Doce Pares at 25th Barrio Fiesta, Hounslow
The 25th Annual Barrio Fiesta sa London was held on 18-19 July 2009, at Lampton Park, Hounslow.
Over 60,000 people, Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike, spent the weekend celebrating Filipino culture, food, arts and entertainment.
On Saturday, we met and greeted our friends in the Filipino community, as it is the one time of the year when we get to gather and share our year's successes and stories, all in one place.
We were also assigned as security personnel to three Filipino celebrities, two from the biggest Philippine TV network GMA: singer/comedian/actor Janno Gibbs and comedian/actor Arnel Ignacio; and the third one is Hollywood film star and blue power ranger Michael Copon, who also plays the lead role of the young king in The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior.
On Sunday, the crowd became even bigger and the fun got better. The day started with a mass, followed by a community parade which was lead by Doce Pares, with Instructor Ermar Alexander holding the country's pride, the Philippine flag. Behind us followed the Santa Cruzan parade which included the Igorot community, the Little Miss Philippines UK, Miss Philippines UK and many other British-Filipino organisations.
We also hosted a mini stickfighting tournament, the Barrio Fiesta Championship which included kids, cadets and adult categories. The competitors received medals and the winner, a trophy. Demonstrations were also showcased to the crowd who were showing great interest in learning more about our very own Filipino martial art.
Philippine Generations set-up camp right next to us to promote the free KULTURA workshop which will be held next Saturday, 25th July, where there will be free workshops on Filipino dance, Filipino martial art and drama, held in Asia House, London.
Modern Arnis Instructor Eric Amada also visited us on both days and did a quick demo showcasing the art of Eskrima.
Despite of the strong (and we mean strong!) winds and rains, the two-day affair was a very fruitful and successful event. We'd like to thank the organisers of the event and our community friends.
We aim to let the general public know that Filipino martial arts exists. We also aim to educate the British-Filipino community, especially the second generation, who have never heard of Filipino martial arts.
20 July 2009, Monday
Tel. 0208 960 5973 Mob. 078 900 40 222