Festival in Honour of St. Cecilia
The festival in honour of St. Cecilia is an annual tradition celebrated by Banda Lira Portuguesa de Brampton since the early 1990's, after moving into our very own clubhouse. The festival began with much sacrifice on the part of the first committee headed by musician, Humberto Furtado. "We didn't have a [full-sized] saint back then," says Furtado. "We had to make do with a miniature statue." The full-sized statue arrived from Spain in time for the second festival a year later. It is this statue that keeps watch over the musicians at every practice throughout the year, sitting high on her very own pedestal in the practice hall. It is also this statue that has been the centrepiece of each festival in her honour since that second year, making her way through the parish neighbourhood atop the shoulders of devoted musicians and followers.
After so many years of looking after our musicians, our very own St. Cecilia finally received a much needed and deserved make-over this year, thanks to Zita Amaral, wife of current president Eduardo Amaral. After noticing the statue had seen better days, she took it upon herself to seek out the help of José Antonio Cordeiro to help restore the statue. Cordeiro, parishioner at Our Lady of Fatima, has cared for the saints at the church for some time and knew exactly what needed to be done. Under his expert care, it didn't take long before St. Cecilia was ready to be put on display once again.
A sincere "thank you" to these and many other individuals who continue to help in any way they can to promote and maintain our culture and traditions.
We would also like to thank everyone who participated in the festival today and hope that you join us again next year.
Go to the Media>Gallery page to view the photos of this event.
Banda Lira Portuguesa de Brampton
