You can take a Goan out of Goa but you can never take Goa out of a Goan. This saying holds so much truth for Goans living overseas. And, the Goa in them spills out during football matches, Goan festivals or slightest of provocation to display their Goanness.
Sao Joao, celebrated every year on June 24 in honour of St John the Baptist, is one occasion when Goans living abroad go all-out to drench themselves in Goan tradition and revelries. From dressing up in vibrant and colourful attire, donning the floral headgear called kopel to preparing traditional Goan food, this community, from the tiny western coastal State, across the world gets together to indulge in Sao Joao festivities.
Martin Mascarenhas, of the club - Goan Community in Qatar, organised a Sao Joao bash on the June 20 in the West Asian country, attended by over 150 Goan expatriates.
"We try to keep the spirit of the festivities very local, just the way we celebrated it in Goa. Our guests came with colourful dresses and head gears – kopels – giving it a vibrant spirit," says Martin.
UK-based Savito Sequeira was a part of Impact Events and The Brown Cocks Ltd, which organised a Sao Joao party on the June 23 in UK. It featured live music and a line-up of Goan DJs performing some lively music to keep the people entertained. Savito speaks to GT Digital about the success of the event.
"We organised one of the biggest Sao Joao events in the country. We must have received around 1,000-odd guests for the rain dance party. Goans, who are away from family, get a chance to meet each other and relive the good old days together – home away from home," he nostalgically recalls.
From best kopel prize to best Sao Joao couple – the Sao Joao party kept Goa’s spirit alive and the Goans tapping their feet to Goan numbers.
From the graceful ballroom dance to singing popular Konkani songs including C Alvares' Sao Joao to stuffing themselves up with traditional Choris Pao, Pulao, Chicken Cafrael and Goan sausages, they recreated Goa on the foreign shores.
John De Sa, a Goan in Qatar, adds, “We had a few guests from Japan, South Africa, Croatia and Indonesia, who were thrilled to experience our festivities. We had some live music played by Joshua Carlos on the saxophone, Martin played the ghumot and Martin Mascarenhas played the jumble. It was a great feeling to be surrounded by the entire Goan community.”
Goa’s festivities and traditions have travelled as far as the Cayman Islands. On this remote island, Vivancio and Beisy brought to life Goa as they dressed up in Sao Joao costumes – floral outfits and kopels. “We love when all Goans get together for events like these. It’s good to catch up and relive the memories from back home, says Beisy.
She reminisced; “From having Patoleos and Filoz, Sopotel, Chicken Xacuti, Pulao, Recheado, Beef Chilly among other dishes – it all took us back home. When you are away from home, you tend to miss all these tiny things you take for granted. So, having Goan events like these makes me miss Goa a bit less.”