Filipino Community to Mark Independence With Festivities

The South Bay’s growing Filipino community will celebrate Philippine Independence Day this weekend with festivities in Carson, Wilmington and other sites.

The day marks the Philippine Islands’ independence from Spain in 1898 and is an opportunity to showcase Filipino culture and traditions, community leaders said.

“This is the biggest event in the Filipino community,” said Carson City Councilman Pete Fajardo, believed to be only the second Filipino-American elected to public office in Los Angeles County.

Carson has the largest Filipino population in the South Bay, with 14,000 Filipinos accounting for 17% of the city’s population. There are 219,653 Filipinos in Los Angeles County, according to the 1990 census.

The Filipino Community of Carson, a nonprofit cultural organization, will kick off its pageantry Saturday with traditional dances and songs in Tagalog, one of the dominant languages of the Philippines. The organization will also hold an open house from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at its headquarters at 20948 S. Main St.

“The message we are trying to express is that we are one of the many ethnic groups in the United States and in Carson that (values) freedom, that freedom is beautiful,” said Ralph Quinte, president of the group.

“It is very beautiful to celebrate it here in America, where freedom is the most attractive feature of daily life.”

Among the cultural dances scheduled is the tini kling , a colorful symbolization of the planting of rice by mountain villagers.

The Filipino Community of the Harbor Area will sponsor a Miss Philippines beauty pageant Saturday in Wilmington.

The largest Philippine Independence celebration is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in downtown Los Angeles. That celebration, which includes a parade, for years was the only such observance in the county. But through the years, as the area’s Filipino population mushroomed, Philippine Independence Day festivities spread to cities throughout the county.