TORONTO --The 2007 Mabuhay Philippines ! Toronto Summer Festival came to a close a smashing success last August 18, according to the officers of the Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC), organizer of the annual festival. The conclusion was based partly on the very large turn-out (approximately 9,000) that surprised even organizers led by PIDC president Jun Enverga, considering the many Toronto and family events all taking place in the same week. Visitors came not only for the value-for-money entertainment provided by big-name Filipino artists but also for the 140 booths composed of businesses from the mainstream and members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce of Toronto that showcased products and services at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, venue of the festival.

Mr. Enverga said that comments from out-of-towners boost the claim of success. Over an icy glass of halo-halo, Lydia Curtis from New Jersey commented, “I go to Mabuhay Festival every year. Para akong nasa Pilipinas!” Cristina Afable of Kitchener affirms: “PIDC always delivers kaya bilib ako sa kanila”. Tony Balda of Chicago echoed what was foremost in the minds of the socially-conscious: “I enjoyed the whole show, lalo na may charity pa para sa GK!”

“ Sulit ! I never got so much worth for my $15,” exclaimed Irene Brayo of London , Ontario . Lisa Mapagay said it was well worth traveling all the way from Detroit , Michigan to see Ms. Joey Albert at the festival. “It's much larger than what we're used to seeing in Houston ,” writes Lina Umali in an email from Texas (with a group of U.S.-based fellow alumnae of the College of the Holy Spirit, she took time out from their international reunion in Toronto to see the festival). The many encouraging comments from the thousands of revelers buoyed up the spirits of exhausted organizers and volunteers united in the spirit of bayanihan and community building to pull off the biggest Filipino event in these parts of North America .

The Convention Centre was transformed into one huge Philippine Fiesta as envisioned byDeo Moreno , artistic director. Unique in this festival was the multi-stage and theme concept. The “Baylehan Corner”, ably handled by dance instructress Leonie Manzanares, was an early favorite particularly among dance aficionados. They joined competitors of the “Dancing to be a Star” contest on the dance floor. There were so many dancers that they spilled from the corner onto the aisles. Not to be outdone was the “Ligaya Stage” where the local Elvis and Tom Jones performed to the delight of the crowd . A band stand-call it what you like. The Ligaya stage had all the mix of entertainment, thanks to the creativity of producers Ely Torrenueva and Zena Zagala. And to those who didn't know their fancy at the moment there was the “Tambayan Corner” under Ate Merf of Mabuhay Radio. Many were amazed at the possibilities at this corner that was at once a basketball court, a stage for folksingers and karaoke enthusiasts, and a place to play dama and sungka. “This is the busiest tambayan,” an onlooker quipped.

The minimalist Main Stage became spectacular with the star-studded array of performers who took turns in entertaining the audience throughout the day-long affair. The day started with a Holy Mass officiated by Fr. Mark Villanueva of the Filipino Chaplaincy. In his homily, Fr. Villanueva emphasized the strong influence of Faith plays upon Filipino culture. The mass was followed by the opening remarks of the untiring and dedicated Festival Chair, Minda Neri, who highlighted the role of the officers, performers, volunteers and the community as a whole in making the event hugely successful. This segment was emceed by Marianne Dimain of CityTV.

The formalities over, the program immediately went on high gear with the premiere of “Yakan”, the new dance suite of the multi-awarded Culture Philippines of Ontario. This was followed by SalinLahi, a most-applauded musical revue directed by veteran performer Maricel Perez. The production made everyone breathless with excitement as the Little Miss Philippines , Mr. and Miss Philippines , Candace, Grace, Roy , Michael, Glen, Jasmine, Sheila and many outstanding talents performed in the show.

Harana Uso Pa Ba? Unforgettable, touching , funny....superb--- are only a few words used by the audience to describe the show. Thanks to Josie de Leon, Rodney Ronquillo, Cheryl Samson, Darius Ciria, Alvin Alba, Cecille Arcilla and a host of other talents for making the evening truly memorable.

There was no let up in the stream of crowd that kept on arriving, adding to the building excitement as the day wore on. The Lilac Cana and Emil Zarris tandem in “Freedom to Love” just made the crowd ecstatic. What a lovely musical pair they looked! Momentarily the audience shifted its sight to follow the ensuing Santacruzan, chaired by Rosemer Enverga. The young ladies were truly beautiful and regal in their gorgeous gowns. This must be the longest and most prestigious Santacruzan. The procession was followed by Fusion of Fashion, a creation of the Miss Philippines Pageant winners. A sight to behold, it was also a tribute to the artistic talents of our youth and a product of PIDC's beauty pageants.

The premier dance company, Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe, went on stage with its usual impressive repertoire of dances and songs. Elegant in their costumes, the dancers reinforced the sense of Filipino culture and heritage among the audience. Estring Aguinaldo, the troupe's executive/artistic director, did it again! Then came power-packed singer Jenifer Camacho and her dancers, changing the rhythm on stage with their electric performance. The crowd could not help but dance to the funky beat of their tunes.

