the Irishman who adopted the colony as his final home, added a gilt inscription on marble, which, in both Portuguese and Chinese, includes the phrase, " We hope he found a sweet refuge against the tribulations and anxieties of his youth."

(Editor’s note: Research material and photograph kindly provided by Angelina Rozario.)

Reference:
Bonsall, Geoffrey, "George Chinnery’s Views of Macau," Arts of Asia, Vol. 16 No.1, Jan-Feb. 1986, pp.79-92

In speaking of Chinnery, we would be remiss if we did not mention Marciano Baptista, a respected Macanese artist and one of Chinnery’s foremost pupils, who is closely tied to members of our Casa. Marciano Antonio Baptista is the great-grandfather of our members, Betty Baptista (our Seniors’ chairperson), Teresa Campos (one of our members), and Meno Baptista of Seattle (our former Washington VP).

Marciano Baptista’s work is recognized for the accurate rendering of the China coast as it was in his time. Prized for their historic value, his watercolours and drawings show his close attention to detail, especially of the architecture and shipping enterprises of his day.

He was born in 1826, the son of Manuel Joaquim Baptista, who was said to be a captain of one of the famous "Lorchas" of Macau.

His illustrations first came to the attention of the European community when they appeared in the prestigious Illustrated London News in March of 1857. It seems the owner and staff of a Hong Kong bakery were accused of trying to poison foreign residents by adding arsenic to the bread dough. This story appeared in the Illustrated London News, accompanied by Baptista’s drawings. The credits state, " These are drawn by a Portuguese named Baptista, who is here thought a clever artist and who was a pupil of Chinnery."

The years from 1850 to 1870 proved to be his most active; Baptista was a prolific artist. He depicted many scenes of the China coast, not only Macau and Hong Kong, but also of Canton, Foochow (Fuzhou), Amoy (Xiamen), the Pearl River and its environs. His paintings of those ports and forts enable us to visualize more accurately the landscape as it once was and how it has now changed, bearing the scars of past skirmishes and of present progress.

Baptista’s talents were not limited only to painting. He was also a photographer of some note and a scene-painter. He was commissioned to enlarge one of his paintings to form the backdrop to a large moving panorama— the brainchild of an entertainer named Albert Smith, who, in his travel book, To China and Back, makes favourable mention of Baptista.

Marciano Baptista died in 1896, having lived the life of an artist and having done it successfully — no mean feat. His son, Marciano Antonio, junior , inherited his artistic talent. In 1881, his drawing of Happy Valley Racecourse was published in the London Graphic. The next generation, too, produced an artist skilled in calligraphy - Marciano Francisco Baptista , M.B.E., ( 1896-1951), Sargeant-Major of the Hong Kong Volunteers, whose illuminated work was presented to Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation.

Unfortunately, the paintings of Marciano Antonio Baptista are scattered, in the possession of many collectors. Hence, the task of assembling an exhibit solely of his work is formidable. In May of 1990, after tireless tracking and intensive research, Cesar Guillen Nunes of the Camoes Museum mounted a showing solely of Baptista’s works at the Leal Senado Gallery.

Today, Baptista’s paintings form part of several important collections, including the Macau Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Toyo Bunko, Tokyo and the National Library of Australia, thus ensuring that the China of yesteryear will be remembered and respected.

(Editor’s note: Research material and personal photographs kindly provided by Betty Baptista.)

General Meeting and Cha Gordo- September 12
We’ll be meeting and greeting the Filhomacaus from California. A different group from the ones we met on September 5th. Please get in touch with Lyce if you can bring a dessert or dish.

Fall Fest- Multicultural Theme - October 17
You don’t want to miss this event! Come to the General Meeting on September 12, when tickets go on sale. See details on page 5 — the events calendar.

3rd Encontro
See page 4 for details; Registration Deadline - September 26,1998; Information Meeting - October 24,1998

Fill out the answers and mail them to the QuizMaster (address below). The winner will get a Casa de Macau T-shirt! Clip out this portion of the page and mail it today! You might be the lucky winner! All entries must be received by October 30th.

1. Hey! What happened?

What universal event occurred on July 20, 1969?

2. According to. . .

According to St. Luke, who was the emperor when Jesus was born?

3. ALL FALL DOWN. . .

In what year did St. Paul (St. Paulo) burn down?

4. TECHNO-GEEK

In computer lingo, what does D.O.S. stand for?

5. FLOWER POWER

What is the official flower for B.C.?

6. LET’S PLAY. . .

What is Canada’s official sport?

7. highest. . .

Name B.C.’s highest peak.

8. who?

Who is Canada’s current Prime Minister?

9. Where, you say?

Where is Macau International Airport (M.I.A.) situated?

10. it’s a date

Name the date of the Casa’s "Fall Fest-Int’l Multicultural Food Dinner/Dance".

My last line

Why is Common Sense not so common!