With Barrio Fiestas! And Independence Day Flag-Raisings! And Vin D'Honneurs! And Hot Movie Stars who remind us what it means to be ALIVE!!!
Hell, even lord master Google's on our side
Barrio Fiesta Carnival
The week leading up to Independence Day is the peak season for all activites Filipino, particularly Barrio Fiestas, where communities in and around London outdo each other with thrill rides, celebrities flown-in from home, and skies that look like they were just photoshopped over the crowd.
This particular Barrio Fiesta was in Moreden, in southern London near Wimbledon (yes, that Wimbledon). It's a wee bit far, and because of a sudden signal failure on the Tube line (a quite frequent occurrence), I had to skip lunch to transfer to a bus so that I'd get there in time for my Embassy-booth duty. I was hungry when I finally arrived at the fair grounds, worried that I wouldn't have anything good to eat until dinner.
Silly, silly me.
Damn right Pinoys got their pride on, with various fashionalistic depictions of great Philippine symbols like the flag, the sun and stars, and...um...Piolo Pascual.
Our Founding Fathers first raised the Flag in June
Because they knew if they declared independence in say, January, all our diplomats abroad would have frozen over in their barongs.
(special thanks also to Shoemart and their long-sleeved camiso de chinos!)
Needless to state, Independence Day is an occassion for Embassy people to feast (tapsilog!), dress up, and act as giddy as schoolkids. Heck, throw in a kris-kringle and you'd swear it was Christmas.
Vin more time!
Ooh, yeah! A reception for other dignitaries and officials! Things are really gonna get wild now!
No, not really. Vin D'Honneurs are appropriately formal affairs. But that doesn't mean we have to forego picture-picture and kulitan before the event. We're still Pinoys, dammit! And this is our day!
Even our sound-check was awesome
The event unfolds. I've now learned that the best icebreaker when talking to strangers at events like these is to let them touch and talk about your barong. Then segue to Manny Pacquiao.
Like I said, fancy setting or not, we shall always be Pinoys. So there shall always be pabalot.
And finally, appropos of nothing, other than the Embassy is right next to Leicester Square where all the big movie premieres are held. . .
Megan-da siya.
If that doesn't make you feel proud to be free (and human), then the robots have already won.
2 comments:
Not bad for a "first Independence at Post" post.
Was the vin d'honneur held at a nearby hotel? Even if it were so, our Embassy's chancery kicks ass, hands down. It's a lovely-looking place that appeals to my fondness for neoclassical lines and may remind one of the facade on Taft Ave.
The Vin, Don Jon, was at One (hey! that rhymes!) George Square, about a 10 minute walk from the embassy.
And damn right the embassy kicks ass: the hallways and staircases all go full loop, making it an ideal map for Counterstrike.
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