From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Filipinos/Anita Beltran Chen
Filipinos enjoy the company of friends and neighbours as well as family and relatives. Events such as the baptism of a baby, birthdays, weddings, wedding anniversaries, or the blessing of a new house are occasions for celebration and merrymaking. These get-togethers strengthen family ties and provide the opportunity to make new friends and develop social contacts. Filipinos have brought these traditional practices with them to Canada. Family, friends, neighbours, and co-workers are invited, sumptuous food is prepared in abundance, and vocal and instrumental music is performed. Children as well as adults gather for such occasions. Larger parties are held in restaurants, community centres, or other rented facilities. The social skills of Filipinos are greatly enhanced by their love of music and the ease with which they handle musical instruments such as the guitar, violin, and piano.
Regardless of whether they live in large urban areas or more isolated regions, Filipinos across Canada perform their traditional songs and dances in community-sponsored multicultural functions. In places where there is a Filipino-Canadian association, they usually give cultural presentations during the annual celebration of Philippine Independence Day on 12 June. Among the more common presentations is a fiesta (pista sa nayon), a typical cultural event found in every town in the home country. A remnant of the Spanish legacy in the Philippines, it has both a religious and a secular component. It features a mass, a religious procession, and prayers, together with eating, drinking, dancing, athletic events, and fireworks.
Voluntary associations are organized primarily in urban centres where there is a large concentration of Filipinos, though they also exist in smaller communities. The objectives of these associations may vary, but they share a common interest in preserving the Filipino cultural heritage and identity and establishing a link between the community and the larger Canadian society. Some organizations are formed on the basis of regional, provincial, or home-town affinity or the dialect spoken. Examples of locality-based groups are the Ang Bisaya Association sa Metro, the Association of Caviteños in Canada, the United Aklanon Association, and Zamboanga Hermosa, all in Toronto; and Circulo Cagayano, Circulo Ilongo, and Circulo Pampangueno in Vancouver. Filipino Chinese have their own association in Toronto. Other organizations are formed around special interests, such as the Philippine Women’s Sports Association in Montreal; the Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe, Filipino Performing Arts and Culture, the Kabataan Theatre Group, and the Philippine Heritage Band in Toronto; the Philippine Choral Society in Mississauga; the Filipino Golf Association of British Columbia; and the Philippine Charity Society in Vancouver.
Professional organizations include the Manitoba Association of Filipino Teachers in Winnipeg and the Filipino Canadian Dental Association, the Filipino Nurses Association, and the Filipino Canadian Medical Association in Toronto. The alumni of colleges and universities in the home country, scattered across Canada, have formed their own groups in order to maintain contact with each other and provide financial assistance to their alma mater through individual or collective donations. Some examples are the alumni of the University of the Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas, and the Philippine Women’s University Alumni Association in Toronto; and the De La Salle Alumni Association in Vancouver. Filipino domestic workers’ associations have sprung up in Winnipeg, Vancouver, and other cities as increasing numbers of these immigrants arrived over the years.
There are also associations for veterans and senior citizens. Those for the elderly provide mutual aid of various kinds, including social, moral, and emotional support, information networks, social activities (such as birthday parties, picnics, excursions, dances, and traditional holiday celebrations), and religious services. Regular potluck suppers are arranged at which Filipino dishes are served, the latest news from the homeland is shared, new members are introduced, and new arrivals are welcomed. These associations provide links to the larger society in a variety of ways. They perform Filipino songs and dances in old-age residences, nursing homes, and community centres to entertain non-Filipino seniors. They also engage in fund-raising activities and contribute to local charities in their host communities. Toronto has ten Filipino seniors’ associations, Calgary four, and Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Montreal three each. Among these groups are the Filipino Golden Agers Association of Montreal and Suburbs, the Sampaquita Seniors Club in Toronto, the Filcan Grandparents Association of British Columbia in Vancouver, the Winnipeg chapter of the Philippine Veterans Association, and the Filipino Retirees Association in Alberta.
In the early 1960s Filipino voluntary associations in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal sent delegates to a conference in Toronto to discuss the creation of a national organization. An umbrella group known as the United Council of Filipino Associations in Canada came into existence in 1963; it was replaced in 1990 by the National Council of Canadian Filipino Associations with headquarters in Montreal.
