Filams in 4th parade

July 15, 2008  --  Got something to say?
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By Rodney J. Jaleco
WASHINGTON D.C. It was America’s birthday and the active Filipino American community made sure everybody knew they were part of the party.
More than 100 members of the Philippine embassy and Filipino Americans donned native attire, reflecting the Philippine’s diverse culture, and joined the thousands of participants in the traditional Independence Day parade in the nation’s capital.
Before the start of the parade, Philippine Ambassador to the US Willy C. Gaa said: “I salute the United States on the occasion of her Independence Day and also Filipino-American Friendship Day.”
“This is another opportunity to show our culture and our readiness to further strengthen our ties with an old friend,” he said.

“Organizers have always wanted all nations to be represented in the July 4 parade,” Jesse Gatchalian, executive director of the DC-based Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) revealed.

“It’s very fortunate they selected the Philippines as one of the participants in this July 4 parade,” he added. Over a hundred groups took part in the parade.
Bolivia showed off the “caporales”, a popular folk dance where men with heeled boots bearing large bells that made a distinctive rattling sound, jumped and danced down DC’s streets.
Equally colorful was the Vietnamese delegation, carrying the familiar three-striped flag of pre-communist Vietnam. Many Vietnamese in the U.S. were “boat people” who risked much to escape communist rule. Most of them spent at least six months in the Philippines, where they learned English and prepared for their new lives in the U.S. and other Western countries.
The Falun Gong, outlawed in China, built a float for the parade.
Gatchalian said the parade, televised on local TV networks, was an opportunity to showcase Philippine culture, and remind Americans that Filipinos have done their share of sacrifice to help preserve American liberty and democracy.
Weeks before the parade, the MHC’s Grace Valera-Jaramillo had sent invitations out, urging Fil-Ams to join the parade. Many responded, coming from the large Fil-Am enclaves in Maryland and Northern Virginia.
Veteran stage and movie actor Bernardo Bernardo, who moved recently to Oxon Hill, Maryland, was among the first to heed the call. He gamely rode the back of an SUV that carried the speakers, which played popular Pinoy ditties from traditional marches to the “banana dance”.
Military attaches Army Col. Rolly Tenefrancia, who’s due to return home after completing his tour of duty in Washington DC, and Navy Capt. Rex Rocamora wore the traditional barong. The Philippine Embassy’s Consul Patty Paez wore a “malong”.
Ethnic Igorot Fil-Ams donned their colorful thongs – that seemed to be the most appropriate attire under DC’s sweltering summer sun – and banged their brass gongs. Back home, they would probably be carrying their babies in woven baskets, but here the Igorot women pushed their kids around Among the participating organizations were MHC, FilCom of Blessed Sacrament of Washington D.C., Fil-Am Ministry of St. Michael in Maryland, PACP, ISA’s Miss Teenage Philippines-USA, Ultimate Eskrima Int’l, Fil-Am Heritage Dance Ensemble, Pangasinan Inc., War Veterans Group, Mother Butler’s Guild of St. Mary’s Rockville, Ang Bisaya Inc., Lord is my Shepherd Charismatic Group, Aklan Ati-Atihan, Mabuhay Inc., BOGWAS DC, El Shaddai, APODCAA, Tribung Pinoy, La Salle Philippines Alumni and others.


Posted by News Team | Filed Under Articles/Stories 

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