Have you set foot in the Plaza Saint-Hubert recently? The smell of tacos and churros fills the air, and Spanish is more common than French. “Here, says Cecilia Escamilla, it’s the Latin Quarter! »
Director of the Latin American Family Support Center (CAFLA), a community organization she founded 20 years ago, Ms.me Escamilla has seen the Plaza Saint-Hubert transform over time.
“I chose this neighborhood because I knew there were a lot of Latino communities here,” she explains. But it has become 10 times bigger in 20 years. »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Cecilia Escamilla runs CAFLA, an organization that helps members of the Latin American community in Montreal.
Supermarché Sabor Latino is one of the best known and most frequented addresses by the Latino community in Montreal. Its crowded aisles overflow with products imported from all over Latin America: aloe and cactus tea, pineapple, amarilla tortillas, blanca, azul, salsas, Peruvian drink, Colombian cake…
It’s noisy and it smells good. Meals cooked on site are served in a space set up at the front.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
The Sabor Latino is both a supermarket and a restaurant.
This is where we find our business. You can live anywhere in Montreal, but you’re coming to Sabor Latino!
Cecilia Escamilla, who heads CAFLA
200% increase
From 2001 to 2021, the population of Latin American origin has tripled in Quebec, reaching 173,000 people, according to the most recent data from Statistics Canada. This is much more than the total population, which grew by 17% during the same period.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
Shopkeepers from Plaza Saint-Hubert invaded the street during the PlazaPalooza festival.
It is mainly in Montreal and its suburbs that these immigrants establish their neighborhoods. They are particularly numerous in Saint-Michel, in Villeray, in Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, in Côte-des-Neiges and in the South-West, but also in L’Île-des-Sœurs, Laval, Longueuil and in Brossard.
The Plaza Saint-Hubert is their base. The place where they feel at home. Both long-term immigrants and newcomers, asylum seekers or undocumented migrants.
On Saturdays, in front of the Saint-Denis swimming pool, between Bélanger and Jean-Talon streets, you can see them partying. Everyone comes here to socialize.
All-you-can-eat tacos
“Recently, I discovered Toxica, a taco restaurant north of Jean-Talon,” says Saul Polo, former Liberal MP for Laval-des-Rapides, a regular at the Plaza.
The owner, Rosa Castellanos, is 25 years old. She opened her Mexican restaurant in the midst of a pandemic after becoming known on social networks. “I love tacos,” she says. I made some for myself and published them. People asked me where I bought them. I said: I made them. It started like that. Then, a client suggested that I join forces to open a restaurant. We opened in the Plaza in 2021.”
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Rosa Castellanos opened the restaurant La Toxica in rue Saint-Hubert.
A year later, she separated from her partner – “I did all the work! – and moved to another location on rue Saint-Hubert, just north of Jean-Talon, where new businesses run by Quebecers from Latin America are multiplying.
That works ? ” Very good ! Every day, around 4 p.m., a line forms in front of the door. The room has 50 seats. With the terrace, that’s almost 80.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
You can eat traditional Latin dishes in the Plaza Saint-Hubert, served in the street.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
Place Juarez, located next to the Saint-Denis swimming pool, transports us directly to Mexico.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
During the PlazaPalooza festival, traders took out tables in the street.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
A merchant offers drinks to passers-by, in the Plaza Saint-Hubert, during the PlazaPalooza festival.
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PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
The Sabor Latino prepares Latin dishes that can be bought to take away or to eat on the spot.
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PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Felicia Cerrano, originally from Peru, has worked as a hairdresser for 28 years on rue Saint-Hubert.
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Accessible prices
“We like to have accessible prices, explains Rosa Castellanos. Tuesday I have all you can eat tacos for $20. Wednesday, small tacos at $1.50. Thursday is $5 drinks. We want it to be affordable for everyone. »
Rosa Castellanos speaks Spanish, French and English. She arrived in Quebec at the age of 10 with her sister and her mother, who requested asylum. “I started working at 14,” she says. My mother worked in a first aid equipment company. I put the little gloves in plastic bags. They gave me 5 cents per bag. »
After two years in paralegal, she worked as a liaison officer for an agricultural worker recruitment company, then two years as a flight attendant for Air Transat. Today, she wants to start a chain of restaurants. A second La Toxica will soon open in Chinatown.
Repair phones
Erika Duque and her husband, David Farfan, both of Colombian origin, are also in an “expansion phase”.
12 years ago, they opened a small store on the second floor of a business in Plaza Saint-Hubert, Latino Systèmes. Two years later, they moved downstairs. And for a year, they have also occupied the neighboring premises.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Originally from Colombia, David Farfan and his wife Erika Duque own the Latino Systèmes business.
“My husband had the very, very crazy idea of having a small business where he could welcome people in their language,” says Ms.me Duque, in an office set up at the back of his shop. “He decided to open a business to help people who cannot afford, when a device breaks, to buy a new one. He repaired telephones. In Colombia, it’s like that. If a phone breaks, we’re not going to buy another one. We fix it first. »
Word of mouth works very well, she says.
People come to see us because they know that we repair devices, that we sell used phones in good condition. We help them find other services. For the past year, we have also offered a courier service: Fedex, UPS, DHL. Our clients are mostly Latin Americans.
Erika Duque, co-owner of Latino Systems
“It’s good for business!” »
Mme Durque also notes that the Plaza Saint-Hubert is changing. “Ten years ago, the Plaza was not a street to eat,” she recalls. There were wedding dress shops, but no good restaurants. It changes. The street is getting better. »
The director of the Commercial Development Corporation (SDC), Mike Parente, confirms the arrival of new signs in the Plaza Saint-Hubert, which has more than 400 businesses and service companies, between Bellechasse and Jean-Talon streets. “The street resembles what you can see in certain neighborhoods in New York,” he remarks. We are one of the densest commercial streets: 85% of our businesses are independent businesses. »
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
John Reinoso is the owner of the Coupe Fresh barbershop and tattoo studio on Saint-Hubert Street.
And more and more of them are Latinos, like this barber shop and tattoo studio Coupe Fresh, run by John Reinoso, or Café latino comunitario, where you can eat tacos for $6 for lunch, and from the salon hairstyle by Felicia Cerrano. “You can take pictures,” says John to the photographer of The Press, shaving his client’s head. “It’s good for business!” »
Who are they ? Where do they come from ?
IMAGE PROVIDED BY STATISTICS CANADA
Map of the Montreal area showing the percentage of Latin American immigrants in the different neighborhoods.
The first migratory wave of the Latin American community dates back to the 1960s, in Quebec. How many are there today? Where do they come from ? Here are some data from the last census, analyzed by Statistics Canada on request The Press.
173,000
Number of Latin American immigrants in Quebec in 2021, i.e. 2% of the population. The vast majority, 80%, live in the Montreal area.
25%
Percentage of Latin American immigrants from Colombia who have settled in Quebec since 1980. “Among recent immigrants, we see the emergence of Venezuela and Brazil as new countries of origin,” points out Nicolas Bastien of Statistics Canada.
78%
Proportion of Latin American immigrants established in Québec who were born abroad.
25,000
Number of non-permanent Latin American residents, in 2021, in Quebec; 35% are Mexican and 25% Colombian.