The Mabuhay Festival was where the famed QP8 Band from the Philippines played to a Toronto audience for the first time. The group certainly left a good impression upon the crowd that got young and old alike dancing and waving their arms in the air. Ethel Stewart swore “ I feel like I am young again”, eliciting laughter from the crowd. Singing sensation Maricel Perez joined the band and made her mark as one of the most exciting local artists to watch. This, too, was her first performance in Toronto after a long stint in Asia and the US .

The crowd just could not keep still, especially when in another segment Kris Reyes of CityTV emceed and announced a special guest, Martha Joy of Canadian Idol fame. Martha appeared to a drum roll of wows among the crowd. Obviously, it was her chance to thank the Filipino community-through the music of her velvety voice-- for its support during the major Canadian singing competition.

The crowd just got crazier by nightfall, even rapturous. They just could not wait for the main event. Then the voiceover was heard: “Let us welcome Jeanne Young! Louie Reyes!, Stephanie Reese! and Joey Albert! The crowd simply went wild or quietly awed (some had tears in their eyes!) as one by one some of the most famous names in Philippine entertainment came out. Jeanne started with a rendition of songs of faith. Then Louie Reyes led the audience down memory lane with her retro music. Miss Saigon--Stephanie Reese--just broke the music sound barrier with her old Miss Saigon favorites. Finally, Joey Albert, the star of the show, appeared. This may have been Ms. Albert's nth performance in Toronto but with everybody standing on their feet to welcome her proved her enduring appeal to the crowd. And from here on it was just one great party throughout the rest of the evening that some hoped would not end.

Sadly, the Mabuhay Festival had to end. But as Jun Enverga reiterated, there will be another day to celebrate Philippine Arts, Heritage and Culture. His message of Unity, Community Transformation, Charity and the promise to build a Gawad Kalinga Village for the poor and the needy in the Philippines , surely touched the hearts of the multitude that aptly bade each other au revoir with chants of “Mabuhay! Mabuhay! Mabuhay Tayong Lahat!

(PRESS RELEASE)

Jun Enverga, PIDC President

Louie Reyes

Joey Albert

Jeanne Young

Stephanie Reese

Martha Joy

QP8 Band after a performance at Mabuhay Festival that roused the crowd into a dance frenzy.

PNB Remittance staff take time
out to pose for a photo.

Back to top

Lirio Vital at the Filipino Making Waves at Harbourfront Centre.

Singer Jennifer Perez Fermo (above) with young celebrities John Prats and Maja Salvador at the Filipinos Making Waves Festival at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.

Karen Tan, Lirio Vital and Josie de Leon

Back to top

MEDICAL TOURISM. The Medical City
in Pasig , Metro Manila , President and CEO, Dr. Alfredo Bengzon (2nd from left) made a presentation to promote medical tourism in Toronto recently. From left, Evelyn Pagkalinawan (President, 3d+e Marketing), Dr. Bengzon , Cora de la Cruz (President, Delamarc Travel), Margaret Bengzon (Head, Strategic Services, Medical City).

Members of Med Tour and
a Filipino community center
at the Mabuhay Festival in Toronto.

Back to top

Gemma and Maia Nemenzo in Toronto bookshop.

BOOK LAUNCHING. Gemma Nemenzo and daughter Maia (5th and 4th from right) came all the way from San Francisco , CA , to the launching of Gemma's book at Another Story Bookshop in Toronto on Aug. 16. Friends and co-alumni of the University of the Philippines came to buy her book and have them signed by the author. Among those who came were Rogie Concepcion, Diana Quintos Gamboa, Maripi Leynes, Mila Astorga-Garcia, Edgar Maninang, Minnie Bandayrel, Rick Esguerra. To Gemma's right is Sheila Koffman, owner of Another Story Bookstore where the launch was held.

By Mila Astorga-Garcia

Things seemed to have fallen nicely in place for the launching of Gemma Nemenzo's book, “Heart in Two Places: An Immigrant's Journey,” last August 16 at Another Story Book Shop at the West end, Toronto .

It was a good crowd that came during that pleasant Thursday night – many of them from the University of the Philippines where Nemenzo took her mass communications studies. Some were colleagues from media – one, a former ABS CBN broadcaster; another, a co-staffer at the now-defunct Business Day. Others just came, mostly book loving Filipinos wanting to meet and listen to this immigrant author based in California , and to purchase signed copies of her book.

It was a cozy place for a book launch and reading – right at the most strategic space in this bookshop known for its progressive and unique collection.

The program was brief and simple: Maripi Leynes, Nemenzo's UP mass com colleague who had organized the launch, welcomed the guests. Diana Quintos Gamboa, Nemenzo's former co-worker from ABS-CBN, introduced the author as an accomplished writer, but most of all a good mother to her three children.

