3 September 2022, The Hague – Philippine crafts, products, music and martial arts were showcased at the Philippine Embassy Pavilion on September 3 at downtown The Hague.
The Hague City Mayor Hon. Jan van Zanen visited the Philippine Pavilion, and was welcomed by Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya. The Mayor was presented the ‘Masarap Cookbook’ by Mr. Remco Pijper of the Stichting Sparrow and Consul General Lolita B. Capco.
Mayor van Zanen also gamely joined the ASEAN Ambassadors in The Hague for the traditional “ASEAN Link-Arms” pose at the ASEAN village. Ambassador Malaya is the Chair of the ASEAN The Hague Committee. The “Embassy Festival” was participated in by 55 Embassies, and thousands of visitors attended the event.
“We thank the Filipino-Dutch entrepreneurs who brought their products and joined us at the Philippine Pavilion. Together with the Filipino band and Dutch arnis experts, we were able to give a taste and glimpse of Philippine products and culture to the Dutch and international community in The Hague,” Malaya said.
The “Masarap Cookbook,'' which is published by the Stichting Foundation, captured the interests of Dutch food lovers as it is the first-ever Filipino cookbook in the Dutch language. It features Filipino favorite cuisines, such as “Bicol express”, “chicken adobo,” “menudo”, and “kare-kare,” among others. The Sparrow Foundation conducts education programs, such as scholarships, the provision of a study house and other guidance projects in Calapan, Mindoro.
The Philippine Pavilion featured home decor and accessories by Kahoy.NL (www.kahoy.nl/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), food products imported by the Manila Trading (//www.manilatrading.nl/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) company, and the ‘Masarap Cookbook.’
From “sungka,” bamboo and rattan bags and trays to the famous “parol” (Christmas lanterns), Kahoy.NL, owned by Ms. Melba Tolentino, brought the Philippines’ exquisite creativity to the Netherlands through these crafts. The Manila Trading, a major importer and distributor of Philippine products owned by Mr. Ronald and Ms. Terry Gavino, offered a wide selection of food items such as Barrio Fiesta’s sauteed shrimp paste, Saranggani’s milkfish in oil, Regent’s tempura, Oishi’s prawn crackers, and Alfonso’s chocolate champorado to name a few.
Aside from country pavilions, the Embassy Festival also presented on the “Creative Arena” stage various cultural performances from participating embassies. Daddy’s Day Off Band, which also performed at the Embassy’s Independence Day reception for the Filipino community members, rocked the Embassy Festival with their band performance of the Filipino timeless rock songs “Beep Beep” by Pepe Smith and “Manila” by The Hotdogs. Meanwhile, Warisan International Martial Arts led by Mr. Marcel Horstman demonstrated the traditional and modern fighting methods using “arnis”, which originated from the Philippines. // END
