Registration and Petition Table
Food Table with the Cordillera delicacy "etag"
Co-emcees Beth Dollaga and Petra Durrance
Audience
Traditional Prayers
Audience stand for the prayers
Bibak Men sound the gongs to open the forum
Bibak men play the gongs in prayer
BIbak men rest their gongs while the prayers are said in the Cordillera dialect
First Nations elder Carol Martin addressing the audience "We will paddle together as peoples."
Carole Martin with First Nations women Felipa and Debbie
Carole, Felipa and Debbie: First Nations sisters
Common historical themes of colonialism and oppression
Carole Martin is moved by the gongs and the prayers.
Debbie says her greetings
Cesar Castro of the Igorot Global Organization
Cesar Castro, IGO
Orval Chapman, friend of the Filipino people, founding member of CPS-HR and member of United Church of Canada
Good crowd
Good turnout: trade unionists, BIBAK, church, First Nations, Migrante BC, general public who came because of the ad in the paper!
Nicole Burton Tindungan reads a poem on James Balao
James Balao disappeared last Sept 17, 2008 and has not been seen since.
Nicole Burton Tindungan reads the poem to remember James Balao
Nicole Burton Tindungan
Susan Spratt of the Canadian Auto Workers Union gives her solidarity greetings.
Susan Spratt, CAW
To the delight of the audience, she also sings a very inspiring song.
Susan Spratt of CAW singing
And she raises her clenched fist in the air!
Petra Durrance from the Victoria Solidarity Group
Yvette Stephenson of CPS-HR reads the statement for the 25th anniversary of the Cordillera Day
Yvette Stephenson shares her mixed heritage with the audience (Abra and UK)
Yvette Stephenson
Sharon Macgougan from Richmond Amnesty International Group 92
Dominga Passmore of the Bayanihan Community Centre of Victoria
Keynote speaker Dr. Chandu Claver begins his speech
The Cordillera
Attentive audience listens to Dr. Chandu. Jules Tindungan in his G-string.
Dr. Chandu Claver talking about the Chico River Dam and the first organized struggle by the Cordillera people against the building of the dam
The story of the Cordillera people
Dr. Chandu Claver
Solidarity!
Yoly de la Cruz of the BC Nurses Union asks a question
Ira makes a comment during the Q&A period
Dr Chandu during the Q&A period
And our banners were proudly displayed!
Manong Cesar Castro, Ira and Dr. Nora Angeles
E. Maestro from CPS-HR
Manang Petra, Beth Dollaga and E. Maestro
Babette Santos of the Kathara Canada, cultural performing group
Babette Santos explains the dance and music from Mindanao
Babette Santos
Babette and Jules Tindungan
Babette plays the 2-stringed kudyapi and Jules plays the drums
Babette and the kudyapi
Babette dancing with the sound of the drums
Filipino martial arts (arnis) sparring
And the gongs are struck.
The men take their positions with their pattong and gangsa
The Cordillera women follow ever so gracefully with their arms outstretched alongside the men
The crowd joins the dance circle
As it goes around the room
And more people join in making the dance circle bigger
And the feet move in cadence with the sound of the gangsa
And the dance goes on
and on
And the men sway to the left
And the crowd follows them
Happy dance circle
Babette Santos plays the drum and Jules Tindungan plays the kulintang
Preparing to do the dance and play the gongs
The dance begins again
One more time
Jules stands out with his red G-string
Mable Elmore, NDP candidate for Vancouver-Kensington, drops by to greet her supporters and friends
Mable Elmore, NDP candidate for Vancouver-Kensington
Dr. Chandu and the Bibak men and their gongs
The men pick up the lead
And people are drawn into the dance circle once again
Final dance where everyone joins in
And just like before, the dance circle gets wider and wider
Final dance
Even Mable Elmore steps to the beat of the gangsa
Mable Elmore joins the dance
CaroleMartin and our First Nations sisters join the dance too
The Cordillera Day is political in content but festive in format. And so it was that night.
And the dance goes on and on
Bootz, BIBAK and CPS-HR member, is an expert dancer
Erie is not
Chandu and the Bibak men bend to the left as they pound their gongs
They rise still pounding their gongs
They turn to the right
And everyone follows their lead
Smiling faces after a successful event
More smiling faces
A successful first Cordillera Day
