“We now have this big rooster and I hope it goes down in history so that everyone comes to Toronto and we can visit it, because it is unique in this area,” said Lusa Anabela Taborda, president of the Little Portugal Commercial and Services Association at Dundas .

The official opening ceremony of the rooster of Barcelos at Pequeno Portugal in Toronto took place on Saturday, at 1212 Rua Dundas Oeste, on Avenida Lakeview Parkette.

This is a physical mark of the Portuguese presence in the heart of Little Portugal in Toronto, in an art project “the fruit of two societies, the Portuguese and the Canadian”, underlined Ana Bailão, Portuguese-Canadian councilor for the Municipality of Toronto.

“The Barcelos rooster is also a symbol of honesty, integrity and hope, which we so much need right now. With the public competition for the decoration of the rooster, we wanted to also involve the Canadian community in the creation of this Portuguese-Canadian rooster”, added to also vice president of the Canadian municipality.

In a partnership with the Small Portugal Commercial and Services Association at Dundas, Toronto City Council, the Consulate General of Portugal and the Migrante Association of Barcelos, the 2.8 meter tall and 1.9 meter long rooster was donated by municipality of Barcelos.

The Consul General of Toronto, José Carneiro Mendes, stressed that the ‘Rooster of Barcelos’ also meets the values ​​of Canadian society.

“Little Portugal currently represents in Toronto a place of diversity and multiculturality. It is not like it was in the past, but it perfectly embodies the spirit of this country. It is also an asset to this city, to the cultural diversity, multiculturality that Canada pursues , the Portuguese values, of the Rooster of Barcelos, of the Barcelos community, are values ​​of Canada, it will attract people who will come here to see the Rooster of Barcelos”, stressed the diplomat.

Although Portugal is located more than five thousand kilometers from Canada, the Barcelos rooster will in the future also serve as a “source of inspiration for the Portuguese community in Canada”, of which “hope is the last to die” as it succeeds. oneself “fighting for what you want”, this art project being “an example of that”, said Vítor Santos president of the Migrant Association of Barcelos in Toronto.

The winning artist of the public contest Julia Prajza explained that she was inspired by “Portuguese culture and landscape”, a mixture of joy, hope and optimism, celebrating Portuguese culture, enhancing the colors of the sea in Portugal and the sunshine, numbering modern touch of traditional art”.

The event was attended by several personalities, namely the Mayor of Toronto, João Tory, and the Federal Minister for Families, Children and for Social Development, Ahmed Hussen.

Also participating in the ceremony were the Rancho Folclorico of the Associação Migrante de Barcelos and the Portuguese-Canadian singer Vicky Rai.

The rooster promises to boost small businesses in Toronto’s Pequeno Portugal, which despite the gentrification seen in the Canadian city, continues to have a significant presence in that area.

In this sense, the trade association has other cultural initiatives to try to “energize an area so that small businesses can survive” in times of crisis.

Since last June, Galo de Barcelos has been a registered trademark in Portugal, whose Municipality of Barcelos is the owner of the trademark.

The trade association ‘Little Portugal On Dundas’ is almost two kilometers long, between Ossington and Lansdowne Avenue, on Dundas Street West, and has around 400 commercial facilities.

The Canadian Government estimates that no more than 480,000 Portuguese and Portuguese descendants live in the country.

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