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“I spoil people and they love it!”
— Victor Fonseca
When Victor Fonseca left school at the age of 16, this kid from New Bedford’s South End had a skill that is difficult to acquire in a classroom: charm. It’s a trait that has carried him throughout his life and earned him an ever-expanding legion of friends.
Today, Fonseca’s genuine and charismatic personality is providing him with some unique retirement opportunities. As a popular greeter at a pair of well-known downtown establishments, he is building on his reputation for making the people around him feel warm and welcome.
Whether it’s weekend mornings at The Baker, or at select events at The Zeiterion, Fonseca’s hospitality is good for business. And at the age of 81, he is measuring success in terms of hugs and kisses.
“Victor is super energetic and he makes everybody’s day better,” says Tara Butler, front of house manager at The Baker. “Everybody seems to know his name, and if you don’t know him, he’ll introduce himself and make you feel comfortable. Everybody loves him and cares about him.”
Penny Pimentel, senior director of marketing and communications at The Zeiterion, describes Fonseca as “an ambassador of joy.”
“It’s remarkable how many people Victor knows and how many greet him with a warm hello, a hug or a smile,” Pimentel says. “He has an unmistakable personality and a wonderful gift for making people feel welcome. He brings warmth and a special energy to every audience.”
Fonseca has been greeting locals at The Baker since 2017 and he has been with The Zeiterion since its reopening in January of this year.
When he was 20, Fonseca began working in local textile factories, jobs he held for 45 years until his retirement. His retirement party at The United Fishermen’s Club attracted more than 500 guests.
At the age of 33, Fonseca capitalized on his energy and interests, and opened Victor’s Aerobics, an exercise gym on Union Street downtown, where he originally worked nights as an instructor before teaching it full-time. He eventually taught line dancing at the Hazelwood Senior Center and the Buttonwood Senior Center. For 14 years he has taught line dancing at the New Bedford YMCA.
In 2023, Fonseca’s dancing skills earned him an appearance on the Discovery Channel as part of a documentary that featured the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford’s South End.
Fonseca talks to The Light about a full and active life and where it has led him to this point.
New Bedford Light: Have you always had an appealing personality?
Victor Fonseca: When I was about 9 or 10 years old, I would go every Saturday morning to the bank for my grandmother, NBIS in downtown. I would make it there before the bank would open up. They got to know me so well that they gave me the key to open the door!
Then in my early 20s, I used to go with my mother and grandmother to a women’s shoe store on Purchase Street downtown, [Morse Shoes.] One day the owner said, “Victor, I want you to work for me.” He hired me to work two days a week. People saw something in me that was good for business.
NBL: How did you get the job as a greeter at The Baker NB?
VF: When Brandon Roderick was getting his business started up, he was standing outside the bakery one day. I was on my way home and we just started talking. He said, “Victor, you know my grandmother,” and that’s how it all started — I grew up with his grandmother, Patricia Roderick.
When they had the ’50s Nights with Joe Jesus, I had my dance group, Victor & The Twisters, and Brandon’s grandmother was in the group. We did the Twist, the Cha-Cha, and the Stroll. That was our era. We came down in a trolley car and performed. This was about five years ago. We got off the trolley at the Star Store, me and my group, and we started dancing. There was a big crowd.
I became a customer at the bakery. I’d have my coffee and I knew a lot of the customers in the store, and Brandon thought I’d be a good greeter. I thought he was joking at the time and I said, “When can I start?” And he said, “You can start right now.” So I started that weekend.
NBL: Did you enjoy it from the start? Did it take a little while to get used to it?
VF: Oh, I got into it. A lot of people think I’m the owner because of the way I treat them.
NBL: What do you like about interacting with the public?
VF: That’s my nature and personality. It’s all good. I’ve made a lot of friends. They come in as customers and they leave as a friend.
I’ve always enjoyed interacting with people.
NBL: What is it like working at The Zeiterion?
VF: Penny Pimentel and Blair [Taylor] asked me if I would be interested in being an usher. I said, “Sure.”
I don’t look for jobs, they look for me.
NBL: Could you have asked for better retirement opportunities?
VF: I’ll tell ya, it’s not work, it’s having fun.
I started as a greeter for Brandon at the bakery, but I eventually trained myself to do more. I became a chaperone, I bus tables, I’m a babysitter, I’m an information booth.
I thought that when I retired I’d be bagging groceries at Stop & Shop or working with Meals On Wheels, but that didn’t happen.
NBL: How did you get into fitness and aerobics?
VF: I started working out for myself. I got my first apartment in my early 30s and I wanted to take care of my body, so I started working out. I started working out at George’s Gym in the South End. At that time I was still working at the factory and I would go there after work. I liked the music, the energy and the atmosphere.
When I learned that aerobics was done to music, and I saw Richard Simmons on TV, that’s what really inspired me to get into it. Once I got the hang of it, I changed the music and made it more funky.
At 33, I opened Victor’s Aerobics on Union Street above Jimmy Connors’ Pub. After a couple of years, I went to Gold’s Gym where I was teaching aerobics upstairs. On my days off I’d work out downstairs. When I saw these guys lifting weights, squatting weights on their shoulders, it was impressive, but I didn’t think I’d be doing it. Eventually I was doing bench presses, and I was doing squats. Would you believe I was squatting 325 pounds?! I wasn’t bulky, but I was toned.
NBL: Are you still a regular dancer?
VF: I’ve been dancing ever since I was a teenager and I’m still dancing. I do a lot of dances from the 1940s. I did swing dancing to Big Band music, while most people wanted to do line dancing. I never thought I’d be doing line dancing, but when I went to the senior center I began doing line dancing.
There was this one dance called the Love Boat, the theme from the TV show, and I learned how to dance to it. I also did a little funky dance called “The Cupid Shuffle.”
I’m occasionally a DJ at social events at Olympia Towers.
NBL: It seems like dancing has been an important part of your life.
VF: Back in the day my father, Everett Britto, was a tap dancer. When I was young my mother, Cecilia [Fonseca], tried to teach me how to dance, but I couldn’t get it. I was about 11 or 12 years old, and my mother would put my feet on top of her feet and she would lead me.
But when I saw “American Bandstand” on TV, with Dick Clark, that’s how I learned to dance.
Eventually, I got the basic steps of “The Jitterbug,” and soon I had a long line of girls who wanted to dance with me.
In junior high we had record hops in the neighborhood; it cost 25 cents to go. They were at the Our Lady of Assumption Church hall on Water Street and Griffin Street. They had the Band Club on Acushnet Ave, with a hall upstairs that had a record hop on the weekends. There was also the Cozy Lounge across from the Post Office downtown called Cornell Hall on the third floor.
When we were young our parents were strict. You couldn’t go here, you couldn’t go there, you could only go to the record hops.
NBL: You seem to be enjoying retirement, but what does the future hold for you?
VF: Relaxation. I went 100 percent for 40 years and now I want to relax.
Sean McCarthy is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to The New Bedford Light.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What a great guy and all around good person! Knew Victor for years around the city and the gym circuit, always a good word and cheerful and bright disposition! Great article and great guy ty for writing this!