MANILA, Philippines — The 125th Philippine Independence Day celebrations started early this year, at the world’s de facto capital no less, New York City.
Last June 4, many contingents from the Philippines and the United States of America converged in the streets of New York in a grand parade that showcased our culture and heritage.
On full display is the beauty of the Filipina. The reigning Miss Universe, R’Bonney Nola Gabriel, proudly flaunted her Filipino ancestry.
“Honoring Philippine Independence Day, my father’s home country, and the spirit of Filipinos yesterday [at] the annual @pidciofficial celebration,” the Texas native, wearing Kultura Filipino and Maticevski, posted on her Instagram. “Everytime Filipinos get together its a party, so thank you @pidciofficial for having me out at the largest gathering of Filipinos in America. Sunday Funday in NYC #filampride #missuniverse2022.”
The PIDCI, or the Philippine Independence Day Council Inc. Under Nora Galleros, organizes, plans, executes and directs the annual commemoration of Philippine Independence in NYC.
The council partnered with Neocolors Productions & Advertising Inc., under Chief Executive Officer Dr. Christine May Daguno-Canoy, and Neocolors Productions & Advertising International Inc., under CEO Gina Reyes-Heil, and invited Miss World 2013 Megan Young, Miss Universe 2010 Fourth Runner-up Venus Raj and actor Xian Lim to also grace the 33rd PIDCI Philippine Independence Day grand parade.
The night before, the three guest celebrities participated in a fashion show called “Fabulous Philippines 2” produced by Neocolors featuring "Project Runway Philippines" alum and celebrity designer Cherry Samuya Veric, at the Gold Room of Astoria World Manor, Queens. So it was but natural that all three wore Veric’s Filipiniana outfits at the parade.
“Celebrating the Philippine Independence day here in NYC. Thank you to all our wonderful kababayan who celebrated along with us,” the Kapuso actor posted on Instagram.
“I wanted his barong Tagalog to look as neutral as possible to emphasize his Chinito aura and at the same time emphasize the printed-crepe terno of Megan and Venus when they appear together,” Veric said of his creation for the heartthrob host.
Megan, who will next be seen on GMA’s "Royal Blood," “exudes verve and spunk in a Cherry Veric piece that blends Filipiniana with the New York icon, the yellow taxi.”
“You can never go wrong with the yellow taxi when it comes to New York City; it’s the emblem of the city, of the people moving around it, and especially for me who worked as a fashion designer abroad, of people working in the diaspora, away from home,” Veric explained. “By calling attention to this often visible yet taken for granted thing, I hope to honor the faceless people, Filipinos abroad, who make city lives more bearable.”
Raj, who hosts “The Major Major Podcast,” splashes “headlines in a Cherry Veric number that pays tribute to the Filipiniana and the landmark newspaper, the New York Times. The news? Filipino style is top of the universe.”
“For the New York Times inspiration, I also wanted to highlight a thing from the everyday life of NYC, and the NYT has long been there as the newspaper of record, representing the shared memory. But what I want to memorialize with the piece is the migrant life of Filipinos in the US,” said Veric. “So in this black and white terno with texts, I fused the memory of a Filipino home with the location of a new American life. No matter where we are, home follows us, and we make home where we are. That ought to be the headline of migrant life everywhere, right?”
RELATED: ‘I feel lucky to be Filipino’: Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel rocks Terno at Miss Universe Philippines Gala Night