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30 October 2019, Toronto, Canada – The Culture Philippines of Ontario (CPO), upon the invitation of the Consulate General of Indonesia in Toronto through the Philippine Consulate General, performed at the ASEAN Youth Cultural Performance on Saturday, 26 October 2019. Consul General Orontes V. Castro, accompanied by his Executive Assistant Fatima Muallam, Cultural Officer Cecile Santos and Consular Assistant Oliver Baranda, attended the event. Alongside the cultural performance was a Food Bazaar called Kedai Indonesia, organized by the Indonesian Consulate General in Toronto.

The ASEAN Youth Cultural Performance, which was organized by the Indonesian Consulate General in collaboration with the Consulate General of the Philippines and the Vietnamese Community in Toronto, was officially opened by the Indonesian Consul General Leonard F. Hutabarat. He thanked the Philippine Consul General and the Filipino and Vietnamese communities in Toronto for participating in the event.

The ASEAN Youth Cultural Performance featured different art performances by youth representatives from the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. The audience were awed by the the Klana Topeng dance from Central Java in Indonesia, the Ao-Dai dance and Ly Cay Bong 16 string instrument from Vietnam, the Yossim Pancar dance from Papua, Indonesia, the Binasuan and Pakong dances from the Philippines, and the Legong Bapang Saba dance from Bali, Indonesia.

The CPO dancers - Sherilyn Tortola, Nina del Rosario, Mika Reyes, Carmina Salazar, Danica Torres, and MJ Tortola - wowed the audience with their excellent performance of two (2) Filipino folk dances, Pakong (Igorot dance where young women utilize split-fork bamboo called bungkaka to drive evil spirits from the land to bring a bountiful harvest) and Binasuan (meaning “with the use of drinking glasses”), a folk dance from Bayambang, Pangasinan. The performances left the audience hanging with excitement over the dancers’ balancing of the glasses on their heads and in their hands as they move to the music.

Culture Philippines of Ontario is a non-profit, community-based organization established in 1985 whose objective is to retain and share Filipino cultural heritage by providing music, dance and performing arts instructions to children and youths in Canada and sharing it with the community. CPO, for 34 years now, has hosted the Philippine Pavilion at the Carassauga Festival of Cultures in Mississauga, Ontario. They have also participated in many Canadian and international festivals.

A couple of Filipino-Canadian media and members of the Filipino community were also present at the event, at the invitation of the Philippine Consulate General. END

Consul General Orontes V. Castro joins Indonesian Consul General Leonard F. Hutabarat and wife, and the youth performers from the participating ASEAN countries in Toronto - Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.

Indonesian Performances: The Klana Topeng Dance

Indonesian Performances: The Yossim Pancar Dance

Indonesian Performances: The Legong Bapang Saba Dance

Vietnam Performances: The Ao-Dai Dance

Vietnam Performances: The Cay Bong 16 String Musical Instrument

The Culture Philippines of Ontario (CPO) dancers showed-off their world-class dance talents in their rendition of the Pakong dance (2 top photos) and the Binasuan dance (2 bottom photos).

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Consul General Orontes Castro welcomes the Filipino Community to the Philippine Consulate General at his Meet & Greet with the Filipino Community on 25 October 2019 while the audience attentively listens to him.

Left: Consul General Castro pointing on the 2 facsimiles of Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s works – the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. Right: The Consul General turned-over to Mr. Steve Pagao, President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce in Toronto, the SGV publication “Doing Business in the Philippines” during the Meet & Greet.

Consul General Castro presented his officers to the community. From left, Consul Edwin Mendoza, Consul Edna May Lazaro, Trade Commissioner Maria Roseni Alvero, Pag-ibig Member Services Officer Elizabeth Borres, Labor Attache Rachel Zozobrado-Nagayo, Landbank Representative Felisa Rosales, Welfare Officer Lourdes Reyes, and SSS Representative Roberto Roldan.

Photo opportunity with Consul General Castro.

31 October 2019, Toronto, Canada – The Philippine Consulate General’s Sentro Rizal-Toronto organized Consul General Orontes V. Castro’s Meet and Greet with the Filipino Community in Toronto which was held on Friday, 25 October 2019 at the Consulate General.

The get-together event was an opportunity for members of the Filipino community, leaders of the Filipino-Canadian organizations and media in Toronto to meet their new Consul General. The event was well attended by the community eager to meet the highest official representative of the Philippines in Toronto.

