PHILIPPINE HERITAGE MONTH 2010 part 2 " the LIVING MUSEUM "

The Philippine Heritage Month was established on August 11, 2003 with President Gloria M. Arroyo " declaring the month of May of every year as National Heritage Month. " The event is in recognition of the need to create consciousness among the Filipino people, to respect and pride ourselves for the legacies of the Filipino cultural history and love of one's country..

" Nothing can break the Filipino faith. It's the one thing that keeps us going despite the many adversities we encounter ". These were the words of Filipino Heritage Festival director Bambi Harper said at the launching of the 2010 Philippine Heritage Month. Harper said that this year's theme will be " the gift of faith ", it is timely since the Philippines have suffered a lot of disasters in the previous year, the most disastrous one were the two big typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng that left a lot of people homeless.


 The Filipino Heritage Foundation Inc. hosted a series of events at Casa Manila in Intramuros. Casa Manila was built in 1850 and is one of three grand houses in Barrio San Luis -- ( one of the  four original villages in Intramuros ). It is located across the street from the San Agustin Church. Casa Manila offers a rare glimpse into an affluent Manila lifestyle inside the gated walls of Intramuros during the late 19th century. This is one of the main tourist attractions in Manila, the tourists love it because of its Asian inspired look and old-time feel.

This year is no different as the other years, the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc.  headed by Bambi Harper, Armita Rufino and Araceli Salas has organized an array of cultural activities that will bring the Filipino people to a new awareness of age-old traditions, cultural practices, poetry, songs and dances.

There was a choir singing old filipino medleys..

There were jugglers, harlequins on stilts and a magician..

cultural dances..

After the activities at the courtyard all the guests were ushered to the Casa Manila Museum on the third floor to watch a ballet performance by the Philippine Ballet theater.

A 6-string quartet greeted the guests as they entered the museum..

The highlight of the evening was the " Manton de Manila " which was choreographed by Gener Caringal.

The month long activities will be in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and Arts ( NCCA ), the Department of Tourism, and the Filipino Heritage Festival Inc.  ( FHFI ).  Other partners for this event include, Philippine Airlines, Zest Airways, The Philippine Consulate of Barcelona, and the Philippine Embassies in Germany, London, Mexico and Singapore.

                            BRAVO PHILIPPINE HERITAGE MONTH 2010 !