Once again, Philippine Fiesta fever pervades the air and just like in the past festive events, this year’s celebration presents a bevy of pulsating sights and sounds. To be showcased are intensely colorful vignettes and canticles of our cultural traditions and a myriad of ingeniously creative products These and more will offer an emotional dose of a nostalgic journey back to our roots.
But these aren’t just what’s in store this year. The Philippine Fiesta, after dominating summer festivities every year for fourteen years, has started to grow far and wide with the participation of other Asian and Latin-American communities. This makes its 15th anniversary truly significant and gigantic in scope. To welcome interested parties and ably entice future partners, Special Edition Press, Philippine Fiesta’s core body, decided to rename it Fiesta in America to accommodate new participants which sounds more globally appealing, welcoming, and friendly.
After year-long preparations and planning, there’s no doubt that Fiesta in America executive president Nanding Mendez’s “jumping the gun” would benefit the new Fiesta set-up much more than expected. The fine-tuning certainly could usher Fiesta in America into a multitude of bifurcated avenues to make it the event of the year with the most diverse fusion of ethnicities this side of the planet.
With an iron fist in a velvet glove, Nanding Mendez solely paddles his canoe against raging currents following the untimely demise of his driven wife, Mila Beltran Mendez, the moving spirit behind the Philippine Fiesta, but this gigantic task gradually takes a lighter sail with the support of equally dedicated staffs and friends.
On Friday, August 16 at 7:00 PM at the posh Double Tree by Hilton Grand Ballroom, (formerly Sheraton Hotel) along 128 Frontage Road, Newark, New Jersey, Fiesta in America grandiosely raises the curtains to signal its formal opening via the celebration of the People’s Ball.
With a slated cocktail hour prior the program’s commencement at 8:00, the much anticipated evening of glitz and glamor offers an entire night of entertainment, specially concocted drinks, sumptuous courses, jaw-dropping beauties, worth-emulating empowered figures, photo-op with celebrity guests, rubbing elbows with the elites and who’s who in the east coast community, and a lot of dancing and carelessly throwing all cautions to the air.
To be formally opened with the stately dance popularized during the Spanish era, the Rigodon de Honor serves as the piece de resistance in the initial pace of the program to be participated in by distinct community leaders and Fiesta supporters
One of the most anticipated portions is the exciting introduction of Philippine Fiesta beauties and the presentation of their talents. The five equally stunning and talented finalists vying for the title are:
• Candidate #1 Jellyn Anne Echon. The Singapore-born seventeen year old daughter of Joseph and Lyza Echon, has been a consistent performer even since she was two. She grew up proving how she excels in musical performance. Having toured 42 US cities as part of the cast of the national broadway tour of The King and I, effervescent Jellyn has inevitably accumulated sufficient acting and singing experiences that undoubtedly honed her talent to the limit.
With prolific talent that spanned in various avenues, Jellyn is a proud winner of Kidz Bop Talent Search Champion at Madison Square Garden where she performed at the Knicks games. In addition, she’s both a Pop Star Kids East Coast and Pop Star Kids USA Grand Champion. The Philippine entertainment arena has also taken a share of Jellyn’s enviable aesthetic capability after having appeared in popular TV shows such as Mel & Joey, SIS, SOP and Walang Tuvaluan with the Master Showman. Aside from her recording original tracks and continuously achieving various accomplishments, her convincing portrayal of Mimi Marquez’s role in her school’s Spring Production of RENT: School Edition earned for her a nomination for “Outstanding Duet” at the Metropolitan High School Theater Awards in New York.
Aside from performing, her love of pageantry was inevitably ignited after she became a finalist in the Miss Teen Philippines 2010 and was eventually crowned Miss Teen Philippines-USA 2011 third Runner Up. A consistent honor student despite her seemingly unbearable extra- curricular load, Jellyn still finds time to accommodate a membership from the Ti-M Music Honor Society at Haversack High School, her recent Alma Mater. Eying Montcalm State University in the Fall for a degree in Business Administration, Jellyn aims to run a business of her own, following her mom who manages Designer Collections in Bergen field, NJ.
• Candidate # 2 Jessica Chanliecco Videña was born on April 15, 1995 in Springfield, NJ. A typical Arian, Jessica could simultaneously excel in both athletics and academics. She recently graduated from Jonathan Dayton High School (JDHS) where she was captain of the varsity swim team and where she earned her second Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. Throughout high school, she was involved in community service and many extra-curricular activities. Jessica, also musically inclined, is a member of the string orchestra. Despite the many interests that crowded her mind and make her hands full, this Aries-born maintains a good scholastic record and her membership to the prestigious National Art Honors Society justifiably proves it. She will be attending Seton Hall University in the fall as a Nursing major.
In her free time, Jessica likes to swim, draw, sing, and play the guitar and violin. Joining the Miss Philippine Fiesta pageant presented her with an opportunity to expand her horizons and give her a new experience and meet people. Innately compassionate and generous, one of Jessica’s personal advocacy is to give back to her community to the best possible way she could.
Her ultimate dream is to become a successful nurse, establish a comfortably contented life, enjoy everything that this world has to offer, and make her family proud of her achievements
• Candidate # 3 Stephanie A. Reyes, from Jersey City, is currently a Hudson Community College coed, with plans to transfer to UMDNJ to pursue a degree in Respiratory Therapy. To be in the medical field has been an obsession which could possibly due to her love for human interaction and her innate desire to help people in need. “I have a passion for taking care of people and putting others before myself. It makes me feel good to see others happy, and it gives me that sense of fulfillment when I know I have contributed or has been instrumental in their happiness,” she said. “I truly believe that in helping others I can have peace in my heart and can fully achieve happiness in my own life,”she added.
