Manila, We're Coming Home

In less than 12 hours, we'll be on our way to Manila to celebrate Christmas! Di bale nang masakit sa bulsa ang pamasahe dahil peak season, makapag-Pasko lang sa 'Pinas.

Christmas in the Philippines is very festive and appeals to the senses. Walang katulad ang Pasko sa Pinas - mga parol na nakasabit sa mga bintana o pintuan ng mga bahay maliit man o malaki; mga namamasko di bale nang mali-mali ang lyrics at masakit sa tenga ang pagkanta; at syempre ang Simbang Gabi na kakambal na ang mga nagtitinda ng kakanin. Natakam nga ako sa puto bumbong at bibingka nung napanood ko sa Bandila yung segment nila sa umprisa ng Simbang Gabi. Where we live, a neighboring parish has been celebrating Simbang Gabi held at 5 am for some years now and it wouldn't be surprising to know that Filipinos are behind it.

Sa ngayon, nakahanda na akong humarap sa katakot-takot na trapik, siksikan, at malagkit na pawis, pero mas lalong handa na akong balikan ang mga pagkaing na-miss ko. Pero hight sa lahat, excited na akong makita ang mga kamag-anak at kaibigan ko.

All roads lead to Laverton

Over the weekend, all roads lead to Laverton for the Filipino community in Victoria. Every year during the last weekend of November, Filos (our Aussie nickname) gather at the Philippine Centre in Laverton for the fiesta.

For the past two years we did not go to the fiesta on purpose because of the heat but this year the weather was more favorable so we gave it a go. There wasn't much to see in terms of Pinoy culture on display which was a disappointment (or was I just expecting too much?) but I did catch a glimpse of handful of men wearing the Barong Tagalog and there were a lot Fiipino-owned enterprises exhibiting their services ranging from door-to-door & money remittance services to real estate sellers and a lot more. But the biggest hits as it would be I suppose each year were the food stalls with halo-halo and barbq as the sellouts.

We we there just in time for lunch and the food stalls selling barbecue could hardly fill in the orders that customers had to wait for more than 15 minutes for a stick or two. And they didn't come cheap at $3.00 per stick. My son who went stall hopping found one that sold barbecues for $2.50 but that didn't help since we all had our fill already. As for the halo-halo, I could just see about every other person holding a cup. With prices varying between $4-$6 we just had to look for the best bargain we could get, that is the stall the serves the biggest cup.

Programmes were scheduled for the two-day event but we didn't get to stay long enough to finish them. But I did get a glimpse of Bea Alonzo (John Lloyd was still on his way to the venue) although I think the tight security over the guest artist was an overkill. As if naman dudumugin sila sa stage e lukewarm naman yung reception ng audience nung in-announce na dumating na si Bea.

Which brings me to the emcee. I do miss seeing Allan K on stage coz he can get away with panglalait and make it look funny. I couldn't say the same of the emce whose name escapes me now. I also take offence at his green jokes which were inappropriate with kids around.

Which brings me to the sad reality that even though there were thousands of Pinoys at the fiesta, I barely heard teenagers and kids speak Tagalog. Which makes the emcee's jokes forgiveable coz the kids wouldn't have understood anyway. But yeah, this observation is a stark reflection of how as a community we are losing our most important heritage and how it has strengthened our resolve to keep the Filipino language alive in our family.