A giant Barcelos rooster nearly three meters tall is exposed this week on a street in Toronto to promote the county and Portugal of the Canadian city.
“So far from our country and we have the symbol of our association, Barcelos and Portugal, in a street where thousands of people a day pass that can see our symbol”, affirmed Vítor Santos, president of the Association Migrant of Barcelos.
The giant cock was placed on October 21 in front of the association’s headquarters in Toronto, Dufferin Street, York, north of the city.
“It is a giant Barcelos cock. It is 2.80 meters high, 1.3 meters radius and 2.4 meters from the beak to the wing,” said Vítor Santos.
The rooster, he defended, is “a pride not only for Barcelona and for all the Portuguese.”
The director explained that, about two and a half years ago, at the beginning of the mandate, he tried to do “something different” as a way to “promote and make known” the Associação Migrante de Barcelos.
“I always thought it was my dream to try to show that the association exists in Toronto so that all the Portuguese know that there is something that represents Barcelos or the Lower Minho,” he said.
The contact with the City Council of Barcelos through the president of the municipality Miguel Costa Gomes was fundamental for the offer of the giant cock on the anniversary of the community.
“The rooster is made of fibreglass, hand-painted, identical to the ones we see in Barcelos throughout the city and was offered as a 20th-anniversary gift,” he added.
The Migrant Association of Barcelos, Gil Vicente FC’s number one subsidiary, with about 400 registered members, was founded on October 20, 1998.
In addition to a folkloric ranch (adult and child) with more than 90 elements, the association is also responsible for Gil Vicente Soccer School in Toronto with close to 100 children.
