Mariposa Café; Montreal’s home to singers and songwriters

Owner Victor Labelle’s vast array of experience hosts musicians from near and far.

Did Victor Labelle name his café after the famous Mariposa Folk Festival? Yes. Does Victor’s years of experience as a guitarist help him to weed out the best of the best? Yes.

Owner Victor Labelle’s vast experience brings musicians from far and wide

“What am I going to do if I retire?” Asks Victor. “Wander around? This is like retirement to most people. Playing music and hearing some of the best ‘known’ and ‘not so known’ musicians play every week. Plus, I am giving back to the community. It’s a great life I am enjoying.”

Playing in bars as a musician, bartending and waitering was the foundation for Victor’s first step. Labelle opened his first place The Tartan Pub in Deux Montagnes. A place where mostly bands played. It gave Victor the experience required to begin what is now his legendary odyssey; the Mariposa Café.

“By the end of 2000, I had already been in the bar business for a good thirty years and I wanted a break. I sold my business and moved back to town. I wanted to open a small place with early hours. I didn’t want to do the 3am thing anymore.  One day I was walking the dog in NDG and I kept seeing this place that was always closed. I finally found out how to rent it.”

The original Mariposa Café had a capacity of thirty-two people. It had one microphone and one amplifier. A friend of Victor’s from out West was the first performer to play – accompanied by Victor himself.

“I started bringing in young original singers and songwriters;” explains Victor. “We graduated to a bigger sound and occasionally brought in bands. The bands didn’t work because we were in a residential space. I turned sixty in 2010 so I had a group of my friends play. That started a trend of a community feeling with many people over fifty. There was a niche for the older crowd because they didn’t want to go out to bars anymore.”

In March 2025, Mariposa Café will be celebrating one year at its new location on Upper Lachine Road. In June – Mariposa Café will celebrate its fifteenth anniversary.

‘I was always looking for a bigger place”. Says Victor.” It was too tough in a residential space. I had so many successful shows at the old place. We had Danny O’Keefe who wrote Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues. He is a big star and he played a couple of times. He is more of a songwriter than a household name – he’s incredible”.

The new capacity is ninety and the spacing allows for ‘different angles’ of listening depending on the act. Open Mic nights allow for a cozier atmosphere while a band opens the entire room to ensure people are there to listen and not talk.

Is Mariposa Café the place to be for original songwriters? Yes.

Mariposa Café is located on 5562 Upper Lachine Road. 514-699-5951 www.cafemariposa.ca