I came across
this photo today and was intrigued to learn more about the Grémio Portugalia so
soon after my recent post on the subject (See Nov. 1, 2014). The setting is similar to an image I
found a few months ago that appears to be a fair celebrating the Centennial of
Belgium’s Independence in July 1930.
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| The Grémio Portugalia booth at the fair |
Local
authorities organized a “Kermesse”, or festival, on the sports grounds in front
of Ste. Anne church where the U.S. and Portuguese Embassies face Ave. des
Aviateurs today (See Feb. 6, 2011). In addition to
the Grémio, “Chez Thomas Cocktail Bar” catered the beer garden while SEDEC
Motors (See Jan. 9, 2011) displayed the
latest Chevrolet cars. A tree was
planted at Place Braconnier (originally Place de la Gare) to commemorate the event (See Jan. 23, 2011).
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| The "Chez Thomas" booth. Note Ste. Anne steeple in background (photo attributed to Zagourski) |
The official
transfer of the colonial capital from Boma to Kinshasa had been completed in
April with the arrival of Governor Tilkens’ Secretariat staff. 1930 was also the 45th
anniversary of the founding of the Congo Free State in 1885, and a
commemorative “Te Deum” service was held at Ste. Anne’s in June. At the local government level, District
Commissioner De Bock was preparing plans to relocate and segregate the African
townships (See July 31, 2011) some 3
kilometers south of the burgeoning commercial center that Kinshasa (Gombe) had
become (See Mar. 13, 2011).
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| Place Braconnier in the mid-1950s looking towards the Cité in the distance |
Congolese were
not invited to join the festivities in Kinshasa, but were expected to be
patriotic about being Belgian subjects.
Separate sports events to this effect were organized in the African quarter. The following year, Father de la
Kethulle (Tata Raphael) and students from St. Joseph school began to drain the
marsh in the new African township to create a football pitch for African
players. This site, adjacent St. Pierre Parish (built in 1932), was later to
become Kinshasa’s first stadium, Stade Reine Astrid (now Stade Cardinal Malula)
in 1937 (See. Feb. 12, 2012).
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| Sports events for Congolese at the Belgian Centennial in Leopoldville - July 21, 1930 |