In Fiesta Spirit

Last June 6, 2009, I was able to attend Las Vegas' 1^st Annual Fiesta Filipino at The Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza. With the theme " A Community Of One", the whole day fiesta event was spearheaded by the Las Vegas Fil-Am Lions Club in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This event was the first ever to be held in Las Vegas in line with the celebration of Philippine Independence Day. Being a Filipino myself I felt proud that the event was well attended by fellow countrymen. They were there to be delighted in our heritage, to feel the vibe and to get into the fiesta spirit.

Filipino businesses were all over the place. There were lots of food stalls, vendors, live entertainment, cultural exhibits, cultural performances, and guest appearances of some Filipino artists and entertainers. The Filipino rock diva, Mystica was one of the star hosts for the whole event. Filipino singers like Dessa and Brix Ferraris, former band member of Southborder (remember them?) and now with his own band 2DegreesF, were on hand to entertain the crowd. I was told that Imelda Papin performed in the variety show as well as the appearance of Filipino boxer and current IBF Junior Flyweight champion, Brian Veloria. In the program, Filipina singer and Las Vegas headliner Lani Misalucha was also set to perform. Maybe these all happened in the morning set of the celebration since I went to the event in the afternoon.

We all know that the month of May was considered the fiesta month considering all the festivals being celebrated all over the country during the peak of summer. Now it's already the month of June, summertime is already starting here in America while its already rainy season back home which signals the start of the school year, but we Filipinos who are far away from home still welcome any event like this that celebrates our own heritage and that we can proudly show off our culture to the whole world specially to our adopted country. Who would never love a celebration, and this is one way of telling to the world that we Filipinos, in spite of all the crisis happening in our own country, still loves to have fun together with our friends and families.