Hundreds celebrate at Fiesta Filipino in Cornwall

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On Saturday, Filipinos from near and far brought their alluring culture to the Lamoureux Park bandshell.

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To celebrate Philippine Heritage Month, dozens of performers took to the stage in dance and song, highlighted by their unique blend of traditional attire.

A large part of the show included a competition – or “battle” between several tribes that hail from certain provinces in the Philippines.

Being able to showcase their Filipino culture to a wider community produced big smiles for performers Tet Ibanez and Precy Beblee as they wrapped up their Panagbenga (Flowers) Festival performance.

“It shows that we don’t have to fear the community,” Beblee said. “We get to see all the different cultures here (in the Cornwall area).”

This seems appropriate as the theme of Heritage Month is Embracing Joy, Community and Tradition.

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While some of the dance “warriors” showed delicacy, the Dinagyang Festival group’s performance was more intense and darker. But don’t let that show you; its theme is based on cheerfulness.

Some of the performances used masks and masks, such as the Masskara dance.

Masskara attendee Shane Delapena said he welcomed the opportunity.

“I enjoyed doing this — it’s very creative,” he said, of the mask noted for its extra-wide grin, which represents the city of Bacolod, noted for its willingness to be happy in the face of difficult circumstances.

His mother, Marichu Grijaldo, said the response to Fiesta Filipino has been very positive.

“It was overwhelming,” Grijaldo said. “It’s nice to see all the hard work being appreciated.”

Each performance was judged, with the first place going to the Pahiyas tribe, with the Dinagyang tribe being the first runner-up.

Pahiyas mark a successful harvest and the sharing of food with the community.

“Fiesta Filipino was a great success,” said organizer Lorena Antillon, estimating that about 400 attended. our (by) “Bayanihan”.

“You could also see the smiles of success from everyone at the event.”

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