Conversation with Alice Cordeiro Silva Veras

Title

Conversation with Alice Cordeiro Silva Veras

Description

Alice Cordeiro Silva Veras is from Brazil and currently lives in Ottawa. She moved to Canada at the age of 9 with her mother and younger sister. Having been here for over 10 years, she is now a permanent resident. Alice enjoys celebrating her culture and is passionate about sharing its diversity beyond well-known events like Carnival. She also values community voices and recommends that more members contribute to online platforms to celebrate and reflect the richness of Latin American and Caribbean cultures in Ottawa. Her insights reveal a desire for deeper cultural representation and recognition in public community projects.

Date

2025-03-20

Format

MP3, 19 min 58 s

Language

English

Interviewer

Ropa Nyandoro

Interviewee

Alice Cordeiro Silva Veras

Transcription

ROPA NYANDORO: Hello, my name is Ropa. Thank you for speaking with me today. I'm conducting interviews to learn more about the experiences, traditions and values of the Latin or Caribbean community in Ottawa. Your insights are very important, and I appreciate your participation. Before we begin, I want to confirm that your participation in this interview is entirely voluntary.
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: Yes, that is right.
ROPA NYANDORO: OK, you may skip any questions that you feel uncomfortable answering, and your responses may be used to gain a better understanding of and support for the community. Do you consent to participating in this interview?
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: I do.
ROPA NYANDORO: OK.
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: And I think it should be talked about more, maybe, so I think it would be nice to give every single country and every single culture the same importance.
ROPA NYANDORO: Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Do you have any suggestions on what should be posted or on how we can better serve the community?
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: Like with the interviews.
ROPA NYANDORO: Like the one with the website, yeah, on the website.
ROPA NYANDORO: But I think you went through it when you were talking about how the website should showcase each culture as unique as it is.
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: Yeah.
ROPA NYANDORO: Yeah, I think you've already spoken about it.
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: Yeah. Just like, for example, having a section about different holidays, because when you talk about Brazil, the only holiday that people know is Carnival. We have so many more that are fun and interesting and have a cool history behind them. It would be nice to have these kinds of things in pictures with maybe small explanations.
ROPA NYANDORO: Hmm.
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: It would also be nice to get more input from more people from the community, essentially making the website a bigger thing and getting to hear more voices from the community to celebrate these different cultures.
ROPA NYANDORO: Hmm.
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: It would be nice to, you know, to like talk about them, like explain the background and stuff like that.
ROPA NYANDORO: Yeah. Um, do you have any comments or concerns before we close?
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: No, I don't think so.
ROPA NYANDORO: Thank you so much for sharing your story with me. You were thorough. You shared some deep insights and I truly appreciate your time and participation.
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: Thank you so much. It was a pleasure.
ROPA NYANDORO: Thank you. Bye.
ALICE CORDEIRO SILVA VERAS: Bye.

Original Format

On MS Teams