PH Featured in Saint-Josse Place Pour Tous Festival in Belgium

Ms. Celeste Legazpi and Sandino Martin perform at the opening of the sixth Saint-Josse Place Pour Tous Festival featuring the Philippines at the Claridge event venue in Brussels on 02 October 2018.

BRUSSELS 09 October 2018 – Filipina singing sensation Alienette Coldfire wowed an appreciative crowd composed of Filipinos, Belgians, and ASEAN diplomats to kick off the week-long sixth Saint-Josse Place Pour Tous Festival featuring the Philippines at the Claridge Event Venue in Brussels on 02 October 2018.

In his opening remarks delivered in both English and French, Ambassador to Belgium Eduardo José A. de Vega underscored the importance of people-to-people exchanges in maintaining excellent relations between the Philippines and Belgium.

Ambassador de Vega also thanked the officials of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode for offering the opportunity to showcase the artistic talents of Filipinos, and for their generosity in undertaking their charitable works in Binalonan.

The Philippine municipality of Binalonan in Pangasinan entered into a sister-city agreement with the municipality of Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode in 2015.

Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode has regularly held various activities to celebrate these ties, including the funding of books for the Central Municipal Library of Binalonan and several visits to Binalonan by Belgian delegations. This partnership enabled Saint Josse to feature the Philippines in this year’s Festival.

Saint-Josse-Ten-Noode Mayor Emir Kir was on hand to welcome Ambassador de Vega, Binalonan Mayor Ramon V. Guico III, ASEAN Ambassadors, and other officials to the Festival’s opening concert.

Filipino singers Celeste Legazpi and Sandino Martin opened the show with a medley of songs from the film “Ang Larawan,” a musical based on the play “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” by the late National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin.

A trailer of the film was also shown, with Ms. Legazpi inviting the audience to watch the film, which was shown on 04 October 2018 as part of the festival.

The visually-impaired Ms. Coldfire, a contestant of France’s Got Talent in 2016 where she finished third, was accompanied by Brussels-based Filipino concert pianist Michael Cu in spinning off hit after hit.

She opened her performance with “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston then proceeding with songs by Adele, Sarah McLachlan, Sharon Cuneta and the soundtrack of “Les Miserables,” among others.

The Filipina singer endeared herself to the Belgians in the audience by delivering some of her spiels in fluent French before launching into Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en Rose, Les Moulins de Mon Cœur,” Belgian singer Jacques Brel’s “Quand On N’a Que L’amour,” and her original composition “A La Hauteur De Ma Voix.”

Other festival activities include a visual arts exhibit on 03 October, a book reading on 05 October, an association day and solidarity meal on 06 October, and a brunch on 07 October.

For more information, please visit www.sjtn.brussels. END

Alienette Coldfire, accompanied by Brussels-based Filipino concert pianist Michael Cu, performs at the opening of the sixth Saint-Josse Place Pour Tous Festival featuring the Philippines at the Claridge event venue in Brussels on 2 October 2018.

For more information, visit www.brusselspe.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinBelgium.