Folklorama is an annual two-week event that celebrates the diverse cultural heritage of the people who settled in Manitoba and Canada. Pavilions are hosted in church basements, community halls, gymnasiums and theatres of schools. The pavilions showcase traditional home-cooked meals, cultural displays, music and dances of the different cultures of the world.
The first time I went to Folklorama was in 1990, my first summer here in Winnipeg. My mother was very excited to show me around that she bought each of us a passport that entitled us entrance to any pavilions for the duration of the festival. We went to see the Philippine pavilion and a few others, Greece, Italy, just to name a few. We went to pavilions that were easily accessible to buses. Looking back, I guess I wasn't really that much interested. Reggie was only 9 months old and wasn't walking yet. We traveled by bus and we dragged Reggie's stroller everywhere. Going to the pavilions seemed to me then, more like a chore than a treat. I guess I just went along with her because she already bought the two-week passports and just to give her her money's worth.
The last couple of years, I had wanted to go see the Philippine pavilions because I was starting to miss a sense of our cultural heritage. But there were more "important places" that the kids wanted to go to. This summer, I have been teaching my kids to speak more Tagalog and I thought, isn't it just a fitting time to introduce them to our Filipino cultural entertainment?
We made plans to go to the Pearl of the Orient Philippine pavilion. I even invited my 15-year old niece Agnus to come along because I knew that she is also interested to know more about our culture. It was really very nice of her Nanay to let her come and also her 8-year old sister Ancie. What's even nicer was that she even drove us to the pavilion, which was at a local school in the city.
There was already a line at the entrance when we got there at 6:00 p.m. We bought our tickets when we got in front. You no longer needed passports to get to the pavilions. Tickets were $3.75 for adults; a very affordable price, indeed. Children under 12 were free. Yey! When we got inside, the line still continued. We stayed in line since the line was already long. We didn't want to be at the end of the line. We were wondering at first what we were in line for. There were a few people wandering around and about this room that said "Cultural Displays." We found out later that the line we were in was for the first show, which was to start at 6:45 p.m. Since we still had half an hour to kill before the show started, Ryan, Ryland, Ancie and myself went to see the cultural displays, while Agnus and Reggie stayed in line.
The display room exhibited various posters with our National heroes, the Philippine presidents, maps of the Philippines, pictures of famous landmarks like the Mayon Volcano, Taal Volcano, Luneta, Boracay, just to name a few. We also saw the familiar sungka, replicas of the calesa and the bahay kubo. Lo and behold on the far corner of the room was a huge cut-out of the famous Philippine jeepney. I suddenly turned into a child upon seeing that jeepney. I was filled with excitement. I immediately took out the camera from my purse and gleefully told the kids to stand beside the jeepney. I just had to take a picture of that jeepney. And of course, I had to have my picture taken, too. I handed the camera to Ryan. Ryan, make sure you see my head through the lens. I don't want my head cut off from the picture.
We looked around some more on the last display table. I saw the "Do not touch" sign. I told the kids not to touch anything. I did not want them to break anything. But I was so excited when I saw the bunot that I forgot I was touching it when I explained to the kids what the bunot was and how you can make your floor shiny with the bunot. The lady on the other side of the table kept showing me the "Do not touch" sign. I then turned to the kids and told them not to touch anything, because they were also touching the shell crafts.
We then headed back to our line where Agnus and Reggie were waiting. It was only 6:35 p.m. I told the two that they still had ten minutes to look at the displays. I told them to make sure that they check out the jeepney display. They went, but sure enough, the line started moving about just a couple of minutes after they left. Oh Ryan, go call Ate and Kuya. We have to go inside the theatre now so we can get good seats.
We all went inside and took seats on the third row. I wanted to sit as close to the stage as possible. I looked around the room and noticed that although the audience was mostly Filipinos, there were quite a few who weren't. Some people were from out of town, some were visiting from other countries. The show started at 6:45 p.m. Thank goodness, they did not observe Filipino time. The emcee was a very enthusiastic male Filipino youth. The ambassadors were introduced. There were four ambassadors, a male and a female adult; and a male and a female youth. They were dressed in very elegant traditional Philippine outfits. The Magdaragat Philippines Inc. was the host of cultural entertainment in this pavilion. The opening performance was a dance to the tune Tequila, by kids. I was very excited when I saw the kids. It brought back memories of when I was in elementary school and we danced during Foundation Day. In kindergarten, we performed the Hawaiian dance; in fifth grade, we danced the Carinosa; in sixth grade, we danced the Malaguena. I took out the camera from my purse and I went clicking away.
After the Tequila dance, a lady singer rendered an enchanting song, Mahawi Man Ang Ulap, which I remember was popularized by Zsa Zsa Padilla. It was as if I was hearing the song for the first time. I was enthralled by the wedding dance. The dancers actually enacted a Philippine wedding. The costumes were just magnificent. And of course, I saw my kids' eyes widened when they watched the Pandango sa Ilaw. Ryan kept asking, Mommy, how come the cups with candles don't fall? They have to keep their heads straight, Ryan. They practiced a lot. And boy, were we ever captivated by the much-awaited Tinikling dance, where the dancers weave in and out of bamboo poles. First, the children danced to a slower tempo. And then the older dancers danced with increasing tempo while they still managed to dance gracefully. Towards the end of the performance, some of the dancers came down from the stage and invited some members of the audience to dance with them. The entire show was very entertaining. We gave them a very warm applause at the end.
After the performance, we headed to the cafeteria for some refreshments. There was already a long line when we got there. I saw my friends, Ate Lita and Kuya Boy, already in a table. I asked them to reserve some seats for us. We ordered some pansit, fried rice, chicken adobo, pork barbeque, ukoy, and some sago. I think we ordered too much, my tummy was so heavy after we ate. We went back to the cultural displays while waiting for my sister to pick us up. We took some more pictures. We didn't stay long, though, because the kids were starting to run around and I was afraid that they'd break something. We waited outside for my sister. Riding back home in the van, Agnus and I took turns in telling her about our very exciting visit to the Pearl of the Orient Philippine pavilion.
August 2003
