Traditional Festivals within the Portuguese Neighborhood in Montreal. Ethnolinguistic and Cultural Identity
This article presents a range of religious festivities celebrated by the Portuguese community of Montreal. These festivals provide insight of intergenerational transmission and constitute one of the main aspects of the definition of the group’s ethnolinguistic and cultural identity. The community is based in Montreal since the 1950s in a real example of ethnic neighborhood that fits into the multicultural pattern of the city. Portuguese is the main language spoken by the group. This language shares the spaces of use with both French and English, in a multilingual landscape. This contribution is based on an ethnographic study conducted between 2011 and 2018 and aims to show how this community has preserved its cultural and linguistic identity over time. The descendants of this migration, of different ages and generations, are aware of the current importance of Portuguese for the future of the community, and the importance of maintaining the group’s own traditions and culture. Thanks to discursive analysis, we have seen how representations about language and cultural practices are important for defining or questioning the collective identity of the group.