(Quebec) Friday noon in Quebec, in a small street in the city center, Rodrigo Indarte activates. Ski goggles screwed to his head, shovel-sled in hand, the man went out to clear snow despite the gusts of more than 120 km / h sweeping the capital, a record here for the month of December.
For Rodrigo Indarte, snow is a party.
“As an immigrant, I quickly understood that if you wanted to be happy here, you had to tame winter,” says the 51-year-old man and father of two daughters. “And even at my age, for me it’s still magical. »
This Uruguayan by birth begins his 19e winter in Canada. And he made a small reputation for himself on his street in the Saint-Roch district of Quebec: that of a relentless, cheerful shoveler, always ready to get stuck cars out of the snow or to clear snow from a neighbour’s driveway.
This predicted “monster” storm is less an ordeal for him than an opportunity to be seized.
Me, it oxygenates me a lot, my cheeks are red, it smells of heat. I do my exercise for the day. It’s an activity to do with the kids.
Rodrigo Indarte, who lives in Saint-Roch, Quebec
Rodrigo’s love for winter even piqued the curiosity of Uruguayan television, which came to Quebec a few years ago to document what seemed, in the eyes of the host, a very singular passion, muy fria. Rodrigo had introduced them to Mont Sainte-Anne, where he loves to ski.
With his neighbours, Rodrigo has created an informal snow removal committee, a kind of shovel social club that meets every shift. “We talk to neighbors, we talk to children, we all go out at the same time and we help neighbors who are stuck with their car. »
This year, Rodrigo’s mother is experiencing her first full winter in Quebec. She had spent a year and a half alone in her home during the pandemic, away from her son and granddaughters.
So Rodrigo bought the neighbour’s little house, renovated it and sponsored his mother to leave Uruguay for good. On Friday, Elizabeth Fernandez was knitting to the sound of the wind sweeping the street, waiting for snow.