The cultural presentation of the Philippines promoted the country’s rich heritage in language, regional traditional dance and original Pilipino music (OPM). Ms. Ariana K. Anisuzzaman (below photo), a 13-year-old girl with mixed Filipino and Bangladeshi heritage, opened the Philippine presentations with a poetry recital featuring verses from the poetry book “The Book of Departures” by Philippine Ambassador Vicente Vivencio T. Bandillo. The poetry collection is the first ever poetry book in Cebuano and English with translations to Bangla.

Mr. Ramon Billanes (below photo), a noted artist and singer in the Filipino community in Bangladesh, sang the Tagalog songs “Mahawi Man and Ulap” and “Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika”, promoting OPM to a predominantly Bangladeshi audience.

Rounding up the performance were the FGAB Dance Troupe, which performed a medley of regional native dances, including Subli, Pandanggo sa Ilaw and Tinikling, showcasing the diversity of folk dance and ethnic musical traditions across the Philippines (see photos below).

The International Mother Language Day Cultural Program is a major annual event organized by the Bangladesh Government to promote diversity of and love for mother languages. A total of 13 countries were featured in the cultural program. END.