Accents
B.A.N.C puts the Pinoy’s best foot forward
Redding, California, USA—Last Saturday, June 13, the Bayanihan Association of Northern California (B.A.N.C.) and the Philippine-American Heritage Dance Troupe celebrated Philippine Independence Day with the theme “Likas na Karunungan, Kakayahan, at Kahusayan.” That means native talent, ability, and expertise of the Filipino, and I hope I’m not lost in translation. The venue: Our Lady of Mercy Church Annex in Redding, Shasta County.
June 12, the 111th anniversary of Philippine Independence, fell on a working day in the States, hence the affair was moved to the next day. The programme printed a bit of history that provided a perspective especially for the younger generation. Excerpts: “On June 12, 1898, the Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed sovereignty and independence from the colonial rule of Spain for over 300 years. In the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States for an indemnity to cover Spanish assets lost. Then on July 4, 1946, America relinquished sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and recognized the independence of the Republic of the Philippines. From 1946 to 1961, Independence Day was observed on July 4 each year, until, in the name of nationalism and upon the advice of some historians, Pres. Diosdado Macapagal designated June 12 as the country’s Independence Day and July 4 as Filipino-American Friendship Day.”
The former president justified the law that proclaimed June 12 as Philippine Independence Day or Araw ng Kalayaan with this quote: “A nation is born into freedom on the day when such a people, moulded unto a nation by a process of cultural evolution and sense of oneness born of common struggle and suffering, announces to the world that it asserts its natural right to liberty and is ready to defend it with blood, life, and honor.” Deep, profound, stirring words that make one soar with love of country, intensify one’s sense of belongingness to the motherland, and strengthen the bond with fellow Filipinos in a foreign country.
It is sad that his daughter, Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, chose to celebrate this year’s Independence Day in Koronadal, Cotabato, instead of the traditional flag raising ceremony at the Rizal monument in Luneta. Many believed Arroyo’s reason for abandoning tradition was to avoid the demo against the much-maligned constituent assembly, the vehicle geared by Arroyo’s underlings to run rough-shod on the Constitution. But, of course, that’s another story.
Exhibits, booths, games, martial arts (Arnis de Mano) went into play earlier in the B.A.N.C. celebrations. At noontime up to evening, Pinoy food and delicacies delighted all comers. In the afternoon, the cultural show started with the raising of the flags of both the United States and the Philippines and the singing of the respective national anthems. The Invocation that followed was my part on the program. Considering the diversity of the audience before me, my opening was similar to the one I delivered in South Carolina’s Fil-Am Ass’n. Christmas Program—ecumenical, encompassing, all-embracing:
Let us put ourselves in the presence of the Supreme Being—Yahweh, Allah, Jesus Christ, the Divine, the Omnipotent, give a holy name—and it would be so all right.
Let us implore the Supreme Being for guidance as we walk the pathways of our life. Even as we sometimes encounter potholes and mud in those paths, we are endowed with an ever greater capacity and sensitivity to see, hear, and experience “sermons on stones, books in running brooks, and good in everything,” just as Shakespeare’s poetry would have it.
Even us our Association offers this rich Filipino culture of songs and dances and cuisine on this the One-hundred eleventh Anniversary of Philippine Independence, let us not forget the desperate, the dispossessed, the disempowered, “the least of the brethren” in the shacks and slums of our beloved homeland, or in the deprived hinterlands of “Perlas ng Silanganan.”
Even as we enjoy the blessings of our adopted country, may the Supreme Being fortify us in the fight against racial prejudices, intolerance, and injustice. May the Supreme Being make us grow in compassion and social consciousness, strengthen us in our future plans “patungo sa Bayan na sakdal laya,” freed from the scourge of poverty and hunger.
Guide us to live St. Paul’s eternal maxims: faith, hope, and love—for a community of peace and goodwill, joy and understanding.
Lastly, may the Divine shower his blessings on guests and visitors, on the officers and members of the Bayanihan Association of Northern California in the pursuit of its goals and objectives, undertaken in the true bayanihan spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood in the great family of humankind. Amen to all that. Amen.
Pasting it here and reading it again, I feel the Invocation was so over the top. But I really wanted something that would cut across the race, creed, gender, and nationality divide — chasms that our innate goodness tries to overcome. (To be continued)
(Email: lagoc@hargray.com)