Helen De Ponte (née Dionyssiou)

FAMREF018

Interview Details
Categories and Themes
Content
Media
Participants
Helen De Ponte (née Dionyssiou)
Intervieweer(s)
Theo Xenophontos
Date and Location
August 29, 2023
Toronto, ON
Languages
English
Permalink
Project
Film as Mediator: Cultivating a Cypriot Canadian Community Audiovisual Media Archive
Reference ID
FAMREF018
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Categories
Associational Life
Canadian Society
Culture and Tradition
Economy
Education
Historical Events
Migration
Rites
Tags
Australia
Baptism
Cypriot Canadian Identity
Cypriot Community of Toronto Inc.
Cyprus 1974
Dance
Domestics
Engagement
English Learning
EOKA
Greek Coup
Greek School
Junta
Language
Marriage
Post-1974 Migration
Pre-1974 Migration
Religion
Sponsorship
Traditions
UK
Decades Referenced
1950s
1960s
1970s
1990s
2000s
2020s
Locations Referenced
Cyprus; Kyperounda (Limassol District); Ledra Palace; UN Buffer Zone; Nicosia; Nicosia International Airport; Varosha (Famagusta District); Famagusta; Kyrenia; Limassol; Canada; Toronto; Cypriot Community Centre (Throncliffe); Danforth; Scarborough; Lansdowne; Keswick; Azores; Portugal; Australia; The United Kingdom; Italy
Occupation(s)
Parents Occupation(s)
Her mother worked as a nanny in Cyprus. Her father worked as a bartender at Ledra Palace and was also as a bartender in Canada.
Names Referenced
Anna Ellinas; Theodoros Xenophontos; Helen Power (née Xenophontos); Nitsa Benkovic (née Pingos); Stella Partheniou Grasso; Makarios III; Costa-Gavras

[00:00:18] Memories of Cyprus and family stories

[00:11:26] Migrating to Canada due to the 1974 invasion

[00:14:50] Family divided between Cyprus and Canada

[00:16:00] Growing up in Toronto and the need for adjustment

[00:18:08] Assimilation and maintaining Cypriot culture

[00:23:25] Differences between Cypriot and Greek language

[00:29:49] Relations between Cypriots and Turks

[00:36:25] Keeping in touch with the news in Cyprus

[00:40:02] Multiculturalism in Cyprus

[00:41:10] Cypriot communities in Canada; Cypriot festival

[00:41:52] Infusing Cypriot identity into her daughter's life

[00:45:50] Communication with her family back in Cyprus

[00:46:57] Taking pictures and videos of events

[00:47:52] How audiovisual media helps us remember the past

[00:50:10] Identifying as a Cypriot Canadian

[00:54:20] Hopes for a unified Cyprus

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