Category: The Cordillera Connection

London,UK– Filipinos in the United Kingdom has once again showed their unity and solidarity when they gathered to support The Cordillera Connection/ TCC’s BUILDING DREAMS Charity Event at St. Boniface Hall, Tooting, held 29 March 2014. The event was organised to fundraise for TCC’s scholarship program at Benguet State University and in La Union, Philippines.
Here is Ela Hidalgo’s statement, the event’s key organiser:
“It was a long preparations that TCC staffs and I had for this Spring Charity Event. I am so happy for the amount of people who donated and sponsored to make this event possible and to make my birthday wish come true.

I started worrying last night that there will be no people turning up because I received messages from my friends saying that they can no longer come due to certain reasons. So all I did was I PRaYED for a miracle that there will be people there to make the event successful.

It was quite disappointing when it was already 4PM when there were only less than 10 people in the hall which delayed the start of the programme.

We started the programme though the hall was not full. After 6PM, I was so surprised with the amount of people who came in until the hall was full. I was so overwhelmed with the result of the event. God answered my prayer and the prayers of TCC members.

I would like to thanks the following sponsors, Elizon Lazaro of Century Properties who donated £100, Dr. G.Z who donated £100, Marvin Guzman of Finest Workers : £160 and for donating the Eraserheads Gift Package that has a £55.00 bid.. Thelma Manville-£25, Lindsay Palmer-£10.00.., Joemar Carillo for the cupcakes, Jhermy Ezperanzante for the assorted bottles of soft drinks, Rommel Balacanao for the bottles of beers, my landlady for the Pakistani finger foods and the others whom I do not know personally but donated foods for the event.

Thank you to the following donors of auction/ raffle items: Pat Coleman for the 4 days in La Mangga Apartment in Spain which raised for £160.. For our artists’ paintings that raised nearly a hundred. To Kalesa restaurant who gave the meal voucher for our winning bidder to have a date with our performer Manel Roxas that raised £50.. To Camarines Sur Organization who donated the galvanic spa for 2, 5 vouchers of hair wash, cut & blow from Terry of Majabella Salon, Jeannie Bandejas for the wine holder, Mark Barton for the flappy bird radio controlled, set of harry potter cds and a box of pringles….. To Tsering for the champagne, Reena Pillay for the vase, To the person who donated the West side story with live orchestra in Royal Albert Hall….

Thanks also to Salad Master who have donated food processor for raffle and has generated almost £200.00. and Royale for bringing in their members..

To all the performers, thank you.. For our special guests who gave their time for the event, Maddison Vulic ( Top Model Worldwide finalist), Renee Montemayor ( Actress) & Julian Essex- Spurrier ( West end actor). We also have VIP guests, Councilor Danny Favor & Wife Maribel Favor and the well known Feng shui master, Maritess Allen…thank you for your presence.

I personally thank all my friends who travelled all the way from Eastbourne, East Grinstead and Petersborough just to support the event..I really do appreciate it so much…

Lastly, thank you to our media partners, One Philippines, Hello Philippines… To Wynchu Of Smart Pinoy UK. To the djs and my co-hosts, thank you….

To everyone who are there present .. Thank you so much for being a part in building the dreams of those less priviledged children in the Philippines….

Big Thank you to The Cordillera Connecion for working with me. Thank you to all the friends I have now through TCC.. Mabuhay ang TCC

Thanks to all our Performers who shared their knowledge and also your donations:
Kate Malabanan
Chelsea Occena Bea ( Ador’s daughter)
Manel Roxas
Alexa Taag
Jhermy Ezperazante
Rommel Balacanao
Grace Quinto
Ryan Serneo
Ela Hidalgo
Renee Montemayor
Julian Essex-Spurrier
Crossborder ( Ka Roni, Liza, Ador, Marben)
MMB (Godfrey Astudillo, Carolyn Mitas, Dexter Dagupen, Deltour Palbusa)
TCC Dancers

London,UK- The BUILDING DREAMS SPRING CHARITY EVENT happening on 29 March at The Saint Boniface Hall, 185 Mitcham Road, Tooting, London SW17 9PG, starting 4PM, will be featuring The CROSSBORDER BAND, composed of musicians from the Ilocos Region (Ka Roni of Radyo Manila UK, RMUK), Pangasinan/ Manila/ Central Luzon (Liza), Cordillera Administrative Region ( Marben), and the Visayas and Mindanao Region (Ador).

The Filipino Love Song, Kahit Maputi o Wala na Ang Buhok Ko, popular to many filipinos and even foreigners, is one of their covers. If you want more of these songs, do attend the event on March 29 and meet the band and other Pinoy talents here in UK including our Pinay Pride, Renee Montemayor, former Miss Saigon. See you in Tooting, Saint Boniface Hall.

