The Macanese community may be a small group in a small-ish city, but it embodies Macao’s precious East-meets-West identity. What does their future look like in a rapidly developing Macao?
Leaders in Macao’s Macanese community are grappling with two questions: What role do Macanese people play in the territory’s future, and is their Macanese identity relevant in modern Macao? Earlier this year, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng helped the group – whose unique fusion culture dates back more than 400 years – find clarity.
Ho met with representatives from the Macanese community in late January. There, he recognised Macanese people as an “integral part” of Macao society and urged them to seize hold of opportunities arising as a multitude of economic diversification strategies unfurl over the coming years. He referenced the rapidly developing Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, and the revival of Forum Macao – which will see its 10 member states meet this month.
Forum Macao positions the city as a platform for trade and exchange between China and nine Portuguese-speaking countries. Ho said he looked forward to seeing Macanese people capitalise on their language skills (many speak both Chinese and Portuguese) and culture to play a “pivotal” role in driving Sino-Lusophone relations forward.
Ho also encouraged initiatives from within the Macanese community that were geared towards keeping their culture alive. As well as being an intrinsic part of Macao’s history, this culture – its unique cuisine, in particular – is a major tourism drawcard for the city.
At the gathering, the chief executive described Macao’s economic recovery over the past year as testament to Macanese people’s resilience, strength and expertise – for which the leader offered his sincerest gratitude. Ho praised their “unflinching efforts” in sectors spanning education and law, the arts and hospitality.
“We were all born and grew up in this place, which makes Macao our shared home,” he said. “The government will work with everyone to safeguard and develop our beautiful home and ensure its prosperity, stability and vitality.”
Macao magazine has sought statements from three people active in the Macanese community. But before turning to them, we answer this question:
Who are the Macanese?
Macanese culture began emerging in 16th-century Macao, when early Portuguese settlers married into local Chinese families. Macanese people are descendants of these unions, though their rich ancestral tapestry is also interwoven with Malay, Japanese, English, Dutch and Indian influences.
A genetic potpourri has resulted in a uniquely Eurasian culture, cosmopolitan to its core. Macanese dishes, for instance, were the world’s first fusion cuisine. Fragrant with spices from Portuguese Africa and India, prepared using cooking techniques from Portugal and China, it’s highly flavourful comfort food found nowhere else in the world.
In the past, many Macanese people spoke the creole language Patuá (along with Portuguese and/or Chinese). Patuá-language theatre (which was listed as an intangible heritage in 2017) and singing were once popular ways for the largely Catholic community to express itself and socialise. Other hallmarks of the culture are visible in Macao’s architecture and folk festivals; both merge Chinese and Portuguese elements.
But the community’s vibrancy has faded over the past few decades, as Macao has transitioned from being a Portuguese-administered city to a special administrative region of China. Many Macanese moved overseas, while others assimilated into the increasingly Chinese mainstream. Today, Macanese make up a tiny fraction of the territory’s overall population. Their diaspora is bigger than the community still at home. And this is the context the community faces today.
Young Macanese want to work for a new Macao
António Monteiro, President of the Youth Macanese Association (AJM)
In Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng’s meeting with leaders of the Macanese community, he said he hoped that the ‘pulse’ of the times will be grasped with determination – that Macanese would take full advantage of new development opportunities.
Young Macanese support the chief executive’s words and believe in a promising future. There is a desire among the new generation for Macanese local associations to be called upon to contribute, at all levels and with professionalism. To demonstrate once again their central and important role in civil society.
The Macanese who are born and raised in Macao wish to support the initiatives led by the chief executive in Macao and the Greater Bay Area. We also want to collaborate with our vast diaspora, spread across the world, who are well-positioned to promote Macao internationally.
Young Macanese are already involved in diverse sectors of Macao society. Culture, education, arts, sport, social services, communication, tourism, music, gastronomy, law, architecture, science and more. They are building on the previous generation of Macanese’s work, those who played and still play an important role in Macao.
But our community is certain we can make an even stronger contribution today. We want to be called upon by the government to actively participate with relevant tasks.
The idea that the Macanese community is limited to its famous gastronomy is wrong. Young Macanese want to participate in a civil society that recognises them as necessary talents in the development of Macao. To contribute to the diversification of Macao in all sectors. And they hope to be better heard and supported in their projects.
The community’s innate cultural diversity and rich identity make its young people uniquely suited to growing relations between the People’s Republic of China and Portuguese-speaking countries in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. The chief executive has acknowledged this is an important role to play.
He also recognised our Macanese gastronomy, Patuá theatre and the vast inventory of intangible heritage that the Macanese community embodies in Macao. This is another area where the Macanese can participate both directly and indirectly. As is the work involved in preserving and strengthening old neighbourhoods.
Creating and promoting new brands, events or celebrations; new music; participating in sport; working on testimonies and remembering old stories through bringing them to life in a modern era… this is the responsibility of all Macanese, especially the younger generations. We must participate in, and expose the community’s values.
The Macanese community is confident in the words of Ho Iat Seng, who said that the government will work with everyone to defend our beautiful home, and ensure Macao’s stable and prosperous development. Young Macanese are prepared for the future challenges of Macao.
We are all Macanese
Sérgio Perez, Audiovisual Creative/ Producer
It is with a positive, hopeful mindset that I listened to the words of the Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Ho Iat Seng. To put in context my own perspective of the future for the community, its challenges and hopes, I must first clarify my own stance towards two key concepts that are inherent to this opinion.
These concepts are “Maquista” and “Macanese”.
