As emailed for posting by Jojo Taduran

The BIA (Business Improvement Area) committee couldn’t ask for a better weather for the Cabbagetown Festival parade, September 12. It was perfect! The parade started right on time, there were more sidewalk vendors, and Parliament Street was jammed with people.

The FCT had, as always, the largest contingent among ethnic participants in the parade. Through the efforts of active volunteer Mila Lupango, over 170 members from 20 Filipino groups, dressed in attractive Philippine kimona and barong, showed up to join the parade.

Leading the Philippine marchers were the flag-bearing Legionnaires, Effie Doroteo, Mr. Sabile and Ted Cresencia. Not far behind were the Knights of Rizal, some FCT directors, the PIDC 2009 Mrs. Philippines, Rose Bongolan, and FCT Paraluman runner-up, Hilda Arcega.

Joining them were the Kayumanggi, The Pillars Seniors, Filipino Aspirations of Rizal with their muses – Carmen Hacuman, Marcela Miranda and Delsa Malate, Daughters of Isabella, FIL/PAR Association, Thorncliffe Seniors, Ang Magkakapitbahay, Canadian-Asian Dancers, Marian Mission, Ontario Filipino Women’s Club, PHIL/CAN Seniors Association, Silayan Association, Bleecker (85) Coop Association, Gerrard Resource Centre, Cabbagetown Centre, Hugh Garner Coop and Photo Association of Toronto.

Parade marshals were Felino Javier, Efren de Villa, Frank Maralag, Bernie Carreon and Francis Completo.

Snacks consisting of pizza, sandwiches, muffins and coke were served at the Rizal Hall to all parade participants by the food committee of Wendy Arena, Suzette Cresencia, Mercy Maliglig and Letty Guiab.


A surprise treat for everyone in the hall was the appearance of Filipino filmmaker Mike Escareal Sandejas and the cast of his film IF I KNEW WHAT YOU SAID (Dinig Sana Kita), one of two Philippine entries in the TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). He spoke about his film and introduced the main stars of his film, 16-year old Zoe Sandejas (Mike’s daughter) and Romalito Mallari (first Filipino deaf actor cast in a lead actor role).

A clipping of the film, which revolves around a romance between a girl rocker and a deaf dancer, was shown on the giant screen at the Rizal Hall. It was premiered on September 11 at the AMC. Other screenings are set for September 13 and 19 at the AMC.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the flurry of activities in the FCT, two FCT directors had their hands full with their own volunteer work. Dr. Mario Andres with Perla, his wife, as his receptionist, was working overtime to see an overflow of patients. While at the Ottawa Hall, Dr. Maselle Virey was engrossed in psychiatric consultation and mentoring.

At the FCT table set up on the street outside the building, Mercy Maliglig and Cecile Kolmegies made fast sales on some pieces of costume jewelry (donated to the FCT by a generous merchant). They expected another quick sale on the second day of the festival. They said that people came by to ask about the FCT street show, which was a popular entertainment in the festival in the past years. But the president Lynda Javier says that the directors are overwhelmed with too many activities. No one can take over, next year perhaps?

Marvellous Marvin at the FCT

There’s absolutely more to Marvin Sonsona than meets the eye. When he arrived at the FCT for a press conference the day before his Rumble at Rama, he looked rather feisty in a flashy jacket which he said were the colours of our flag. Yet, his young boyish face and his thin frame conveyed a non-combatant image.

“Oh, the poor thing,” gasped a woman in the audience, “he’s so young and frail! He’ll be clobbered by Lopez.”

But as he sat down for the interview along with his promoter, managers and trainer, 19-year-old Marvin, spoke with ease and confidence about his boxing success, having not lost a single fight. And in his 13 wins, 12 were knockouts.

Later on, as if to satisfy our inane curiosity, he proudly flexed his muscle and lifted the FCT shirt that he received from the Centre to show off a toned up torso. He could have righteously said, hey, this body is that of a junior bantamweight boxer which should not tip the scale beyond 115 lbs! Oops…

Since he was a kid at General Santos, the same city in Cotabato where boxing grand champ Manny Pacquiao comes from, he was fascinated with boxing. After joining the sport at age seven, he just kept winning bout after bout. The “tisoy” kid (the Spanish lineage comes from his grandfather) would eventually become “Marvellous” Marvin in the sports world.

Rumble at Rama was going to be Sonsona’s first time to fight outside the Philippines. He was grateful to Manny Pacquiao for opening the door for Philippine boxers, as well as to co-promoter Allan Tremblay for giving him the opportunity to fight in Canada. If he wins this match, he will be the new World Junior Bantamweight Champion. There will be a series of fights to follow, perhaps, as early as October.

Sonsona and his team were surprised to meet so many Filipinos in Toronto and felt awed by their friendliness and hospitality. His promoter, Sammy Gello-ani, said that they appreciated the gesture of the FCT for inviting them over and that Marvin felt at home and comfortable in Toronto.

Over at Casino Rama

Who would not get excited now that the event of Sonsona vs Lopez was well-nigh ready to start? The line-up for tickets had stretched all the way to the hallways. There were hundreds of Filipinos who traveled from far distances by buses and cars to attend this first Filipino boxing event in Canada.

Not many women have the guts to watch a boxing match. Those of us who came anyway were there to give away our tickets (given free to members by Casino Rama) as tickets were all sold out.

As it turned out, in a heart-stopping moment in the fourth round, Sonsona almost knocked out the Puerto Rican champion, but the latter regained power to challenge Sonsona until the twelfth round. At the end, Marvellous Marvin prevailed by a unanimous decision that was met by a thunderous joyful response from the Filipino crowd. The Sonsona-Lopez match, to quote the Toronto Star, “was the most exciting main event ever staged in the Rumble at Rama series”, attended by “hundreds of Filipino fans waving miniature Filipino flags.”

Tutorial classes to begin October 4

The Pilipino Class and Homework Club will start on Saturday, October 4. Pilipino is at 10:00 a.m., Homework Club at 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. Same time period as last year.

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