IS that a question, a statement or a rebuke?? How I wish I could participate in a TRULY Goan activity..... except for the Goan league soceer of bygone days, I have not come across anything meaningfull to me. still looking, listening and reading, though. and eager to participate when and where it counts to goan society, as i remember it. thank for the time, anthony fernandes
----- Original Message ----- From: "Goanet News" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" <[email protected]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 1:39 PM Subject: [Goanet-News] Where have the Toronto Goans gone? (VictorRangel-Ribeiro in Times of India, Panjim) > Where have the Toronto Goans gone? > Goans from the US, Australia and Goa attended the Goan International > Convention in Toronto. Despite the small group, there was a buzz of > activities and bonds of friendships renewed > VICTOR RANGEL RIBEIRO Times News Network > > Consider this paradox: A Goan International Convention is held in > Toronto, Canada, a city that with its suburbs claims a Goan population > of 20,000, and is home to the Goan Overseas Association. You would > expect attendance in the hundreds, if not the thousands, right? > > Now look at who showed up for the convention held in Mississauga, a > Toronto suburb, between July 23 to 26: Nascimento Caldeira came from > Melbourne, Australia; Virginia Bras e Gomes from Lisbon; Cornel da > Costa, his daughter Joana, Renee Barretto and two others flew from > London; George Pinto and Filomena Giese and eight others from > California; three flew in from Wisconsin as well. NRI Commissioner > Eduardo Faleiro, fashion guru Wendell Rodricks, architect Dean D'Cruz, > State Bank manager Trevor Fernandes, cartoonist Alexyz, and a > 14-person mando troupe came from faraway Goa. > > My wife and I drove 1,600 kilometres to get there, 800 each way. At > the end of that hard 11-hour drive we found, not hundreds, but just 80 > or so registrants who attended the workshops and > presentations.Thirty-nine of these were from outside Canada, another > six were from such distant Canadian cities like Vancouver and Quebec. > Of the remaining 35, most were from Mississauga; only a handful were > from Toronto itself, even though that city is only 40 kms away. > > The low numbers did not dampen the enthusiasm, as guiding spirits > Kevin and Lisette Saldanha, along with Ben Antao, Francis and Clare > Rodrigues, Bosco De Mello, Mervyn Lobo, and Walter Tavares kept things > flowing. > > Participants in Wendell's fashion workshops came away enthused; the > thirteen at my writing sessions kept demanding more. Audiences were > stirred by the screening of The Rape of Goa, and Dean's presentations > of environmental and architectural issues and of Clinton Vaz's > pictorial essay on Goa's garbage crisis. Konkani received a push. > Alexyz's fabled cartoons lined the walls of an entire room. Novelist > Ben Antao presided over book launches that included Marinella > Proenca's Heart Beat, Alexyz's Goa, Goan, Goaing, Gone?, Cheryl > Antao-Xavier's Dance of the Peacock, Ben's own novel, Living in the > Market, and his travelogue, The Islands of Sicily. > > A new book titled Goa: Aparanta -- Land Beyond the End, was also > unveiled. Christine Pinto and Lea Rangel-Ribeiro spoke on identity and > the diaspora; Coralie D'Souza unfortunately was taken ill as she began > to speak. Francis Rodrigues conducted a music workshop and a session > on Goan music. He also introduced the Lady Mayor of Mississauga and > NRI Commissioner Faleiro. > > The Mayor praised Goans' contribution to the city; Faleiro promised to > give NRGs a seat on various boards. Evening events included a beauty > contest and Goan Idol. Both drew a crowd. A mando performance was well > received, as was a Konkani tiatr that ended at 1 am. Close to 400 > attended the Saturday night ball, proving once again that we Goans, > while blessed with two extremities, prefer to cultivate the one that > lies closest to the ground. > > Attendees agreed the convention had been a success. New friendships > were formed, old bonds renewed. Best of all, Renee Barretto announced > plans for yet another conference next year, this time in London. > > http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOI&BaseHref=TOIGO/2008/08/07&PageLabel=17&EntityId=Ar01700&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T >
