Filipino Students Showcase Pride and Culture at the Battle of the Bamboo
Introduction of the performers at the start of the Battle of the Bamboo held at the UIC Forum on 24 February 2018. (Photo courtesy of Ms. Anna Liza F. Alcantara)
01 March 2018 CHICAGO — The Consulate General in Chicago through Consul General Gina A. Jamoralin supported the annual Battle of the Bamboo held at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Forum on February 24.
The Battle of the Bamboo is an annual Filipino cultural dance competition among different schools in Chicago and the Midwest. In its 15th year, the Filipinos in Alliance (FIA) hosted the yearly event aimed at enriching people’s understanding of Filipino American heritage. The FIA at the University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the member schools of the Midwest Association of Filipino Americans (MAFA) whose objective is to promote unity and cooperation among Filipino and Filipino-Americans around the Midwest.
This year’s competing schools/dance troupes were Marquette University’s Bayanihan Cultural, Niles North High School’s Kapit Bayan, Northside College Preparatory High School’s Isang Hakbang, St. Louis Univerity’s Filipino Student Association, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s PSA Barkada and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor’s FASA Traditional.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Philippine Student Association (PSA) group that performed the legend of “Alitaptap” emerged as the champion. The second-place winner went to Niles North High School and third place finisher was Marquette University. END
For more information, visit www.chicagopcg.dfa.gov.ph/ www.chicagopcg.com or https://www.facebook.com/PHinChicago.
Group Photo with Consul General Gina A. Jamoralin with the Filipino-American community before the start of the Battle of the Bamboo. (Photo courtesy of Ms. Anna Liza F. Alcantara)