On Friday night, two restaurants a block apart in Everett epitomized how the World Cup is exciting different ethnic communities across Massachusetts.
At La Perle Restaurant & Lounge, more than 100 local Haitians decked out in blue and red — Haiti’s flag colors — packed around a large screen watching their home country take on Brazil in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, just down the street at Oliveira’s Bar and Grill, it was a similar scene, except it involved more than 150 Brazilians in yellow and green.
“I’m happy to see all the Brazilians here,” Jonas De Souza said. “It feels like my house in Brazil.”
The huge showings were no surprise: Massachusetts is home to among the largest Brazilian and Haitian diasporas in the United States.
Although the game ended with a 3-0 Brazil win that guarantees Haiti won’t advance to the World Cup knockout rounds, local Haitians said that didn’t matter. They were thankful just to see their national team back in the tournament for the first time in 52 years.
One fan, Benji Peralte who lives in Lawrence, said he and everyone else showed their appreciation by coming together to do what they enjoy most: celebrate their Haitian culture.
“The [music] is Haitian. The food is Haitian,” Peralte said. “Everyone is speaking Creole, and we watch Haitian football.”
Peralte noted that with gang violence and political instability rocking Haiti, local Haitians in Massachusetts haven’t had much to be proud about. Peralte’s father, three brothers and sister still live in Haiti, and as he described it, they’re just “surviving.” But the national team’s appearance in the World Cup has given Peralte and other local Haitians hope that better times are ahead for the country.
“We’re kind of celebrating together to send the vibes to the universe and requesting peace in Haiti,” Peralte said. “If Haiti was good now, I’m sure I would be in Haiti celebrating, watching the game in Haiti.”
Sabine Thimothee, who lives in Lynn, added that it was meaningful for Haiti to play on Juneteenth. Haiti gained its independence thanks to the world’s first successful slave revolt, so Thimothee said Haitians can especially connect with the American holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
“It just aligns so perfectly,” she said, adding that Brazilians can relate too because their home country is also a former slave colony.
That wasn’t as much on the minds of the fans in green and yellow at Oliveira’s though.
Brazil is a soccer juggernaut with more World Cup championships than any other country. Whenever Brazil scored a goal against Haiti, the crowd at Oliveira’s roared.
Still, the 3-0 win wasn’t enough to ease fans’ concerns about their national team. They have high standards for the squad and remain disappointed that it drew with Morocco in its first World Cup game.
“Brazil is a little bit bad right now,” said Silverio Nascimento, who lives in Everett. “Let’s see what happens.”
Nascimento said at least he can be around so many other Brazilians who feel the same way.
