why celebrating Christmas bigtime makes us more pinoy: pasko sa Welly

[ Note : sorry for the long title if I haven’t edited it, everyone ! ] THERE WERE at least two choirs (mostly from the Philippine Embassy and the Wellington Pinoys) who sang well enough to be professionals, but were doing it for love; a parol-making contest, and various Filipiniana performances choreographed by QSM awardee Anita Mansell; Pinoy-themed parlor games hosted by Clark and Didith Figuracion but in the end there were many other events that made the whole so much more than the sum of its parts, the whole that was fondly known as the Pasko sa Wellington for the Filipino community in the southern North Island of New Zealand last Saturday Dec 1st. It could’ve just been generous praise, but it did sound sincere when Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown told the initially sparse crowd (that eventually grew later in the day) that she marveled at the effort (songs, dance, games and participation) that Pinoys dedicated to the Christmas season.  When told by our Ambassador Virginia Benavidez that the season back home actually started at least three months before, the mayor responded that, with the frenetic Christmas atmosphere generated by migrant Pinoys, it wasn’t surprising to know at all.

Behind the scenes unbeknownst to our VIP guests, including Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy, Papal Nuncio representative Msgr Emine and Wellington Pinoy chaplain Fr Ambet dela Cruz, Pasko sa Welly was a multilateral effort made possible by many Pinoy interest groups and civic-minded kabayan including the KASAGIP Charitable Trust, Bulwagan Trust, Mabuhay Association, Filifest Dancers, Filinartizts, Catholic groups, Pinoy musicians and so many other priceless contributions from the Pinoy community. Not the least of which was the performance of a 100% Pinoy band from Upper Hutt and the world-class emceeing of KASAGIP’s very own Neil Martinez, who saved the show from quite a few awkward moments between performances. Many thanks to all the artisans, entrepreneurs and merchants who sold their wares in the Pasko sa Welly premises and made the event more interesting. And as the good Wellington mayor quipped, it wouldn’t surprise her to know that each and every Pinoy contributed to the event without any thought of recompense, as if seeing bright and happy faces in and around our Filipino community wasn’t reward enough.  Truly, what makes us celebrate Christmas makes us more Pinoy. Many thanks as well to the event sponsors like SMDC and Western Union for your contribution, and every person who made an effort to make Pasko sa Welly the great event that it was. Mabuhay po tayong lahat, maligayang Pasko and thanks for reading! [contact-form subject='[YLBnoel%26#039;s Blog’][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’suggestions for a better blog?’ type=’text’/][/contact-form]

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