Ninth Gathering of Macanese Communities kicks off

The ninth edition of the gathering of Macanese communities held every three years was formally opened yesterday at the Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel.

For this year’s edition the meeting features 1,540 participants, of which 894 come from Canada, USA, Brazil, Australia and Portugal, among others.

Macau is also well represented in this edition by 646 Macau resident participants.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Chief Executive (CE), among other government officials. Chui Sai On highlighted in his speech the importance of such a community as a “connection link” connecting people who “have been residing and working in Macau, generation after generation, giving rise to Macau’s unique ethnic characteristics in language, culture, religion, customs and cuisine.” The CE added that these characteristics made them “a bridge for communication and exchanges between different cultures [during the past five centuries].”

José Luís Sales Marques, president of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Macanese Communities (CCM) spoke on behalf of the organizing committee. He highlighted the efforts that have been put in by the Macanese “Casas” [houses] and Association around the world to “keep up with the goals of the CCM, notwithstanding the challenges associated with poor economic environment in many of the hosting countries, the weight of the local cultures and language on a daily basis, generational change of guards and the limits derived by the small size of our community worldwide.”

Leonel Alves, president of the General Council of the CCM, praised the local community during his speech “The people of Macau, regardless of the nationality or ethnicity, are accustomed to welcoming Macanese from the diaspora in this city once every three years,” he said. Alves, who is also a lawmaker and member of the Executive Coucil, added that such  gatherings “contribute to the strengthening of Macau as a multicultural city, proud of its diversity and able to protect its identity and history.”

In Alves’ opinion the Macanese communities across the world have an important contribute to the “projection of our city to the world.”

Interviewed by the Times, Francisco Colaço Xavier, who lives in Seattle (US) and is taking part in the gathering for the first time, said: “Macau used to be our ‘little Europe’ where everybody knew each other and hug each other in the streets. For me this is a come back to those ‘hugging’ moments and those memories from the ‘old days’. So far has been surprisingly good.”