In this year's Philippine Independence Day, a significant event for the global Filipino community, the theme is celebrating the country's diverse cultures.
The Philippines is divided into three main island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and within each group are regions with unique identities, cuisines, customs, and traditions. This will take us on a journey around the Philippines, exploring the dances and songs of select regions.
Over the past 5 years, Tūranga has been hosting the Philippine Independence Day and we have featured local musical groups, dance performers who proudly share their talents to showcase Filipino culture. These gatherings bring together Filipinos in Christchurch to celebrate and share their heritage.
Philippine Culture and Migrant Services Trust (PCMST) and Musika Filipinas Aotearoa are back once again as our partners in delivering world-class performances, and joining for the first time is the Dijamco Family, whose lead singer, Brielle Dijamco, has already shown great talent in vocals and playing various musical instruments.
Our journey onto the Filipino culture starts with the dances from the Cordillera region. "It is home to many ethnic tribes living on the Cordillera Mountain range. They are commonly referred to as the Igorot."
The Cordillera region is known for its unique musical instruments including the gangsa kalinga and nose flute. The region is also known for their dance, arts, and crafts like wood-carving, ibaloi basket, loom weaving, tinalik, loin clothes called ikat, amulets, tattoo, akob, bobo, suklang and ikat weaving. Philippine Culture and Migrant Trust will perform Man Manok and Ragragsakan
From the northern part of the Philippines, we travel to the southern part of the country, the island of Mindanao. PCMST will perform Kapa malong, a Maranao dance where the women wear malong and men wear sash or waist band. It will be followed by Asik, a dance from the Tiruray people in Maguindanao.
A Filipino programme would not be complete without a performance with the Spanish influence. Philippine Culture and Migrant Services Trust will once again showcase their talents with Aray, a Filipinised version of the Spanish dance, Jota and Polkabal, a hybrid of the dance Polka and Balize.
It will be followed by the traditional rural scene in the Philippines and Musika Filipinas Aotearoa will start it off with their own rendition of Bahay Kubo, a traditional Tagalog folk song about the traditional house in the Philippines and the surrounding vegetation; and the Visayan song, Rosas Pandan.
Still on the rural scene, PCMST will take the centre stage again with Pandango, Oasiwas and not to be missed is the popular and energetic dance of Tinikling where performers dance and step over between two or more bamboo poles on the ground.
The Dijamco family, featuring Brielle Dijamco will serenade the audience with Original Pilipino Music, Himig ng Pag-ibig and Torete. Both songs are very well- loved in the Philippines.
The programme will finish it off with a fashion show of the different Filipino national costumes with Musika Filipinas Aotearoa's accompaniment of the songs, When I Fall in Love and Paraiso
Read more :
Listen to Filipino songs online:
Learn more about Filipino culture
- Filipino Greetings
- The Legends of the Sarimanok
- Barong Tagalog at Baro't Saya
- Banig: Weaving tradition
Add a comment to: The tradition continues …: The celebration of Philippine Independence Day at Tūranga