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Volume3 Number 3
July 2001
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The President’s Opening Address April 2001 Fellow members, present and non present and those who have left in the past and have contributed to the history of this club, I am proud to be up here and I am confident that we can accomplish all the goals and needs of our membership. I would like to thank the past Executive Committee for their tireless efforts and I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that this is your club and it needs your support to be successful. It is important that we learn from history, the mistakes we have made, the differences we may have had, and move on. We need your energy and drive to encourage and bring in new members and to bring back members we may have lost in the past. The coming Encontro is a major event and we have a lot of work ahead of us. A ten day trip will be a costly commitment of time and resources and I welcome any suggestions or any volunteers to help organize this event for our membership. I look around this room and I think back to the number of years we have existed as an association and it’s great, but it needs the dedication of all of you, the members, to keep it alive and to see to it that the future of this club is carried on by our children and all the generations to come. Thank you very much. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Journey of Rediscovery We who are Macanese have always had to struggle, in one way or another, with trying to define ourselves. And to do so,we have had to face the reality of our peculiar circumstance in the world. We came from Portugal, first as searchers of "Christians and Spices" - imperialists in the name of religion and profit. And then we chose to remain and were willing to incorporate Chinese culture into our own and gave birth to a rich and unique history. As inheritors of a somewhat nefarious legacy of explorers, merchants and priests, we have had to create our own blessings and joys. In many ways we have had to fight for our identity. It has taken me a long time to embrace the blessings of our legacy, years of self debate as to whether I am more Portuguese or Chinese before I realized there was really only one answer. Accept and take pride in those "tangled roots".I can be Portuguese or Chinese because I am both. Joining the Casa was the final part of my journey of rediscovery, first as a way of rekindling youthful friendships and second, to try to recapture a sense of our unique cultural family. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I found that the Casa had been split into two clubs and a seemingly unbridgeable chasm of disagreements and animosities separated the one from the other. But this is not new to our members and it is not my intention to dwell on these issues. Instead I would rather focus on the idea of rediscovery. Finding my roots again was both liberating and satisfying. As a relatively new member to the Casa, I would like to pass on to you, my cultural family, a little of this enthusiasm. I hope I bring some of this energy to our meetings and social functions. I consider it my way of giving back some of the richness of our heritage that I have so enjoyed rediscovering. Moreover, I think it is important we pass on this energy and enthusiasm to our children, so they too take pride in their uniqueness and embrace it as I have. Over the past year I have been writing a novel. It is about the struggles of coming to terms with our hybrid ancestry, the good and the bad, the heroic and the shameful. I have collected many stories from friends and relatives, drawn from my own recollections,done historical research and incorporated some of those rich details into a work of fiction. The writing itself has been its own journey of discovery, both fearful and exhilarating, as is expected when one relives the pains and joys of history. I am hopeful to have a completed draft by the beginning of 2002. I am writing this novel for my daughter so she knows she belongs to this rich heritage and that she too should take pride in it and savour it and claim it as her own. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts and I look forward to writing for you again. Until next time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RENEWAL REMINDER The Casa’s new fiscal year commenced on April 1, 2001 and as a result all membership dues are now outstanding. A great number of members have already submitted their renewals and we have also welcomed at least four new members. Let’s keep this momentum going and get the rest of our members to renew and sign up more for the future! