We belong to a community that is full of different personalities. In every turn, it seems that these oddballs are always coming up with acts that we can only laugh or shake our heads.
We have some who think they own our people that they are free to do whatever regardless of the consequences. Some just refuse to clear wrongdoings, but people know even if they continue to play deaf and blind. They are now part of our community history.
The true essence of life is to have a clear conscience and become clear of misdeeds. Someday they will be forced to be accountable because community monies are involved. People may be seen bowing and shaking their hands in public because that is how courteous and polite Filipinos are, but for some, they are trying to stay away and refuse to have anything to do with them.
Yet we also have a lot of organizations that are reputable, smoothly run by dedicated volunteers, and people in our community never doubted their integrity.
I take pride that I belong to one, the Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe of Canada that just celebrated our 50th anniversary. This is the same group that continues to manage the longest running personality contest in Toronto, the Miss Manila pageant.
I was a Physical Education major so teaching and choreography have been part of my youth. I belong to the dance troupe in school. Every year I had a medal of recognition, not for my academic excellence but for my involvement in extracurricular activities, whether it be dancing, music, drama, organizing events, I was there.
With Fiesta, my first year was quite sad because that is when we had a problem with the Filipino Association of Canada FACT, that was then the sponsoring organization of the Manila pavilion in Toronto during the Metro International Caravan.
Caravan was a nine days festival where international groups operate a pavilion to exhibit their culture. It is like Carassauga and Carabram today, but on a large scale.
For years since the festival was launched, the Fiesta Filipina has been doing the nightly presentations and another cultural group, Folklorico Filipino doing the matinee shows at the St. Lawrence theater for nine days under the FACT. By all accounts, everything was going well.
That year for some reason, the Filipino Association of Canada decided to give Folklorico Filipino the first nightly show on top of the matinee without informing Caravan management and our group, which of course was not accepted. The inconvenience of taking down props, lighting adjustments were just too much for us so Fiesta protested and went on negotiating with the officers of FACT.
Nothing positive came up so that night, Fiesta president the late George Aguinaldo who was the artistic director put his foot down, our three shows a night or nothing.
So that night which was our general rehearsal, we ended up walking out, dismantling and taking our already set stage props, displays and our costumes. I was devastated, that would be my first time on stage in Canada and it did not happen.
It was a big community scandal as it was in mainstream newspapers and Balita’s front page and how we were perceived as prima donnas who did not want to share the stage with Folklorico dance company.
Preparing for nine days show was not an easy feat. We spent time, effort and expenses that we felt the FACT members did not appreciate.
Unfortunately, Caravan management then led by Leon and Zena Kossar although very unhappy and clearly on the side of Fiesta were caught in between did not have a choice. We just refused to share the stage with another group for the inconvenience.
Mr. & Mrs. Kossar clearly stated that FACT violated the requirements that program details should be finalized 60 days before the event. At the time there were 50 pavilions participating.
So that year. Folklorico took over the shows that were meant for us for nine days, three shows a night and their five shows on the weekend.
That week we all gathered at the house of George and Estring Aguinaldo to plan our next move. Later, Caravan management called a meeting and from there decided that the next Caravan festival membership would be given to the Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe and would carry the existing name of Manila Pavilion.
We rented the Toronto Free Theatre at Berkeley Street. Although not as grand and appealing, our designers did their best in making it so classy and our dances became more polished. Manila Pavilion became the most popular, we were followed by the people who were frequent visitors at the St. Lawrence Theatre. That year out of 52 countries that participated, we won the Best Pavilion, the highest Metro Toronto Caravan awards. With our members all present at the Royal York during the awards night, with tears, laughter, and screams, we rejoiced. We were able to prove to the Caravan management our worth.
From then we received more accolades and more awards; Best Entertainment, Best Choreography, Best Costumes, Traditional shows, Best Interior, Exterior, Best Food, etc. We modeled the evolution of Filipino costumes. We performed before visiting royalties and dignitaries and got invitations to travel and perform all over Canada and the US. Now, we proudly take our dancers to cultural festivals around the world representing Canada and the Philippines.
Fiesta holds an annual gala night, the Miss Manila pageant, and concert. We operate the Philippine pavilion during the three days Carabram festival in Brampton and we are in partnership with KCCC in running the Fiesta ng Kalayaan at Celebration Square. We now own a unit, the Fiesta Center for the Arts in Mississauga where the dancers practice and it houses our costumes, props and equipments.
We have gone a long way, after that very heartbreaking experience. I am still in the memory of our president Estring Aguinaldo when during the controversy at the St. Lawrence theatre, when she announced that we were no longer dancing, I, fresh from the Philippines, young and bratty was the one who questioned. “What do you mean, we are not dancing, I want to dance”. Our stage director then mused, “OK you go on stage and dance alone, I will turn some lights on.”
It is so funny now but goes to show that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel or rainbows after a disaster and Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe has proven it. Now, our 51st year, we proudly hold the title of being the longest running organization in Toronto and still very very strong.*****
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