Currently employed as a server in Johnny Rockets, Stephanie believes that in hard work one can achieve what he or she aims for. Working part-time teaches her to be responsible and learns the value of money. “It is only through diligence, perseverance, team work, and patience that one can excel in this life,” she said.
All work and no play could make Stephanie a dull girl so, so in her free time, she trains her vocal chords and practices her terpsichorean skills to perfection patterned after her favorite musical icons Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Regine Velasquez.
Stephanie can say that she’s truly blessed to have such wonderful and supportive family and friends who molded her into such a strong young woman she is today, especially her mother told her “If you make a mistake you must learn from it, get back up and stand ten times taller than before. Life is short, so one must always make the best of it!”
• Candidate # 4 Clariss Dorothy Enjambre, of Milburn, NJ is the second child of Wildina, a nurse, and Aide, an employee in a toy factory, who migrated to America at the age of 10.
Young but already driven, sixteen-year old Clariss enjoys her carefree life singing, playing the guitar, baking and cooking, while free from her books and away from the four corners of her classroom at Milburn High School where she’s a Junior. A wizard in the kitchen, Clariss could efficiently concoct and whip cakes and pastries from her own recipe. “I love to experiment different baking techniques and cake decorations. There is always that sort of achievement every time I’m complimented not only for the artistic appearance of what I baked but for its supreme taste, as well,” she said.
Currently working in a popular ice cream outlet, this R&B-pop hopeful describes herself as outgoing and down-to-earth. Clariss loves the outdoors and enjoys being involved in a lot of sports and physical activities.
Her interest zeroes into Child Psychology, a particular degree she aims to pursue in the future since she’s very keen on reading people’s mind. She said she was motivated by her physician’s advice to take up the course since there is always a great demand for Child Psychologist anywhere.
• Candidate # 5 Rosanne Manalo, blows her birthday candles every 1st of February after seeing the first light of day in 1994, that makes her 19 years old to date. She practically spent the first thirteen years of her life in the Philippines before coming to the US.
A dean’s lister at the State University of New Jersey: Rutgers New Brunswick where she majors both in Finance and Marketing, Rosanne was initiated into the realm of hard work and perseverance at the tender age of 13. She joined the ranks of the working class experiencing multiple jobs such as a lifeguard, professional tutor, executive assistant to a CEO, a DJ, ballroom dance instructress, event host / emcee, server, bartender, and a lot more. She is an active member of the Rutgers Association of Philippine Students and a key dancer of the club’s cultural dance troupe. On top of all this, Rosanne was the former Secretary of the Barangay of the Virgin Youth Ministry’s National chapter and the Vice President for the Morris Essex chapter
If there is one thing she is extremely proud of, it is her Filipino heritage. Her loyalty to her motherland remains unabated despite the vast distance from it. Two of Rosanne’s biggest aspirations in life are to travel and see most, if not all, of the world, and to be able to give back to the Philippines as much as she possibly can. Driven by an earnest desire to help her impoverished countrymen after having witnessed disheartening poverty-stricken life in the Philippines, Rosanne hopes to one day be able to start her own charity. This dream is what drives her every single day to work hard and continue striving for more.
Behind the annual Philippine Fiesta talent and personality search is an unmistakably a woman of glamor and talent, herself, Tet Palencia. Born to lead and blissfully married to community leader Butch Palencia, Tet was instrumental behind the successes of her first-born, Tonette, Miss Philippine Fiesta-USA 2005, and son Carlo, currently Vice Pres. and Senior Investment Accountant in one of the leading financial institutions.
Tet, who majored in accounting at St. Paul’s College of Manila, is the strong-willed chairwoman of the Miss Philippine Fiesta beauty pageant. She has an incredibly enviable professional background. She was director of Special Projects and Human Resources at Metro Stars-men’s professional soccer team. She was also involved in different Union Township community programs and projects, has held various office positions at the Bayanihan Club of Union, and as a Senior Executive Assistant to Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at the leading provider of investor communications and technology since 2008.
Fiesta in America is not all about beauty and pageantry for achievements and success are also duly recognized and honored. Dubbed as Empowerment Awards, the names of distinguished achievers in different areas of endeavor that composed the roster are:
Susan Castor – Excellence in the Field of Nursing Leadership
Philippine Nurses Association-NJ –Achievement Award for Association of the Year
Andy Pada – Excellence in the Field of Lending Business
Etchel M. Neri – Excellence in the Field of Business and Entrepreneurship
Dr. Mary Ann Donohue – Distinct Recognition in Empowering Filipino Nurses
Dr. Leo Jurado – Excellence in the Field of Medical Profession
Rolando Lavarro – Excellence in the Field of Government Service
Rosario E. Magno – Award of Excellence in Overseas Workers’ Welfare & Management
Incidentally, Fiesta In America is the largest two-day, indoor gathering of Filipinos on the east coast. Full-day expo tickets are $25 per adult; $30 after 5 pm. Limited VIP concert seats at $60. For more information, call 212-682-6610 or visit www.philippinefiesta.com.
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