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spring: A New Beginningby Margie Rozario Spring is here and a new cycle of life begins. Flowers start to bloom and the birds return to their habitat. There was a bird’s nest on the tree in my backyard and it was such a joy to see the little robin redbreast babes chirping. It is fitting that our CASA is also making a fresh start with a newly elected Executive Board and the various Committees eager and ready to work for the CASA and its members. We have been successful through the years and will continue to flourish. Something we can all be proud of. Now it is time for fresh ideas and fresh input from our younger members. We must work at developing more interest and enthusiasm in those of the next generation. By working together in mind and body as one ‘Family’ within the CASA, by appreciating the Volunteers who give up their time and energy, by each member taking a share of the load, our CASA will move forward to a new beginning and another successful year. Welcome everyone to the promise of spring and the shelter of our home, CASA DE MACAU, VANCOUVER! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Maryknoll Reunion in Vancouver Fernanda Ho is organizing this year’s Maryknoll Convent School Reunion in Vancouver. Here are the details: There are 500 people expected to attend, including sisters, teachers, students, and guests. The itinerary is as follows: Friday Aug 3 (5:00 p.m.)- Vancouver Convention Centre - Official Opening SaturdayAug 4 (10:00 a.m.) - a choice of two local 4-hour day tours or harbour lunch cruise or individual class gatherings (5:30 p.m.)- Hyatt Regency Hotel - Banquet Sunday Aug 5 - Holy Rosary Cathedral - Mass and Farewell Tea Party - Official Closing - (2:30 p.m.) Monday Aug 6 - side-trips begin (Banff, Alaska, Victoria) Here are some highlights: 1. There will be a 40-minute movie presentation of a brief history of Maryknoll Convent School from 1925 to the present. This will be shown as part of the Official Opening. The story will be told by those who actually lived the experience, memories of school assembly and school mass and the unique stories of those who spent their formative years there. 2. People are coming from all over the world, Australia, UK, Europe, the US, HongKong and Canada. They will leave with great memories and souvenirs! The
focus and intention of this event is to reunite with the family of Maryknoll
Convent School girls and share those treasured moments of their formative
years, revisiting old haunts, reliving those memorable moments. For more information contact Fernanda Ho. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visita de sua Excellencia o Presidente da Republica - Dr.Jorge Sampaio - A Comunidade Portuguesa. This great event was held at the ‘Plaza of Nations, Vancouver on 25th May, 2001. There was a dancing performance by the Rancho Cruz de Cristo - criancas to the music by the Banda Filarmonica de Vancouver. The children were most delightful in their Portuguese costumes and was greatly appreciated by the audience. Songs in Portuguese were sung by some artists and one in English by Sandra Bird. There was also a dancing group - Rancho Caravela de Edmonton. In the President’s speech, he mentioned that although the Community in Vancouver is multicultural, we must not forget our roots. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PATUA CORNER NOSSA AMAH AMAH - (NOSSA SEGUNDO MAI) Aquele pequenino crianca co aquele pequenino vela vela .... Estunga vela vela na ela-sa branco jaqueta e calca preto, unga bem di comprido "peen chai" rabicho pindurado na ela-sa traz, moli moli chinelas di fazenda preto na ela-sa pe. Ela toma conta di estunga crianca co muito pacienca. Mas quando ela vai po "kai see" mercado, sum otro coisa-ia. Ela logo vai scole verduras, batalha co gente di mercado di preco, ate ela fica satisfeto, entum vem divolta casa po vai na cuzinha. Este nomi "amah" sum vem di palavra Portugues "ama" qui significa mai; e estunga vela ja fica como unga parti di familia. Ela, tem vez, fica mas quie unga mai po criancas di familia, qui olotro-sa oncom-sa mai, e tanto vez logo da muito amor tamem. Quando ela primero vem trabalha, ela logo fala claro qui ela nadi lava ou gosso chum, e nadi lava janelas. Ela acha trezi meses di paga unga ano, e sabi salva tanto tanto di ela-sa salario. Quanto anos passado na Hong Kong, estunga amah tem assim tanto dinhero qui ela tem quanto andar andar di terreno, e sabi como faze millium di dinhero na "stock market" duranti tempo di 1972, antis di mercado cai baxo. Este e tempo na Hong Kong quando amah amahs usa telefon po choma olotro-sa "stock broker". Tamem, este amah amahs ja vai jugatinas na Macau, ola si olotro pode ganha mas dinhero. Gente pode conhece olotro na olotro-sa preto co branco uniformi dentro di casino. Tanto tanto amahs hoje india sum casado co olotro-sa familia familia, mas nunca muito ola di olotro sa. Mas na tempo antigo, sum difrente. Tem unga tempo, familias pobri logo da ou vende unga fila como unga scravo ou vai fica prostituta. Na meo meo di 1850’s, ja tem unga popular muvamento di pobri femia femias po fica independente. Po causo di olotro-sa pobreza, olotro nom pode casa, entum olotro forma unga "irmadade". Olotro ja fica na pequinino grupo, bota olotro-sa sapeca juntado, toma servico di amah amahs, e bota divolta olotro-sa dinhero po olotrosa familia. Por faze olotro ola difrente, olotro usa este uniformi di amah, preto e branco ropa co chinela di fazenda. Quanto di olotros ja faze promesa religiosa di puridade, nadi come carni e tem vez forma pequeno groupos religioso. Aquele amah qui fica co familia nom tem muito agora. Aquele quantos qui ja fica amah amahs, agora logo tem 60 ou 70 fora anos. Este logo fica ultimo genracum di este quanto vela velas. