21 June 2015 – More than 300 Filipinos all across southern Africa gathered at the Philippine Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa on June 12 to celebrate the 118th year of Philippine Independence.
Philippine Ambassador to Pretoria Joseph Gerard B. Angeles led the gathering of Embassy personnel and the Filipino community in kicking off the day’s festivities with a flag-raising ceremony, followed by a Sunday mass, and culminating with a series of various dance and song presentations from the community.
Filipinos from the neighboring countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland and from all over South Africa, including those from the provinces of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo, Kwazulu Natal, Mpumalanga, Free State, and the North West flocked to the Embassy to join in on the festivities.
Traditional Filipino dances and Original Pilipino Music (OPM) songs were performed during the gathering while the Embassy prepared hearty Filipino foods to commemorate the Philippine Independence and to celebrate our Filipino identity.
The Embassy’s Independence Day celebration has become a much-awaited event as this provides an opportunity for all Filipino community members to meet their kababayans and to remind their families of their Filipino heritage, particularly the younger generation Filipinos who were born in southern Africa. END
