A DEFINING MOMENT FOR FILIPINOS Taste of Manila - A Show of Kinship at Its Best! The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Tuesday, August 26, 2014 ecedented success of Taste of Manila festival gave birth to Little Manila - that tiny slice of town at the centre of business activity in the Bathurst-Wilson area traditionally known as the hub of Filipinos in Toronto. Perhaps moved by the massive gathering of Filipinos in a single place for the very first time in Canadian history, bar none, Philippine Ambassador Leslie Gatan christened the area Little Manila. His declaration was not so much a political act as it is an overdue recognition that Filipinos have found a home. A DEFINING MOMENT FOR FILIPINOS Taste of Manila - A Show of Kinship at Its Best! By: ROMEO P. MARQUEZ Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) and Reporters Without Borders “Accomplish but do not boast, accomplish without show, accomplish without arrogance, accomplish without grabbing, accomplish without forcing.” ― Lao Tzu TORONTO - The unstated message that Taste of Manila street festival conveyed was quite incomprehensible in the din of the two-day revelry this past weekend, but it is unmistakably clear. That it is compared to Manilas Quiapo district for the babel of tongues, the aroma of food, the scent of home, the chaotic flow of people dressed in the simplicity and comfort of being themselves is the very essence of its success. There was nobody to trumpet inflated numbers the way they do it at this notorious Pinoy fiesta or some organizations fond of counting heads in the thousands but only pittance in tallying monies. People came in hordes and roamed freely without hassle, their ranks swelling to a peak from mid afternoon to late at night, overwhelming food vendors and restaurants in the vicinity and causing monstrous traffic jams. That is its own statement. Assigning numbers would belabor the obvious, although police estimate put it at 25,000 maximum. If theres ever been an assembly of the grassroots that immense, Taste of Manila was it - a grand street reunion of the people of the Philippines and of Canadians of Filipino descent. (Video at: https://youtube/watch?v=Y9iHlHebyNI&list=UUjYsgGZZAP7lpqJczW4z47g). Not surprisingly, politicians hovered around like gentle butterflies to be seen and heard. It was not the entertainment shows that people went for, for there wasnt anything in the overly hyped manner of PCCF, PCCT, PIDC and the television networks they promote. They were there in glorious affirmation of their identity, warts and all. People visited not because they wanted to rescue poverty-stricken third world countries from the depths of despair as PCCF would routinely blurb. Or that they would like to help dubious charities or sick people of the world. Taste of Manila had nothing of those, thankfully. They turned out in big numbers because they felt like coming home - to reconnect, to renew vows of love and friendship, to feel at ease with kindred spirits, to tell the world how proud they are as Filipinos. This is kinship at its best! Taste of Manila was home. It smelled, felt, looked, sounded, tasted, breathed like home, even if only temporarily, to relieve the pain of separation and longing for family and friends. (Video, note from the 4:38 mark: https://youtube/watch?v=j_fAFZc5lpI&list=UUjYsgGZZAP7lpqJczW4z47g). I believe Philippine Ambassador Leslie Gatan instantly recognized that too. He was so moved perhaps by what he was seeing with his own eyes and spontaneously christened the Bathurst St..-Wilson Ave. strip as Little Manila, thus establishing an explicit geographic (and soon a political?) identity for Filipinos. It may be one adept diplomats way of commemorating an unfolding historic moment, but its significance could be seen in the light of the situation Filipinos are currently in in Canada in general, and in the Greater Toronto Area in particular. For the first time in Toronto, I felt a renewed sense of pride in being Filipino just by being there at Taste of Manila that evening. I had to deviate from my journalist self for one brief time to relish the occasion and its meaning. Taste of Manila was just unfolding on its first day, barely 24 hours yet, and here we are witnessing the transformation of an idea that had germinated in our minds several years back. Many months before the weekend event, my sense of dignity has been shattered by the misrepresentation by Tobias Enverga Jr., a member of the Senate of Canada, who looks at us with disdain, calling Filipinos as being the best at karaoke. It was an ignorant assessment of who we are, what we are. (Full story at: balita.ca/2013/10/16/levity-in-the-upper-chamber-tobias-envergas-karaoke-speech-in-canadas-senate-defended/). Then it dawned on me. Some cohorts of his were up the stage but who were not supposed to be there, including his wife Rosemer Albovias Enverga. She had no reason to sit there. It was neither a karaoke program nor a fundraiser for her charities anyway. If you say its because shes the wife, then the spouses of all the officers of Taste of Manila should be there too. The politicians were robbing us of that fleeting moment of glory. There was one who declared that he may look Jewish but his heart is Filipino. It wasnt the first time I heard this crap from this Conservative MP; at Earl Bales Park in at least two Filipino events, he mouthed the same condescending line. How would people feel if I told a Jewish congregation that I may look Filipino but my heart is Jewish? Rolly Mangante, the founding president and chair of Taste of Manila, and his colleagues, knew. The fronting and credit-grabbing were happening right there. In utter frustration he and others quietly left the stage and let the program die out. That was the reason I requested Ambassador Gatan to repeat his earlier spontaneous declaration, this time, with only the officials and organizers behind Taste of Manila. (Video at: https://youtube/watch?v=rcZa99xeGW0&list=UUjYsgGZZAP7lpqJczW4z47g). And I was so grateful that he had the good sense of honoring my request, for posteritys sake at least. It was a defining moment for Filipinos that I, as a Filipino and a journalist, would not allow others to appropriate for their political convenience. {3} {3} {3} {3} {3} {3} Favorite {3} Favorite Skype Messenger
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 15:43:10 +0000
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