Youth to celebrate Andres Bonifacio’s 150th birthday with 2 festivals

Progressive Filipino youth in New York and New Jersey will celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio as a working-class hero and a freedom fighter.

Two festivals will be held on November 30 in his honor: the Bayanihan Cultural Festival and the Sumisigaw Youth Festival to be held at St. Jacobus Lutheran Church, Rainbow Preschool Gym in Woodside, Queens. The theme for both festivals is “Celebrating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Andres Bonifacio, Continuing the Unfinished Revolution of 1896.”

“For many, Andres Bonifacio represents the more than 12 million Filipino migrant workers all over the world who are considered as the ‘modern-day heroes,’ fighting to survive in foreign lands to provide for their families,” said Lorena Sanchez-McRae of Philippine Forum-Kabalikat Domestic Workers’ Support Network.

“In this time of crisis in the Philippines, the Filipino people have looked to their leaders and found them wanting. This November 30th, Anakbayan New York, along with all other Anakbayan chapters around the world, are looking to the great heroes of our past to set the example for our present and our future,” said Matthew Cheirs II of Anakbayan New York.

The Bayanihan Cultural Festival was first held in June 2009 to celebrate Philippine Independence Day in Queens, where 80 percent of the Filipinos live in New York. “Bayanihan” means to show the spirit of communal unity to achieve a common purpose.

Sumisigaw Youth Festival has been held since November 2001 as part of Philippine Forum’s program to empower and showcase the talents of Filipino immigrant and Filipino-American youth in the community. The goal of “Sumisigaw,” or the act of shouting, is to give voice to the problems and issues of the Filipino youth.

The festivals will feature cultural performances, an interfaith service, a community mural painting, a food court (with the holiday delicacy, the ‘puto bumbong’), martial arts exhibition, free health screening, immigration and legal clinic, children’s art and craft, interactive workshops, Filipino games and more.

Other community partners include Kalusugan Coalition, BKP-NY, Florida 15 Trafficked Survivors, Community Outreach Project of Ellaine Carr & Associates, PLLC, Filipinas for Rights and Empowerment, New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Peoples’ Organization for Progress, Sisa Pakari Cultural and Labor Center, Frente Unido de Inmigrantes Ecuatorianos, Tough Guys International, Kinding Sindaw, National Alliance for Filipino Concerns and more.

For more information on the festivals, please contact 917-601-0378 or 646-578-7390 or email bayanihan.festival@gmail.com.