A worldwide fete of freedom
IN the Philippines – where Spanish and later US colonial rule persisted for nearly four centuries – June 12 is the real Independence Day. That date in 1898 was the pivotal moment when the island nation first made a bold move for autonomy.

Ahead of this year’s holiday in Manila, the nation’s capital, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr called on Filipinos in a video message to display the country’s flag everywhere “as we continue to fight for independence. Independence in different aspects of our being Filipinos, but more than this independence in our territory, our sovereignty.”

The much-awaited annual celebration would be festive with an array of activities, which started Monday at the capital’s historic Rizal Park, Marcos said. The festivities include a cooking competition, a chilli pepper-eating contest, free showing of movies about Filipino heroes, free nightly concerts and an obstacle-course race. A parade of 22 floats representing different provinces will be staged on Independence Day to be capped by a musical concert, he said.

The revelry surrounding Philippine Independence Day stretches far beyond the South-East Asia archipelago, from the United Kingdom to the United Arab Emirates.

Millions of Filipinos across cities in the US, Europe and Australia will be able to find parades, street fairs, galas and other gatherings close to home. Some are even flying in well-known talent from the Philippines. The occasion’s growing reach and inclusive ethos demonstrate how much the Filipino diaspora continues to assert cultural pride and flourish around the globe.

New York City held a parade and a street fair along Madison Avenue on June 2. The same weekend in Seattle there was a two-day Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival. There have been large fiestas and smaller picnics in Texas, California and Colorado, among other states.

In Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team is holding its first-ever Filipino Heritage Celebration at Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

Culinary pride: Filipino chefs competing in a cooking contest as part of Philippine Independence Day celebrations in Manila, Philippines. — AP

Amilyn Pierce, who is part Filipino and the Diamondbacks’ vice-president of government affairs, credits a team business consultant who is also Filipino, Hunter Fitton, with pitching the Independence Day event. He pointed out high presence of Filipinos in the state. He also recruited local Filipino dance groups and food trucks.

“I was surprised to find that out that there was such a huge Filipino community,” Pierce said.

Across countries in Europe, there are large gatherings with longstanding reputations. Given that the Filipino diaspora is one of the largest diaspora populations in the world, it’s not surprising how many celebrations there are.

In the Netherlands, the Kalayann Fiesta Foundation Netherlands held an Independence Day Picnic over the weekend. Ice Seguerra, a popular Filipino actor and singer-songwriter who is a transgender man, was the guest performer.

Journey Torres, who immigrated to the Netherlands from the Philippines in 1999 when he was eight years-old, recalls going to a Philippine Independence Day event in Amsterdam two years later. He described it as having the atmosphere of a small “family barbecue party.” There weren’t many other Filipinos then. But by the 2010s, jobs and cultural exchange programmes brought more. The event gained more notoriety with Filipinos coming from Germany and Belgium.

The Philippine Independence Day Association in Rome has been organising events for over 15 years in hotels, parks and piazzas. They seem to keep getting bigger and drawing Filipinos from all over Italy, said Jaiane Morales, the event’s programming deputy.

This year’s daylong fete, which was Sunday, took place inside a concert hall but with Pinoy food stalls outside that, among other fare, served the traditional Filipino ice cream dessert of halo halo as well as the Italian classic gelato. The goal is to have a feast of food and “Filipiniana costumes,” Morales said.

The theme of the event’s talent show, “Balik Saya” or “returning joy,” is meant to foster meaningful connection abroad. Millions of Filipinos have departed the Philippines, a leading source of global labour, in search of jobs and better opportunities to earn and provide for loved ones they’ve left behind. — AP
Philippines
IN the Philip­pines – where Spanish and later US colonial rule persisted for nearly four centuries – June 12 is the real Independence Day. That date in 1898 was the pivotal moment when the island nation first made a bold move for autonomy.