London, UK- The Cordillera Connection (TCC), one of the lead organisers of The Ultimate Dance Competition 2014 in UK, is proud to have The Voice-UK’s Jade Peters and young Filipino and British Dance artists at the first preliminary competition held in Colchester on March 15.

The winners of the preliminary contest, 1 from the team competition and 1 from solo competition will advance to the final competition in London in December.

There will be 10 preliminary competitions to be held around UK within the year. Filipino communities in the UK who are interested to host one of the preliminary contests are advised to contact TCC as soon as possible. Confirmed host communities include Mitcham for London, Watford, Stevanage, and Norwich. Leeds and Exeter are being worked out.

Hong Kong- A concert in Hongkong featuring Cordilleran Singers is beng organised, aptly entitled OFW FROLICS 2014 FOR A CAUSE which will be held June 2014 in HK. Sponsored by the Benguet Federation (BF), a federation of groups of Municipalities of Benguet working in HK, where Michele Apalla is based, one of TCC’s coordinators. Marsita Singwey, President, and another officer Rosemarie Ticag, convinced fellow officers of BF to sponsor this event which was planned last year yet. The SINGING PRIESTS (Frs. Mario Tambic, Manny panayo, and Jobo Cabading) will perform together with Cordilerans performing in Macau, China. Greg Taag, TCC-Philippines President will hopefully sing with the group. This will generate funds for the beneficiaries and scholars.

 

In between the activity, there will be playing of gongs and cultural dances. The target date shall be either 2nd or 3rd Sunday of June. This will constitute as a tribute too to all Mothers and Fathers there since May and June are dedicated to them. TCC/TCBCI, as agreed upon, will take care of the printing of the tickets and production of the tarpaulins. When all shall be fixed, Marsite and Rosemarie shall give all the details needed in the ticket and tarp production. We offer this activity to the Lord so that all impediments shall be overhauled and we will be able to raise funds for our beneficiaries.

 

This year, aside from concerts for a cause, TCC also organised a Dinner For A Cause held last February 14 at the La Trinidad municipal Gym. There were almost 400 people in attendance to eat and sing and dance for the beneficiaries.

Also, The Chinese community shared their blessings to our fellow Cordillerans thru Bell Church- Baguio wherein they donated 5 cartons of Sunbest Mushroom to TCC beneficiaries and scholars.

 

Hong Kong- A concert in Hongkong featuring Cordilleran Singers is beng organised, aptly entitled OFW FROLICS 2014 FOR A CAUSE which will be held June 2014 in HK. Sponsored by the Benguet Federation (BF), a federation of groups of Municipalities of Benguet working in HK, where Michele Apalla is based, one of TCC’s coordinators. Marsita Singwey, President, and another officer Rosemarie Ticag, convinced fellow officers of BF to sponsor this event which was planned last year yet. The SINGING PRIESTS (Frs. Mario Tambic, Manny panayo, and Jobo Cabading) will perform together with Cordilerans performing in Macau, China. Greg Taag, TCC-Philippines President will hopefully sing with the group. This will generate funds for the beneficiaries and scholars.

In between the activity, there will be playing of gongs and cultural dances. The target date shall be either 2nd or 3rd Sunday of June. This will constitute as a tribute too to all Mothers and Fathers there since May and June are dedicated to them. TCC/TCBCI, as agreed upon, will take care of the printing of the tickets and production of the tarpaulins. When all shall be fixed, Marsite and Rosemarie shall give all the details needed in the ticket and tarp production. We offer this activity to the Lord so that all impediments shall be overhauled and we will be able to raise funds for our beneficiaries.

This year, aside from concerts for a cause, TCC also organised a Dinner For A Cause held last February 14 at the La Trinidad municipal Gym. There were almost 400 people in attendance to eat and sing and dance for the beneficiaries.

Also, The Chinese community shared their blessings to our fellow Cordillerans thru Bell Church- Baguio wherein they donated 5 cartons of Sunbest Mushroom to TCC beneficiaries and scholars.

London, United Kingdom- Filipinos in United Kingdom are braced to participate in the upcoming Building Dreams Spring Charity Event on 29 March 2014, at St Boniface Hall, 185 Mitcham Road, Tooting, SW17 9PG with the aim to fundraise for Cordillera scholars in Benguet State University.

