The Highlight of the Gala Ball

“The Sakadas Started It All.” Little did they know that 100 years after they landed in Hawaii to work as sugar planters, they will be honored all over the United States and their legacy will forever remain in the mind and hearts of the Filipino Americans who came later.

The Gala Ball, one of the highlights of the centennial celebrations sponsored by the Philippine American Foundation for Charities (PAFC) was a success. Attendees arrived in elegant Filipino attire or in black tie. Chairpersons Gloria Caoile and Lottie Buhain exercised their expertise in planning and organizing to make sure that everyone had a grand time. The contents of the program were well-balanced and the numbers were well thought of and properly timed. Dr. Bayani Manalo, the Program Director, was very mindful of strict following of the script. As his Co-Program Director, I totally agreed. That evening, everything went on smoothly as planned. The gala ball was blessed with the presence of His Eminence, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Archibishop of Washington. What an honor! He delivered the invocation and graciously gave a farewell message to the community. He received a standing ovation. We thanked the husband-wife team of Orly and Ruby Barbosa for making this happen. “Malakas sila sa ”itaas," wika nga .

Ambassador Albert del Rosario, the most beloved Ambassador in Washington, D.C., gave a warm speech to the Filipino American community. There was a tinge of goodbye message, though, which most of us did not really pay attention to because we did not like to hear it. What sets him apart from his predecessors is his charismatic personality with very pleasant demeanor. Such is the case with his wife, Mrs. Gretchen del Rosario, a very gracious lady. Her looks are oozing with class, but when one gets the chance to talk to her, she is evidently humble. There was a lot of “kodakan” with this popular couple until late that evening.

Al Rivera, Director of Catering at J.W. Marriot, was responsible for the great food served - Crab Cakes and Steak. Masaya ang lahat. The band, D’Originals led by Alex Paragas, did a wonderful job. Both the ballroom dancers and the non-ballroom dancers were satisfied with his music.

The table center pieces were beautifully and artistically arranged. The Anthurium flowers which were directly flown from Hawaii were just donations - thanks to the connections of Gloria Caoile.

The decoration committee was headed by Lyta Sese. The whole program was properly documented by the ever reliable videographer Lito Serrano of Channel 58.

Now, let me talk about my favorite part of the program, the dance presentation. To give you a little background, when Gloria Caoile and Lottie Buhain, co-chairs for the gala, and I met to discuss about the entertainment number, I was challenged. The show should revolve around the theme - the three major waves of the Filipino arrivals in America. The 1st Wave was the arrival of the sakadas in 1906; the 2nd Wave was the coming or the War Brides and families in 1945; and 3rd was the professionals in 1965. My mind works best when challenged and put under pressure and ideas pop up in my head before I put myself to sleep or waking up in the morning.

I translated or interpreted the theme to dance numbers and aptly named the show. To create the scenario, the opening music was “I Am Hawaii” followed by a Hawaiian dance interpretation of “Blue Hawaii.” Dancers tapped from the community were Millette Suarez, Midgie Cajayon, Myrna Lopez, Jovy Eusebio, Cathy Fadul and Alexandra Malaty. Then the sakadas (the bida of the show) entered wearing old shirts over working pants, buri hats and rubberized working boots. They were carrying pieces of sugar cane that I found at Grand Mart grocery store. The dancers went through the motion of planting them. Dr. Abe Bacarra (a GI or genuine Ilocano) and Presy Guevara, whom I picked as those among the sugar planters, showed me the proper way of planting the tubo or sugar cane. I had fun with this teaching episode. They were not farm workers, OK? So, they gave me soft planting motions. I had to say something like “If I were the employer who hired you to work, I would have sent you back to the Philippines. Can we move like macho men?” That did it! They now moved forcefully even with energetic sound. I was satisfied. The other dancers were Ferdie Gomez, Vic Carag, Mitch Lopez and Pat Pagsibigan. Let me go back to the 15 sakadas lined up in front of the stage. These men were actually just painting, almost lifesize. The background was another painting of a big ship. The artist was Ric Sese and his colleagues at PAMWE, an association of architecs and engineers.

In the 2nd Wave, the wives and children of the Filipinos in the military were allowed by the immigration to enter the United States known as the War Bride Act. Here, I tapped five men to wear the military uniform with their spouses as their partner. The ladies wore white long ensemble using the Filipino kimona at panuelo . I added a bunch of flowers as a prop for each lady, to depict them as the brides of the military men. The men looked handsome in their uniform.

I must confess that only two of the five performers were real military men - Tony Bautista, who retired a few years back and Mito Tabones who is still on active duty. The rest, Ramon Calalang, Danny Lunaria and Efren Sangalang just borrowed their uniforms - Danny and Efren, from their sons and Ramon, from Mito. The ladies - Ched Bautista, Susana Torres (the only single in the group), Mila Lunaria, Carmelita Sangalang ang Jennifer Tabones were the graceful brides.

The 3rd Wave was both entertaining and hilarious. I put a lot of humor in this last wave. The opening scene was the arrival of the professionals in 1965 with the music background of “I Wanna Be In America.” Here the performers did some acting on top of dancing. All wore blazers with the women carrying native Philippine bags. The men wore polyester pants and were carrying cameras.

