The Sunday morning at the soccer field in front of the West Tisbury School is a typical scene between spring and fall. Here, members of Martha's Vineyard's burgeoning Brazilian community gather to cheer on their favorite Brazilian soccer teams, heckle the challengers, and enjoy a little traditional repast after a long work week. Football teams, as the squads are known throughout most of the world, travel from all over Cape Cod and New Bedford to compete in tournaments--some with purses as high as $5,000--and the food and sport remind many Brazilians of the homes and families they have left behind to pursue work in the United States.
Number Eleven passes to a teammate in the corner and cuts to the middle to receive the ball back--and shoots. Shouts directed at player and referee alike are deadened as the spectators inhale. The grill master, watching the game with one eye and the food with the other, transfers the cased meat to a metal platter with over-sized tongs. The crowd shouts wildly, blurring the object of its enthusiasm between the goal just scored and the feast to come.
"Back home, soccer is a very big part of life," says a man in a blue jersey who introduces himself only as J.P., as he juggles his sandwich and the hot sauce. "The best players on Brazil's national team are the country's heroes." Brazil has won two out of the last four World Cup events, and the celebration on Martha's Vineyard resembles Boston when the Red Sox make the World Series. Work takes a back seat to good food, friends, and an important game.
Some members of the audience come seasonally, working on the island for the busiest and warmest six months of the year. Others come as a catalyst for a family hoping to start a new life in a new country. One family member often comes first to find work and get established while the rest of their family waits back in Brazil, and these separations can last years. "Back home I played soccer a lot, especially when I was younger. But here I work so much, so soccer is something for weekends," says Erasmo Da Silva, who has worked as a Vineyard house painter for the past five years. "My sons are still back in Brazil, and they play on school teams. It's something I want them to be good at. It's very hard not to be able to see their games. I'm hoping to go back this winter for a visit."
The first game ends. Number Eleven, the game's high scorer, raises the gold cross hanging around his neck and kisses it before pointing it toward the audience. With the game over, the competitive spirit vanishes as the players shake hands, hug, and slap each other on the back. Another pair of teams takes the field for stretching and warm-up shots. More spectators straggle in, some dressed in church clothes; children look odd kicking and juggling soccer balls on the sidelines in their suits and dresses. Brazilians are nearly three-quarters Roman Catholic with the remainder mostly Protestant, and along with soccer and cuisine, religion links much of the island's Brazilian community with its homeland.
When the last game ends, the crowd disperses. Some head home, some to late work shifts, some to church. A handful of players heads to Tropical, a casual Brazilian restaurant in Edgartown. The menu is simple and traditional: kale soup, black beans, pork and rice, curried chicken. The players eat, watch a professional soccer game on the wall-mounted television, and talk on cell phones. It's Sunday, a good day to call home and check in. The people they're talking to are far away, and the conversations are all in Portuguese.
Charlie Cameron is a freelance writer who lives on Martha's Vineyard. He volunteers as a coach for Vineyard Youth Soccer.