Little Portugal from Toronto is a ‘case study’ for Liverpool students
Little Portugal in Toronto is being the subject of a case study by students at the University of Liverpool “for their daily role in the life of the Portuguese community,” one of the students involved in the investigation told today.
“We had to choose a theme in the process of our degree and decided that Little Portugal would be the object of our research in an investigation into the role that Little Portugal plays daily in the lives of the Portuguese migrant community and the other parties involved,” said Daveena Matharu , the spokeswoman for the group.
Geography student at the University of Liverpool (England), together with Sophie Fearon and Gurpreet Johal, have been collecting data on Little Portugal from Toronto since 31 March and then, in May, to present the study to their class in Liverpool.
“In England, at least from where I come from Birmingham, I do not have areas like this one. We chose this place because we are interested in the culture and we wanted to find out if there were any changes or if there is a change if there is more diversity,” he explained.
Official immigration to Canada began in 1953, establishing the community initially in areas such as Augusta Street, Kensington Market, going further west in Dundas West, and more recently to the north of Toronto and to other neighbouring cities.
As part of this process, Little Portugal “is losing some of its identity, an area that is fashionable, with many hipsters and other cultures,” he said.
“However, it continues to be important because there are many people who continue to take pride in their culture, even if they are not living here, they always visit Little Portugal. When there is a World Cup, people go through Little Portugal to celebrate the victories of Portugal, “said the student, noting that even” those who were born in Canada, second and third generations, love their culture and continue to pass “in the area, he said.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool will be in Toronto until April 12, listening to the traders and residents of Little Portugal about the role of that historic area in their daily lives.
We do not have a great Portuguese culture where I’m from, in Birmingham, and since I love Portuguese music, it’s something like learning more about language and culture, and how important it is. is Little Portugal for the people who live here and how they use the area, “said Daveena Matharu.
Since the 1970s the area between Bathurst and Dufferin streets is known as ‘Little Portugal’ an area ‘with a pleasant atmosphere with very welcoming people,’ he said.
It is estimated that there are about 550,000 Portuguese and Portuguese descendants in Canada, with a large majority located in the province of Ontario.