Two book readings were held, one by 16-year old Maia, the author's youngest child, whom she fondly mentions in a photo caption in her book as “my singlar achievement...the kid I raised on my own”– for she was only a baby when Nemenzo packed her bags and those of all her three children to migrate to the United States, saying goodbye for good to a “dead” marriage.

However, Nemenzo kept her love for her homeland alive through the almost two decades as an immigrant in the States, while at the same time learning to love her adopted home: thus the title of her book.

The volume is actually a collection of her columns written for Filipinas Magazine where she is managing editor. She writes about the travails and joys of her immigrant life, courageously raising three children on her own, and empathizing with the latter as they coped with their own struggles as adolescents growing up in two cultures.

Nemenzo, in her brief talk, affirmed how her book, though a very personal story, resonates with the lives of many immigrants who like her, have to live with their hearts in two places.

Most touching was Maia's reading of a piece about letting go, told in a beautiful anecdote about her heart-rending childhood discovery that Puff the Magic Dragon was in reality a kite. But trust the motherly wisdom and life lessons Nemenzo bestows on her children, Puff's story, for Maia, after all the tears shed following that discovery, soars to a happy ending.

This writer was asked to read a political piece, about Fidel, the author's young nephew who was shot twice by police during dispersal operations in a protest rally in Manila . Nemenzo wrote about the shock, the anger, and the agony of the long wait at the hospital, where Fidel, whose lung and liver were punctured by the bullets, was undergoing surgery. Again, the story ends well, with Nemenzo seeing, rather hearing, the first sign that Fidel was going to pull through. The author, in her characteristically emotionally touching flair, then tells of how tears of relief rolled down her cheeks, smearing her make-up and staining her white dress,.

So compelling are her stories, especially to women, that readily many of them were seen lined up for signed copies at the end of the launch. Just as it was in Manila , the Toronto launch was a success. Next is in New York in September; another is scheduled for Vienna in October .

Copies of the book are available in Toronto at Another Story Book Shop.

Back to top

A cheque for $35,000 was presented to the Hospital for Sick Children
for the three sick Filipino children. The group, composed mainly of
Filipino-Canadians, raised the money mostly from the Filipino community.

The Munting Pangarap for the Herbie Fund Steering Committee, consisting of fourteen members, all Filipinos, raised over $35 000.00 dollars. The group presented the cheque to Kamla Sharma, Director of the International Patient of Hospital for the Sick Children, on August 9, 2007.

The short fund raising campaign ended on June 29, 2007, with a Gala Night at Spirale Banquet Hall. JP and Mary Anne, two of the three Herbie children, together with their parents were at the celebration.

The fund raising event proved once again that the Filipino community can work together successfully to support a worthy cause—to help the three sick Filipino children.

The fourteen dedicated and hard working members of the Steering Committee are: Mercy Maliglig, Elsie Altamirano-Villanueva, Lita Leano, Vicky Quiambao, Sena Flores, Jess Carlos, Danny Dimaano, Tony and Sylvia Padilla, Ted Dayno, Janet Lim, Virgilio Ignacio, Deacon Cesar Sahagun, and Dr. Quirante-Flora.

The major donors are Marita Simbol-Lezon of CIBC Wood Gundy, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services, Millenium Financial Services Inc., and Westdale Properties. Some other companies who helped were World Financial Group, Global Reach, and Don Valley North Lexus. In addition to the above sources of income, the Global Dreams Media Group that produced the “Munting Pangarap” CD also donated three quarters of its CDs sales.

Some of the professional and community organizations that donated money are the Filipino Canadian Medical Association, Batangas Provincial Association of Canada together with Alitagtag Association of Canada and San Juan Batangas Association of Metro Toronto, We Care Group Foundation of Ontario , Daughters of Isabella, and Block Rosary.

Some of the individual donors are: Dr. Shirley Salazar, Ramon and Sena Flores, Crystal Sahagun, Dr. Nestor Bobila, Dr. Vicky Santiago, Mercy Romin, Carmelita Salazar, Chito and June Cubacub, and many others.

The Munting Pangarap Committee members also made their generous personal donations.

(PRESS RELEASE)

Back to top

Back to top

Tug-o-war played by the children at the Lucban Association Summer picnic.

Spoon race at the picnic

Members of the Lucban Association of Toronto.

T he Lucban Association of Toronto had their annual picnic on August 19 th . Formed in 1988, the association is one of the most dynamic and active organization in the Greater Toronto Area. They have two main activities in the year. One is the summer picnic that is usually held in August, close to the fiesta in Lucban, Quezon and the other is the Family Christmas party. “We also provide social service to our home province” said Lydia Casino, the organization's current president. “We donated a classroom for a Catholic School, crutches and sent funds and used clothing for the victims of last years typhoon that devastated the neighboring town of Mulanay” she added. If you are interested to join, contact the president Lydia Casino at 416-489-0667.

(PRESS RELEASE)

Back to top

North Toronto Mitsubishi staff during the International Food Day event.

Back to top