The Glory That Was Taste of Manila

Volume 3, Issue No. 25

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America and beyond . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Thursday, January 13, 2022 

~ Gone are the glory days, even in the interim, for the once-promising street festival that birthed an ethnic enclave in Canada's largest city, and potentially, the impetus to unite Filipinos, currently the "third-largest Asian Canadian group in the nation after the Indian and Chinese communities". From the summer of 2014 to 2019, the Taste of Manila attracted enormous crowds of Canadians, Americans, and many other nationalities of Filipino ancestry that made it topmost in Canada, if not in North America. Where it started has been christened "Little Manila" as a tribute to the Philippine capital whose sights and sounds are mimicked in Toronto's North York district.

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .

CANADA'S LARGEST FILIPINO STREET FESTIVAL

Glory Days of Taste of Manila Redux

(First of Three Parts)

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever". - Napoleon Bonaparte

TORONTO - The journey from anonymity to fame was almost instantaneous for those who had a hand in putting flesh to a concept that had led to the creation of a community festival comparable in magnitude to mainstream festivities.

Taste of Manila (ToM) was that smash hit festival, inarguably the most successful in terms of bringing together the disparate Filipino ethnic groups, but a total failure in advancing social goals organizers had set out to do at the beginning.

At its core, ToM was a Filipino family reunion magnified a thousand times by individuals and families long gone from their roots and now yearning for the familiar touches of neighborhood camaraderie that involved sharing of personal circumstances, culture, food, and common aspirations.

Visualized along the lines of a money-making entertainment venture through community reach-out, ToM unintentionally filled that void. That was the part that surprised everyone and called attention to the popularity of revenue-free grassroots events.

Contrary to popular beliefs, ToM was not the handiwork of one person's fertile imagination. The idea of a Business Improvement Area (BIA) had percolated in the minds of community-oriented individuals, including then Consul General Andy Mosquera (who held the post from May 2003 to January 2010) and Police Constable (now Sergeant) Philip Mendoza, who pitched it to city officials.

For some unknown reasons, the idea stayed on the back burner for a few years. When Ambassador Pedro O. Chan was appointed Philippine Consul General in Toronto from June 2011 to April 2012, he revived the original plan and discussed its prospects with then Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and Senior Superintendent Jane Wilcox.

Its full fruition didn't come until one enterprising employee of the Philippine Consulate, Rolly Mangante, who had inserted himself inappropriately at the Chan-Blair meeting, took it upon himself to claim ownership of the scheme. 

Lacking skills but unashamed, Mangante recruited fledglings within the small circle of friends he knew and formed what became known as the Philippine Cultural Community Centre (PCCC), the organization that oversaw and managed ToM. Its membership roster was allegedly a who's who in dubious activities.

Outside of PCCC's politics, however, the real creative minds were the couple Mon and Teresa Torralba whom Mangante consulted for their vast experience gained from years of staging their own Filipinos Making Waves Festival at Yonge and Dundas Square.

Mon is of the famed Hotdog band (remember "Pers Lab"?) which provided the pulsating musical theme "Manila, Manila" to ToM. Teresa is the unpretentious lady who makes waves in the background, reserved but ever-watchful, who advised PCCC's top brass and conducted business meticulously with city authorities and corporate supporters.

By the time Chan was succeeded by Junever Mahilum-West as Consul General in May 2012, PCCC had taken shape, and with it, the original concept of ToM. The festival finally panned out in August 2014, a good eight months prior to her new appointment in March 2015 as Ambassador to Jordan and Palestine. 

Earlier in June of 2014, ToM was formally launched in a well-attended luncheon at the now-defunct Cusina Lounge (owned by a PCCC officer) with then Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016), Councillor James Pasternak, and other city officials as honored guests. 

In mid-summer two months later, ToM staged a two-day festival on the weekend of August 23 and 24 on what is now referred to as Little Manila, the general area radiating from the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Bathurst Street in the North York neighbourhood. Philippine Ambassador to Canada Leslie B. Gatan christened ToM's birthplace as Little Manila. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcZa99xeGW0).

The early beginning was truly auspicious. ToM was flushed with its first taste of sweet success when people descended on the expanse of restaurants, hole-in-wall snack bars, and commercial establishments in droves, first by the dozens, then by the hundreds, and by the thousands.

Patrons and corporate sponsors grew bigger every year since 2014. As ToM expanded beyond belief, the infighting among some PCCC officers became more pronounced. Barely a year old, their bitter rivalry threatened to wreak havoc on both the organization and the festival. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGxrVehcmDU at the 1:19 mark). 

Proposed programs hyped to benefit the community had been forgotten. Accusations flew thick and fast. One officer allegedly absconded to the Philippines with an undetermined amount of money. Another purportedly acquired a small yacht, and still another obtained a new motorbike. Those allegations have not been proven.

A few years later, ToM was nearing extinction. A last-minute intervention by city authorities led by Toronto Mayor John Tory averted its total collapse. Lack of funds, infighting among PCCC's green-eyed officers, and mounting costs were spiraling out of control, ensuring its downfall.

ToM was gaining enough traction so that in 2016, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other federal officials took time out to participate in the festivities. (Videos at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCnr3L5Dpcg and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWQr7tlg5pk).

ToM was a disaster waiting to happen. Its phenomenal success had bred instability. Nobody knew its true financial situation. Some officers were contracting leases on their personal accounts, some took advantage of their positions to boost their private ventures. It was like "to each his own" business concern. Indeed, success had gone to the heads of its officers. (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).