During his presentation, Consul General Castro reiterated the Consulate General’s commitment to serve the close to 400,000 Filipinos in post’s jurisdiction (Ontario - west of Kingston and the whole of Manitoba, which accounts to nearly 50% of the 900,000 Filipino Canadians in the whole of Canada. He mentioned the various services of the Consulate General, the Sentro Rizal, and the attached government offices, as well as his plans in the pipeline.

Consul General Castro also showed the facsimile of the two (2) manuscripts of Dr. Jose Rizal’s works - the Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo - which were kindly donated by the Philippine National Historical Commission and brought by him upon his return to Toronto on 20 October 2019, after attending the recently concluded Global Conference of Heads of Posts (GCHOP) in Manila.

The presence of those who attended was acknowledged during the short program. A reception which served well-loved Filipino delicacies followed immediately after the Meet & Greet. END

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Deputy Consul General Bernadette Therese Fernandez (8th fr right), Consul Edna May Lazaro (8th fr left), and Ms. Cecile Santos (6th fr right) are joined by the Minstrels of Hope’s 11 all-women singers and 2 male conductors. Also in the photo are Ms. Carol Bañez ((9th fr left), President of the Scarborough Ontario Seniors Association (SOSA), and Ms. Rosemer Enverga (9th fr right), President of the Philippine-Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF).

Left: DCG Fernandez and Consul Lazaro with Mr. Alain Pronovost, Ms. Bañez of SOSA and Mr. Anthony Go Villanueva (farthest right) and Mr. Jun Mayo (farthest left), Conductor and Assistant Conductor of the Minstrels of Hope. At the back are the Minstrels of Hope singers. Right: The Minstrels of Hope together with the Ukelele/Rondalla Ensemble of SOSA performing their joint number, “Ay! Ay! Ay! O Pag-ibig”.

Left: The Minstrels of Hope singers in one of their entertaining numbers. Right: The SOSA Ukelele/Rondalla Ensemble playing a Tagalog folk song

Left: The talented seniors of SOSA Choir rendering a Filipino love song. Right:The energetic SOSA seniors showing-off their grace in a line dance number

The officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto posed for a group photo with the performers.

30 October 2019 - Last Saturday, 12 October 2019, a joint concert dubbed as “Himig at Pag-asa” featuring the Minstrels of Hope and the Scarborough Ontario Seniors Association (SOSA) was held at the Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Bathurst, Toronto. The concert was organized as a cultural project of the Sentro Rizal - Toronto of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, with the support of SOSA, the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF), and the Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) Church.

The joint concert was a musical encounter between the youths from the Philippines (the Minstrels of Hope) and the Filipino-Canadian seniors from Ontario, Canada (SOSA). The Minstrels of Hope’s rendition of sacred songs, Filipino folk songs, Original Pilipino Music (OPM), as well as some Broadway songs entertained and inspired the audience. On the other hand, the SOSA serenaded the audience with their Filipino love songs with ukulele and rondalla music as accompaniment. The senior citizens also presented line dancing numbers at the church hall after the concert.

SOSA is a not-for-profit organization based in Scarborough, Ontario and founded on March 15, 2008. It started with 50 founding seniors and now has about 250-280 members. Its mission is the development, implementation and evaluation of wellness programs that promote the physical, mental, emotional and social well-being of seniors.

Some activities being offered by SOSA include line dancing, zumba dance exercise, belly dancing, choral group singing, instrumental music (rondalla/ukulele ensemble), day and weekend trips/tours, and performance in community events/festivals. The Minstrels of Hope of the Minstrels of Hope Inc. is a service oriented choral group from Manila, Philippines. The choir comprises 11 ladies, ranging from 16 to 34 years old, and all coming from the hard scrabble world of the urban poor. As performers, they play a very important advocacy role, increasing public awareness of the plight of the underprivileged in Manila. Through their involvement at the grass roots level, they share their best with the least, enhance the potential and skills of underprivileged children and enrich their lives.

The Minstrels of Hope have toured widely – in Europe, North America and Asia – in pursuit of their dreams and goals.

The event was a success, illustrating the importance of collective endeavor to promote Filipino culture and music. At the same time, it paved the way for The Minstrels of Hope to realize its mission of helping and uplifting the lives of urban poor communities in the Philippines. END

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31 October 2019, Toronto, Canada-Philippine Consul General Orontes V. Castro of the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, received Tourism Representative Francisco Hilario M. Lardizabal on 31 October 2019. Mr. Lardizabal assumed his position as Tourism Director of the Philippine Department of Tourism-New York in August 2019. He oversees tourism campaigns for Eastern Canada.

During the call, Consul General Castro and Mr. Lardizabal briefly discussed the plans and programs of the Department of Tourism aimed at promoting the Philippines as a choice tourism destination and boosting tourist arrivals from Canada. END.