The Party That Showed Filipino Resilience

 Volume 3, Issue No. 56

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 . . . . . .

 

 Our latest as of Monday, June 6, 2022 

~ The Filipino community had a party this sunny day of Saturday, June 4, in a big demonstration of resilience in the face of a pandemic. Singing, dancing, and chatting endlessly over plates of Filipino food, and laughing to their heart's content appeared to signal the end of two and half years of physical and social isolation. The Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC), in its observance of Filipino Heritage Month, was, in effect, the first Filipino organization in Toronto to bring back the fun in community gatherings.

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PICNIC AND SALO-SALO AT THE PARK

PIDC Bursts the Bubble, Brings Back the Fun

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ 

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

"Happiness is in the taste, and not in the things". - François de La Rochefoucauld

TORONTO - That Saturday afternoon? That was a blast!

For two and a half years, the bubble of health restrictions that had cloaked and choked us ended with a bang, and what a bang it was as revelers went out of their homes, trekked to the park, shared meals, and renewed camaraderie with friends long unseen.

Not only that. They also sang and danced to their heart's content, as if to say that we're reclaiming the world that had always been ours but stolen away by the coronavirus pandemic. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrUnjDshy8g).

For a long while, the health mantra was clear: six feet apart or six feet under. There laid the implicit warning to take precautions, the most prohibitive being physical distancing and isolation, or suffer the consequences that could lead to extinction.

Those who had entertained doubts about the means of conquering the virus went down with their beliefs and therefore fell under the second option.

"Six feet apart" was the sensible, rational choice for many though it meant staying away from basic face-to-face interaction with anyone outside the immediate family. 

Time, plus gentle health reminders such as frequent hand washing, masking up, and the great advances in medical technology, proved its efficacy.

Well, this Saturday, June 4, 2022, the Philippine Independence Day Council (PIDC) led by its president, Agnes P. Miranda, just poked the bubble, giving way to a spontaneous burst of unspent energy. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwLwcPe-CaA).

Singing, dancing, eating, and endless chatting and laughter in between, was the order of the day at PIDC's "picnic at salo-salo" at Earl Bales Park. If food was plentiful, so were the many ounces of goodwill that PIDC had rekindled just by having the gathering.

I went, not for the food (disclosure: I did partake of the pancit from Republika restaurant because it was so irresistible and so good), but to witness how a significant part of the Filipino community had managed to cope after all these months of uncertainty.

People say Filipinos are resilient. It's true and the proof was happening before my eyes. (Related video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0AV0pGy5Gs).

At the picnic, many people passively did their thing under the shade of maple and oak trees, throwing all caution to the wind, not so much as to tempt fate, but to share their happiness at being survivors.

The crowd size didn't seem to matter. Dozens, hundreds, thousands - who cared? At this moment, the counting was inconsequential. What was significant was the eclectic energy that animated everyone! (Copyright 2022. All Rights Reserved).