I identify myself as a “Maquista”, which is a term I personally embrace for my own identity and community, born from the secular exchange between China and Portugal. It is multicultural in its essence, yet restricted to those that are ethnically, and/or culturally Maquistas. Maquista is a word in Patuá, the traditional language of the Macanese, that the community uses to refer to itself.
Embracing this concept frees me to give a broader meaning to the word “Macanese”. Macanese is a term I believe should unite us all in Macao. Irrespective whether we belong to any specific ethnic group or community, we should embrace a joint sense of belonging, of understanding, of respecting the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic aspects of the city and make it our home. This goes beyond the more official definition of “Macao Permanent Resident”.
Looking into the future, I believe it is important for us to first understand ourselves as Macanese. Just like the “Shanghainese”, “New Yorkers” and “Pak King Yan” (Beijingers) embrace their own identities. This local, joint sense of community is very important. The chief executive talks about this in his discourse: our “shared home” in Macao. For a shared home to exist, we need to unite as Macanese. Only with this mindset can we contribute to a stronger China.
To be Macanese means looking at history without prejudice. Looking at our fellow Macanese, with their own cultural or ethnic differences, and embracing them. Understanding that each one is not more, or less, than the other. This is what creates the beautiful uniqueness of Macao. That multicultural mindset that fascinates and attracts so many from the mainland – and from all over the world – to visit and exchange, to feel well received and to trust.
It is only by developing this sense of the Macanese concept that we can truly love Macao, and – inherently – the country, China. Macao is a special city of China. In my view, loving Macao means loving China. Beijing people love Beijing and love the country. So do Shanghainese, Fujianese, et cetera. Each of them, proud of their own city, their own region, proud of their culture, because it’s what makes them stand out and relevant. That is that “special something” they can offer to the country.
As Macanese, we can then embrace the exciting developments of Hengqin, the opportunities of the Greater Bay Area. To contribute and be relevant. We can, I believe, play an important role in the development of our beautiful, diverse, multicultural and full-of-potential country, China.
I say these words as a Maquista who is fully Macanese at heart. My essence is multicultural and multiethnic. There is no other place I truly call home: my family have been here for more than seven generations. I have my own language, or dialect, that was born from this multicultural society: Patuá. But it is disappearing to the point of being almost extinct. I only know about it because of my active participation in probably the only active theatre group keeping it alive. I have my own gastronomy: one of, if not the first, fusion cuisines in the world. I know it from eating, but not from cooking. I speak fluently Portuguese, Cantonese, English and even limited French and Spanish – yet regretfully my Mandarin is poor. At 44, as a father of two with an active professional life, it becomes almost impossible to learn. In my daily life, I naturally flow between the various local communities.
The future of my community – and this is my personal opinion – is deeply connected to our joint understanding of how important it is for us to be united as Macanese.
There can only be a future for the Maquista if the essence of Macao is preserved. If its history is looked upon without prejudice. If Macao’s unique multicultural society and multiculturalism is viewed with a positive mindset. And where “we” is the norm, not “us and them”.
Macao, I believe, is a place built on love. True, Macao’s history is not only of roses and rainbows. But the fact is, after so many centuries and against all odds, love prevailed. What better example of this is there than the Maquista community and its rich and unique culture? It is at the heart of a whole multicultural society where people of different origins, communities and ethnicities found themselves in this small corner of China. These people, I call them Macanese. It is with love, hope, and optimism that I look towards Macao’s future. It’s a future full of progress, of creating bridges, of joining hands with creativity, professionalism and excellence – of adding our unique voice to the future of China.
“Who could have imagined what today’s Macao would look like?”
Ubaldino Sequeira Couto, Assistant Professor, Macao University of Tourism
Looking back over the past 25 years, Macao has gone from a small sleepy town to a tourism mecca of major integrated resorts, mega events and world-class award-winning restaurants. Who back then could have imagined what today’s Macao would look like? Or what it will become as it continues to evolve?
The chief executive recently urged everyone in Macao to ride that wave of growth and transformation, but his key message to the Macanese community was clear: get involved. Ho reaffirmed the unique features of the Macanese, not only attesting to their history but also their role in promoting Macao and its future.
Macao is called a ‘cultural Janus’. It embraces the East and West, the old and new simultaneously. The Macanese people are an essential component of that.
The “1+4” economic diversification strategy promises to breathe new air into Macao by incorporating and consolidating the city’s four nascent industries with tourism to create the World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. In addition, Macao is to be a platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries for trade and cultural exchange. Not only do these ventures require immense financial investment, but their demand for talent is profound. In this regard, the Macanese youth should cherish these possibilities by capitalising new initiatives.
For example, aspiring entrepreneurs may look into the different support and incentives available in Hengqin for young people to establish businesses, such as rental reductions and bonuses. There are also many initiatives available, such as incubators, competitions and entrepreneurial programmes offering expert guidance and monetary prizes. Of course, it would bring more meaning if these business ideas and startups are related to the Macanese culture.
Another pursuit to consider is the conservation of Macanese culture. There are quite a few dedicated associations already, and they very much welcome new members – particularly those who are young and enthusiastic. More and more people are making the Macanese culture a focus of their work, particularly in the area of creative arts. These range from theatre groups to academic events to cooking competitions; from community events to major festivals in Macao. These events are organised and supported by the wider community, including the government, which encourages us to embrace our history and heritage.
As an educator, I am very fortunate to be able to help young people (Macanese or not) partake in many of the initiatives set forth by the government. I also conduct research into Macanese culture and identity to help us better understand our past in preparation for co-creating Macao’s vibrant future.
Ho extended his invitation to the Macanese community to contribute and participate in the development of this future. I am very much embracing the opportunities; this is how I am involved. How about you?
Text Gonçalo César de Sá