Filipino musicians based in London, led by Ms Ela Hidalgo are actively volunteering their talents to support this charity event. Featured in this event are the Benguet and Cordillera Native Dances to be performed by Cordilleran ladies, live music performance from Ela Hidalgo from La Union, Jun Degamon from Mindanao, Crossborder Band (members: Ka Roni- Ilocos Region, Liza Ferreol-Pangasinan/Manila, Ador-Davao, and Marben Orfiano- Cordillera), Kizboxrye Band, Jhermy Ezperanzate, Rommel Balacanao, Chelsea Occena, Grace Quinto- Pangasinan, Wynchu Del Importante- Bicol, Manel Roxas- Visayas, E-bot Pentiano Soriano from Benguet, others Like the Mountain Music Band singers from Cordilleras and a Solo Dance performance from Kate Diane Malabanan from Bulacan.

Special Guest also include Jade Peters, a British talent, and a Philippine Pride, former Miss Saigon, Renee Montemayor.

Filipino businesses are also taking part thru donations and partnerships. These include Hello Philippines Newspaper Magazine, One Philippines, Smart Pinoy UK, Finest Workers UK, Kalesa Restaurant, and Majabella Saloon. Also,  A British apartment owner in La Manga, Spain offered free accomodation holiday package and an employer has donated West Side Story Tickets to be auctioned on the event. Another Fil-Brit Singer, Thelma Potente Manville, has also donated £25 as her support for the event.

The Finest Workers UK thru Mr Marvin Guzman will also be sponsoring and be donating Concert Eraserheads Tickets to be raffled  at the event.

The active organising committee are TCC’s trustees and coordinators: Judith Angog, Betsy Fadlen, Cindy Marcos, Josephine Taag and other supporters including a British-Italian Solicitor who is keen of helping with the cause.

The charity event aims to raise funds for the scholars to secure their full education.

Warning: This article may hurt you if you are not ready to accept reality. Don’t proceed otherwise.

Many times Igorots or Cordillerans have been one of the victims of racial discriminations or racial slurs. It does hurt to hear such. Having been a subject for this matter, what actions have we done on our part to deal with it? Tell yourself.

Here are some few points that each one of us might want to think about:

TOO MUCH BRAGGING OF BEING AN IGOROT (or even FILIPINO when you are abroad) and that’s the END of it- What does it do when you say to the person next to you that you are an Igorot, that you are from Baguio, that you are from the Philippines? What difference does it do to you as a person? Have the English people bragged about their race being an English when they conquered most of the world? Are they bragging about themselves being an English that “English is the International Language? Did Steve Jobs boasted that he is an “American” rather than being proud of his excellent Apple Gadget inventions?

“Can we think many times before we shout to the world or before we become so outspoken about us being an Igorot, Filipino or whatever identity we are in?” Are we really so different among others? If yes we have a unique difference, what does it do to the world?

Being proud of our cultural costumes, gongs, and ethnic dances? We are not so different at all. Many ethnic groups in the world have their own ethnicity and cultural authenticity. Muslims, Arabs, Western People and Chinese have their own gongs or other musical instruments, costumes and other cultural figures. They have their own music, we have our own. We are unique and different in our own terms. Nothing is on top of any other culture. We are unique in our own ways.

So here is the point, whether you are an Igorot, ilocano, tagalog, bisaya, muslim, chinese, english, american, african, arab, mexican, or whatever ethnic group or race you belong, there is no big deal and there’s no point to discriminate others or boast about yourself. We are all the same but ironically unique in our own ways. Just be proud of what you can do for the world and humanity.

Being offensive or defensive, discriminatory or being so Boastful of who you are, are some kind of personal and psychological problem. Don’t be one of them.

LONDON- The Cordillera Connection (TCC) was able to raise £1,750.00 for Bohol Earthquake and Typhoon Yolanda victims with its recently held Pinoy Night 2, Jam & Concert for a cause in Kilburn. This includes the £400.00 raised by the Pathology Department at King’s College Hospital.

TCC Trustees, Judith Angog, Cynthia Marcos, Lilia Baguingey, Marben Orfiano, and Fundraising Coordinator Betsy Fadlen convened and decided on the allocation of these funds. The resulting agreement yielded a decision to allocate £500.00 (Php36,000) for a family directly affected by the Typhoon in Palo, Leyte. The family is also willing to do a feeding program for school children at a particular school in Palo. Another £500.00 is awarded to a family in Anda, Bohol affected by the earthquake. They will also do relief operation in their community.

The remaining £750.00 (Php54,000.00) is now being offered as a grant to any Bohol or Leyte-Based organisation who are doing community or rehabilitation projects in the area. Any interested party may contact us at thecordilleraconnection@yahoo.com or thru this website.

Please note: We will require documentations from the recipient on how the fund is used as well as acknowledgement of receipt of the fund.