Viva Goa celebrations in Toronto attract thousands of Goans from all parts of the world. BEN ANTAO captures the spirit of the festival which celebrates Goan heritage.

TORONTO - Like the swallows in Capistrano, Canadian Goans gather en masse every year to sample Goan cuisine, drink, sing, play and dance. And this summer was no different as thousands “flew in” from home and abroad to celebrate Viva Goa—a day of cultural heritage organized by the Goan Overseas Association of Toronto. Held inside a massive hangar near Downsview Park where the Pope attended a youth rally in 2002, this year’s 7 th annual celebration featured the usual fare of soccer, beach volleyball, darts (for children) a food court, a hall for music, song and dance, and stalls where one could buy sausages, paro, pickles and pastes, crafts, T-shirts and CDs, as well as investments, insurance and mortgages.

Lineup at Dom's Kitchen in the food court.

Edna Fernandes of Loutolim, a charming go-getter, was doing brisk business at her pickles stall. Her husband Tony Fernandes, 57, of Monte de Gurim, had his recently self-published book GOA Memories of My Homeland also on sale there. The book is a collection of poems, short stories, Konkani proverbs, photographs and drawings. His narrative poems invoke an exquisite feel of nostalgia and capture a rustic simplicity of his growing up in Goa, prior to his leaving for the Gulf and then immigrating to Canada.

Next to their stall was Maria Fernandes of Aldona - Cal-vim. She sold packages of mild and hot sausages and jars of pickles. It was a pleasure to see her again, for in the past I had driven to her house in Brampton, 40 km west of Toronto, to procure her home-made, delectable hot sausages. Knowing that pork fat is an essential ingredient in a Goan sausage, yet mindful of cholesterol in an aging Goan populace, she adds tiny pieces of separate fat in the sausage, pieces that can be easily taken out while cooking. Thus, both the fat lovers and the abstainers can enjoy the sausage without sacrificing on flavor. I bought two dozen ($30—$10 per pound) Yummy-yummy!

The sorpatel song, khunbi and dekhni dances were going on the centre stage, even as people paused to look, greet a friend, or buy something at the stalls around the periphery, with nostalgic music caressing their ears. A young singer-songwriter, Melissa D’Souza, sang a couple of numbers, Brown Girl and Always a Goan, from her CD Heart of Goa produced by Desi Records of Toronto. I bought her CD ($12) and she gladly autographed it for me, and I got a T-shirt with the print You will always be a Goan. What a charming idea! The listings in her track were noteworthy too—a mando medley (Gupit Mog, Doriachea Larari, Tambde Rosa), Aum Saiba, Molbailo Dhou and Adeus Korcho.

At another stall, Hema Pereira, a Gujarati married to a Goan, she told me, who performed a Stick dance, was helping her husband Matthew sell Goa T-shirts.

At the food court the lines grew longer in the afternoon for snacks, meals and drinks—sausage and pao, fish curry, dal, pulao and rice, sorpotel and sannas, beer, Scotch, rum and wine. However, no feni was available. The prices were $6 for a meal and $4 for drinks. The admission was $8 at the door ($6 in advance). This year (July 24) just over 5,000 people gathered at the hangar, reportedly about the same as last year. There were a couple of dozen stalls, each paying $50 for the space. The day ended with dancing in the hall up to 1 a.m.

Seira Furtado, Chair of Viva Goa, emceed several of the events. She is the sister of Oscar Furtado, president of GOA, both enthusiastic boosters of Goan cultural heritage. She had, of course, the help and support of hundreds of volunteers. The day was designated as Toronto Goans’ celebration of the World Goa Day whose anniversary falls on August 20.

Back