Celebrating Culture in Montreal

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Everyone loves Montreal. Especially for East-Coast Canadians, it's a city of nearly mythological power to enchant and seduce. Folks head to Montreal and marvel at the metropolis with its unparalleled shopping and dining and entertainment opportunities. When they return to smaller towns they tell great stories about the big city and all of the misadventures possible in a place with a Metro, a Chinatown and borrow-able bicycles. West Coasters love Montreal too but it's far and often cold, neither of which are deal-breakers from the Eastern perspective.

Fulfilling a longstanding dream, I was in Montreal for my birthday this year. In Quebec, the 24th of June is St. Jean Baptiste Day: the "Fete Nationale". It is a day to celebrate being Quebecois(e), show pride for national heroes and heroines, shout and cheer about the strength of the nation, play with fire (both the bon- and -works varieties), put on outdoor concerts, march in parades and drink copious amounts of alcohol. Clearly, one's twenty-first birthday is about all of these same things and so the two events merged seamlessly.

I stayed with my friend Peggy in Montreal. We go way back (to the innocence of Middle School) and it was great to be able to crash on her couch and catch up with her. As was the case in Quebec City, being able to stay with a friend and meet a lot of local people very positively influenced my trip. I had a quintessentially "Montreal" experience, which included two picnics (one at Mont Royal, both with good wine) a Mile End party, a visit to the enormous gay bar "Unity," pre-dawn bicycling on a "bixi" and of course walking all over the city. I read my Felix Leclerc novel in parks, dined in quaint cafes and a fabulous Spanish restaurant (La Sala Rosa on Saint Laurent - highly recommended!) and when I spoke French no one ever answered back to me in English. This latter feat is pretty unheard of in such a bilingual city and I was so proud to boast about my new French capabilities. I even gave a woman directions, in French, when she asked me. Impressionnant, non?

On the night of the 23rd, Peggy and I attended an outdoor concert called the "Alternative St. Jean" where our favourite performer was Ariane Moffat. We pushed to the front of the crowd and watched the massive Quebec flags waving as Ariane put on a great show. Afterward, we went out dancing and were caught up in a sea of shirtless men.

On the 24th there was the "Parade of Giants." This was a big deal. People lined the streets as two dozen enormous papier mache puppets marched by, along with acrobats, bands and folks dressed up as barrels or horses. An Anglo among dedicated Quebecois Francophones, I waved my plastic flag heartily and tried to identify such figures as Samuel de Champlain, Rene Levesque and of course Maurice Richard. There was even a Felix Leclerc with a sixty-pound guitar made of real wood. Following a walk through parts of the city to which many Anglophone students never venture, and the aforementioned stellar dinner, we headed out to the "Grand Spectacle" where loads of popular Quebecois musicians put on a huge show. The energy and pride of the crowd so impressed me. These are people with a unity derived from true nationhood. Go to St. Jean Baptiste Day in Quebec if you don't understand Canadian political history. Je me souviens.

Although there is certainly socio-linguistic tension within Montreal, I think that the rest of Canada has a lot to learn from this city. The multiculturalism is so apparent and yet there is common ground. Is this the embodiment of "unity through diversity"? A cultural mosaic? Regardless, it's another city that I'll have to spend more time in. I was thrilled with this, my fourth visit, which capped six weeks of living in the province of Quebec. I absolutely see why everyone, especially the astute East Coasters, loves Montreal.

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Photos

Photo 6
Children have nightmares about these figures, I'm sure.

Photo 10
The terrifying Maurice Richard!

Giles Duceppe
And some politicians came out.

Comments

[Leah Adams]

big figures
Reading your post makes me homesick for Montreal. I long to take Sophie through the streets some day. Vive le Quebec!

[Janet]

Montreal, c'est magnifique
I love that you get Quebec. We buy into the idea that travelling afar give us insight into different peoples and yet we have a huge alternative culture within our borders. Vive la difference! I always knew you'd love Montreal.