Part of the act was: they were awed with the sight of the tall buildings. The newly arrived professionals jumped up and down with joy and kodakan here and there. Then, they danced the Rock N’ Roll with gusto. This was the dance of the 60’s. Performers were - Minerva Rosenthal and Ernie Cordero, Linda and Boyet Peralta, Grace and Len Sese. They were so easy to direct in the opening act. They were natural actors and I was so delighted with them, and so with the audience.

The next dance was the “Y.M.C.A.” with Jon Melegrito (construction worker), Jun Quion (doctor), Bobby Tamayo (policeman) and Dave Pagsibigan (firefighter) as the performers. Jon moved with “give na give” actions and the rest were so serious with their marching steps.What was so hilarious was when “New York, New York” was performed by Lovette Rosales Llantos. The moment she entered, the interaction between her and the four rugged men was put into play. She was costumed broadway style in gold lame’ blazer, hat, and fishnet stockings (she got away with this). Teaching her jazzy and sexy movements was a breeze. I really did not have a hard time. Showing her the movements once, she got it right away, very confortable with the sexy motions, bumps and swayings. Highlight of the dance was when she was down on the floor and her sudden rising up to be held up airborne by the four “Y.M.C.A.” men. This was the exit part when Jon brought the house down with his parting antics. It was a pure delightful scene.

The last dance that I chose was a hustle/swing number with the music “I Will Survive.” I placed some meaning to the title of the dance in connection with the newly arrived professionals. The performers here were the same dancers of the “Rock N’ Roll.” Then, I wanted a dramatic finale.

The juice in my brain was at work again. I made use of the painting that I mentioned earlier. I assigned “live sakadas” in front of the men in the painting. When all the other participants have made their exit, the 15 live sakadas were montionless in front of the painting with a three-dimension effect. No music. Just the sight. Then, as I pre-arranged with the band, “Pamulinawen” was played, an Ilocano song. As we all know by now, the sakadas were all Ilocanos. At this point, the men became alive and marched to a line formation when the band played “Blue Hawaii.” The 15 sakadas displayed 15 cards with the names of the original sugar planter that were hired in Hawaii clearly printed (thanks to Kevin and Maurese Owens for these name cards). The audience had the chance to read the names one by one (one last name was De Jesus, could I be related to him? I am from the Tagalog region, but who knows). After a few minutes, the band played “Mabuhay” and the “stars” of the show marched to their final exit.

People expressed their appreciation for the show, including Ambassador and Mrs. Albert del Rosario. Bayani Manalo called me to give a little speech. It gave me a chance to say something about how the show came about and thanked all the performers - amateurs, but wonderful. To summarize, the gala ball was a big success.

The Pitoy Moreno Fashion Show

As a part of the centennial celebration, a fashion show by world renowned Pitoy Moreno was held on June 17, 2006 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C. sponsored by the Embassy of the Philippines. This was a once-in-a-lifetime Centennial Tribute Gala honoring Filipinos in America.

Before the show, the hotel’s lobby was busy with elegantly dressed Filipino Americans and Americans who were having Hors D’ Oeuvres and socializing around while waiting for the doors to the ballroom open. Inside the ballroom socializing continued. Seen in attendance were: Cristeta Comerford, Susan Ralston, Harry and Vellie Dietrich Hall and daughter Ayn Dietrich, Consul General Rowena M. Sanchez, Armando Heredia, Jun and Julia Paul, Pio and Ina Poblete, Danny and Nycthia Prieto, Emma Valeriano, Ramon and Pia Penala, Bert Alfaro and Lito Katigbak.

The dinner menu was excellent with a starter, Lumpia Sariwa. Main entree was Morcon style beef with tasty sauce. The dessert was supposed to be Halo-Halo, but the hotel version was an icy cut up fresh tropical fruits. The emcees for the evening were Todd McDermott of WUSA 9 News Anchor and Bessie Badilla del Castillo, a model and TV personality in the Philippines.

These two had a working chemistry while emceeing. Three important speakers were called to give their remarks: Ambassador Albert F. del Rosario, The Honorable Alberto G. Romulo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and The Honorable John Negroponte, Director of National Intelligence.

The show was both educational and entertaining. Each type of costume had its history as shown on the screen. The female models were tall, slim and beautiful, a combination of exotic and mestiza type. The male models were also tall and handsome.

Three days before the fashion show, we went to the Reagan National Airport to meet and pick up Pitoy Moreno and his top models from the Philippines. My specific assignment was as a coordinator of the groups’ hotel activities like the rehearsals. At the airport, Lito Serrano of Channel 58 had requested me to interview Pitoy and rest of the models when they arrived. OK, I agreed.

Hopefully, he remembers me. Back in the Philippines, in college, I was a member of the FEU Folk Dance Group that toured Europe. Pitoy was one of the four couturiers who was commissioned by the university to do our costumes. One of the costumes he did for me was a Maria Clara adorned with red velvet material accented with big patches of flowers. The first time I wore it was during our initial performance at the Sarah Bernhart theater in Paris. The other one that he made for me was a golden yellow chiffon terno adorned with a big cabbage rose at the bottom front which I vividly remember I wore at the Champ Elysee Palace, also in Paris, upon the invitation of the Vice-President of France. Later back in Manila, I also used the same Maria Clara when I posed for a photo taken in front of San Agustin Church in Intramuros. This photo was used by Caltex for their calendar. If he forgets, I can show him my album and the framed calendar picture which I still have at home.

As soon as I saw the group approaching, I started the interview with Pitoy. His stature was still the same. He might have aged, but his face was still glowing