Filipinos in the Canadian Mosaic

The July Ist celebrations of Canada Day were shared by the more than one hundred cultures that make up this nation. In town centers and parks people of all colours, sexes, religions, ages, political orientations and varied languages gathered together for flag-raising of the Maple Leaf and of singing O’Canada.
In Markham, the annual luncheon on July Ist for seniors was again held at Le Parc, hosted by municipal government officials with members of the police and fire departments serving at the dining tables. It was a grand occasion wherein babbles of languages filled the air. For indeed, the more than 800 guests were very multicultural. Markham is an ideal example of a multicultural community in Canada.
Majority of the guests came by bus, compliments of the town. There were meeting places in the town where the guests gathered and were picked up and later on, after the party dropped off. They came mostly through their cultural organizations. Some were wearing their native attire but most were in red and white, the Canadian patriotic colours. Each was handed with a small Canadian flag at the door and there were tiny Canadian pins on the table for each participant.
All the tables in the huge hall were filled and as one walked through around (which I did) different languages would be heard in the chatters. Each table it appeared was occupied by seniors coming from the same cultural group. There were two tables for Filipinos.
The speakers and singers used English to communicate their messages. Most of them acknowledged the varied cultures of the guests in the country and how we live in harmony, cooperation and peace as one Canada.
As I listened to the speakers I was reminded of something I have come across and read extensively about since my arrival in Canada 38 years ago. Canada and the United States of America have different views in welcoming people from other countries. Canada believes in the principle of integration. The cultures of the newcomers are respected and encouraged to be expressed as contributions to Canadian society. Each cultural group is encouraged to adjust to the Canadian environment living in harmony with other cultures. The overall concept is a Canadian mosaic, each culture enriching the tapestry of other cultures.
The United States of America believes in assimilation. Be American. Lose the identity of your former nationality and join this nation to become one of the American people.
In Canada, the celebration of one’s native culture is encouraged. Festivals of each culture are celebrated. Festivals of each culture are held in the summer with big parades, presentations and picnics. The development of international languages receives support from government. How far integration has taken place is indefinable. Most of the time cultural celebrations do not attract members of other ethnic groups. In attendance are people of the same origin, speaking the same language, eating the same food, having the same dances and songs. Lately some festivals like the Taste of the Danforth and the Taste of China have become more popular with other cultural groups.
The luncheon for seniors in Markham draw the various cultural groups of the town in celebrating one Canada but the participants remain tightly in their own cultural groups and barely socialize with members of other ethnic groups in the same party.
In the afternoon of the same day, July Ist, I attended another celebration in the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. It was hosted by Chin Radio, a multicultural radio station. I had the impression that most of the people in this annual picnic would be Italian-Canadians. But I was wrong. The audience in the program was very multicultural. The faces and languages spoken were varied.
I was invited to view the program by Joel Recla, a Filipino host of CHIN Radio. The whole program I saw for two and one half hours was presented by Filipino singers and dancers, emceed by Joel Recla and Karen Tan. Filipino folk dances and songs in English and Tagalog were presented. They were received with great enthusiasm by the multiethnic audience. I watched the faces of the viewers as the Filipino songs were rendered and it gave me great pleasure that everybody was very intent in listening even if they did not understand the lyrics.
The applause was deafening after each rendition. Nobody left in the audience. Of course, the Filipino singers were really wonderful and the songs were well-picked. The moment reminded me of events in great halls of music where operas and musicals in Spanish, Italian and other languages were rendered and members of the audience were also of mixed nationalities – Music is indeed the language of the soul.
The main presentation of the program was the Filipino well known diva Pilita Corrales. This very charming star sang in English, Tagalog, Visayan and Ilocano. Pilita’s voice may be a little past its peak but her performance was indeed super and her charisma was enchanting. She did not only sing but was able to make the audience join her in her renditions. Her jokes made everybody burst in laughter. Everybody regardless of cultural origin, enjoyed the Filipino program hosted by CHIN radio.
I hope organizers of other Filipino festivals presented here in Canada were there in the CHIN Radio presentation at the CNE grounds on July 1st. The doubts in acceptance of Filipino songs and dances by other ethnocultural would be greatly diminished if they saw how the other enthnocultural groups received what the Filipinos offered. Filipino folk songs are beautiful and captivating, so are our languages. Singing our songs is a great way of promoting our native languages.
Filipinos indeed have much to contribute to the Canadian mosaic. Let us not be hesitant in doing this. We have great talents from our younger generations here in Canada who can sing Filipino songs as shown in the CHIN Radio presentation. Let us sell more tickets to members of other ethnocultural groups for presentations like the “Fiesta Filipina” which truly are to be proud of. Our colourful native costumes are very attractive and comparable to those of other ethnic groups.