January 1, 2025 - For two evenings on November 30 and December 1, 2024, residents of Victoria, BC, were treated to Paghimugso, (meaning “birth”) a one and a half hour display of Filipino song, dance and talent, coinciding with ceremonies marking the 75th year of Philippine Canadian diplomatic relations.
In the first half of the evening, dancers Jean Penola, Clarissa Mijares, Sam Penola, Razie Mae Lauson, Geoffrey Penola, Sean Penola and Raine Hermosa presented a memorable program featuring dances and rituals from the Lumad and the Maranao people of Mindanao. In the red, black, white and yellow attire of the Higaonons of Mindanao and the finery of the Tiboli, the dancers depicted a people with an intimate closeness to nature, imitating the movements of birds and appealing to the spirits for help with their harvests and for protection from harm. They showed tender courtship, wedding rituals and a fierce war dance from the Maranaos, and bonus numbers showing the audience the versatility of scarves and the signature garment of Mindanao, the malong.
The colors of the malong, the glittering headpieces and accessories of the dances, together with the golden sounds of the kulintang - the gong and drum ensemble indigenous to the Sulu and Mindanao - transported the audience to a time and place far away from cold Victoria!
The dancers were joined by the Himig Filipino Choir in a rendition of Pilemon, a beloved folk song, with Geoffrey Penola playing the hapless Pilemon, who, with his hat and basket, got very little for a small fish he had caught, and yet splurged his earnings on tuba (coconut toddy). Pilemon’s wife, played by Jean Penola (Geoffrey's wife in real life) was not amused.
Sean Penola and Geoffrey Penola enact a tribal peace pact before Raine Hermosa.
Pilemon was followed by the Silver Swans - seniors Cristeta Araquel and Norma Duy, who donned their ballet shoes to dance folk favourites like Sitsiritsit and Leron Leron Sinta.
It was the choir’s turn next. Their program began with a lively rendition of Kalesa, evoking the clip clop of horse-drawn carriages and languid afternoons in the Philippines. Brandi Varnell Duy, an import from New York, and Filipino by marriage to Jeff Duy, gamely sang the Tagalog lyrics in a powerful soprano. Lourdes Abanto, Norma Duy and Erlinda Madan Duce of the Victoria Filipino Canadian Seniors’ Association sang the romantic favourites O Ilaw and Dahil sa Iyo, while Rex Noblejas and John Rommel Valencia appealed to the younger people in the audience with Mangarap Ka and its lively beat.
The full choir included Avic Peres de Leon, Joyce Mendoza, Ma. Teresa Oliveros Lalata, Bern Tanquilut, Anthony Sim, Fernando Sales, PJ Syjongtian, and Jun Tanquilut accompanied on the piano by Jillian Foster Fair. The choir concluded their program with Christmas songs, starting with a wistful White Christmas by Sam Penola and ending with the rousing Ang Pasko ay Sumapit. Just as the dancers showcased the colours and costumes of the south, the choir displayed the elegant Filipino terno and the delicate barong.
The Sampaguita Dance Group is led by Jean Graciela Enriquez Penola. Jean came to Victoria as an international student in 2017 and obtained a master’s degree in Intercultural and International Communication from Royal Roads University in 2019. She taught English at the Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology and currently teaches English at Camosun College, while also working for the BC Public Service. Jean and Geoffrey Penola and Clarissa Mijares were the lead dancers and choreographers for Victoria Filipino Canadian Association’s (VFCA) Balikbayan, a dance and musical show presented by the VFCA in 2022.
The choir is led by Ruby Tiburcio Llaguno. Ruby started playing the organ at the very young age of 10. She holds a master’s degree in Music from California State University in Sacramento, USA and has served as music director for churches in Manila, California, and Ontario. The choir was also part of Balikbayan in 2022.
The choir and the dance group are part of the Bayanihan Creative Collective (BCC) of the VFCA launched in June 2024. Guiding the group from among the VFCA Board of Directors is Laila Pires. The third component of the BCC is the Kalinangan Theatre Ensemble, led by Francis Matheu.
At the end of Paghimugso, a replica of the Philippine nipa hut was brought in to mark the close of the year-long observance of Philippine Canadian diplomatic relations. The Bayanihan Community Centre itself was also covered with lights. The evening was a celebration of Philippine culture and music, the joy of the Christmas season, and indeed, the talent that abounds in the Filipino Canadian community of Victoria.
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