Filipinos in Chile Hold Salu-Salo, Traditional Dance Contest for Kalayaan 2017 Celebrations
Filipino Community and Philippine Embassy officials held the 2017 Independence Day celebrations for the Filipinos in Chile.
20 June 2017 SANTIAGO, CHILE — In celebration of the 119th Anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence, the Filipino community in Chile led the festivities in Santiago with a Filipino salu-salo and by holding a Philippine traditional dance contest at the Parroquia Italiana on June 03 wherein more than 200 Filipinos living in Chile participated in the event.
Philippine Embassy Chargé D’Affaires, a.i. Mr. Marcos Punsalang delivered his opening remarks in line with the Kalayaan 2017 theme, Pagbabagong, Sama-samang, Balikatin by highlighting the need to nurture the growing Filipino community by looking out for one another and strengthening ties with the local community.
For the traditional dance competition, two categories were set for the competition, with one group competing under the traditional folk dance category and the other all dancing the tinikling. Each category had seven groups each vying for the top prize.
The tinikling category was won by the Jesus is Lord group, whose four members elicited massive cheers from the crowd with their mastery of the dance. The folk dance category, meanwhile, was dominated by dancers of the Binuyugan. Other performers under the folk dance category performed the Dayang-Dayang, Singkil, and Cariñosa.
The event was organized by the community, led by the designated Filipino community coordinators, whose chief task is to check on Filipinos in times of crises and to encourage newly-arrived Filipino workers to register at the Embassy. The number of Filipinos in Chile has been steadily rising since 2013, with the population growing from about a hundred to 600 in a span of four years. Most have found work as household workers in a country that shares a Catholic, Hispanic heritage with the Philippines and also continues to enact labor-friendly policies that protect migrant workers.
For more information, visit www.santiagope.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/phembassychile. END