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seniors Trip to Reno Update: The tentative date for the Reno bus trip is September 22 or 29, 2001 It is with Maverick Vacations for 7 days which includes complimentary side tours while in Reno to surrounding areas. C$269 for double occupancy C$379 for a single room. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CALENDER OF EVENTS 7th July..........Craft Corner - Metrotown Community Room - 10.30 am to 5 pm. (all Craft Corner Projects will be held at this location) (Craft Corner Dates may sometimes be used for other activities, i.e. cooking or some other demonstrations, so please keep these dates open, as other projects will be announed in due course.) 14th July........General Meeting - Eaton Centre Community Room. - 2 pm. 28th July .......Craft Corner . 11th August ...Craft Corner 25th August... Craft Corner September 1st .....Craft Corner September 8th .....General Meeting - Eaton Centre Community Room Fall Festival Dinner - Holy Name Hall September 22nd.. Craft Corner October 6th ........ Craft Corner October 20th ...... Craft Corner November 10th .. General Meeting November 17th ... Craft Corner November 24th... Craft Corner November 28th to 7th December - 4th Encontro in Macau. December lst ... Macaenses Community Day. Mass and Dinner to be announced. December 31st. Dinner Dance - Delta Airport Inn. Details to be announced. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE ENCONTRO FAX DATED JUNE 13, 2001. "Taking into consideration the suggestions presented from various Casas de Macau, with reference to the Encontro program and its duration, we have this information for you.
1. Shortening the duration of the Encontro to eight days. Opening ceremony - Wednesday, November 28, 2001 Closing party - Wednesday, December 5, 2001 2. No charge for the two Patua shows, on December 3 and 4, 2001. 3. No charge for meals inserted in the Encontro program, namely: Opening Day dinner (November 28, 2001) Chinese dinner with mahjong (December 2, 2001) and Closing party (December 5, 2001), for participants from abroad. 4. No charge at the workshops of Macanese Cooking and Traditional Decorations (November 29 and 30, 2001). 5. Cancellation of the afternoon sport inserted in the initial program sent previously to the Casas de Macau, however, a hockey tournament could be organized on Sunday, December 2, 2001 in the afternoon, in case there are participants interested in this activity. 6. Cancellation of days intended for the countries with Casas de Macau. 7. Cancellation of sightseeing to Zhuhai. Those interested can do so, if they wish, on the free days (December 2 and 4, 2001, Sunday and Tuesday, respectively). 8 The cultural programs of the Casas de Macau will be presented at the Closing Party. (December 5, 2001). 9. Subsidies - In response to your concern to the shortening of the Encontro and free participation in the activities, the Organizing Committee may consider increasing the subsiby depending on the number of participants at the Encontro. We hope that the changes in the final Encontro program will meet your satisfaction and that of your members of your esteemed Casa de Macau. With best regards, (signed) Jose Manuel de Oliveira Rodrigues. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sao João Baptiste Picnic The pavilion bustled with activity; sounds of younger members playing ball mixed with the clicking of majhong tiles, music, dancing, cooking and an atmosphere of camaraderie. This was the Casa’s annual Sao Joao Baptiste picnic on Saturday June 16 at Queen’s Park. The wind and rain stayed away and even when the sun breifly disappeared, there was plenty of hot tea and coffee to keep us warm and happy. An excellent turnout of family and friends enjoyed the day and sampled the various goodies organized by the committee. There was plenty of food for everyone from bife Macau to hot dogs to cha siu and lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and sweets. Nobody went hungry. Diana Pires added an extra nice touch by providing handmade toys for our younger members. Muitas obrigadas to the Social Committee for coming through again with a fun day for all who attended. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Other Announcements Good to hear that both Rosa Staines and Cicero Rozario are back on their feet and doing well. We look forward to seeing them at our next meeting. Congratulations to Mickey and Carmen d’Almada Remedios on their 50th Golden Anniversary on July 4th in Seattle. We wish them the best and happiness always. |
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