Filipino folk songs featured at Vienna concert

The Philippine Embassy in Austria mounted a concert featuring Fililipino folk songs to commemorate the 113th Philippine Independence Day. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the embassy held on June 15 an art exhibit and a concert at the Museum für Völkerkunde (Museum of Ethnology) in Hofburg Palace. The art exhibit at the Museum für Völkerkunde ran from June 15 to 17 the DFA said. At the concert, three Vienna-based Filipino artists serenaded the guests: Christiana Serafin de Ocampo (Soprano), Abdul Candao (Tenor), and Aries Caces (Master Pianist). They performed Philippine music classics such as “Pobreng Alindahaw," “Si Nanay, Si Tatay" and “Bakya Mo Neneng," the DFA said. The guests included Austrian government officials, the diplomatic corps, representatives of the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, academics, members of the business community and leaders of the Filipino community in Austria also attended the reception, the DFA said. During the reception, Philippine Ambassador Lourdes Yparraguirre presented the works of five young Filipino artists from Manila: Max Balatbat, Erick Dator, Rigor Esquerra, Vincent Christopher Gonzales and Ronna Manansala. “Filipinos all over the world contribute in constantly protecting and enhancing our freedoms so we can bequeath a bountiful future to coming generations," Yparraguirre said. The guests feasted on Filipino dishes such as chicken embutido, pancit guisado, beef lumpia, Pinoy-style chicken wings, kutsinta, puto keso, cassava cake, coconut macaroons and mango-papaya juice. Independence Day Ball Aside from the diplomatic reception, several events were held in June to celebrate the two milestones in Philippine history. On June 11, the annual Philippine Independence Day Ball, organized by the Council of Filipino Associations in Austria (CFAA) and the Embassy, was held at the Marriott Hotel. On June 12, the video Independence Day message of President Benigno Aquino III was presented at Catholic masses celebrated at the Pfarre Johann Kapistran and at the Maria vom Berge Karmel Church. On June 16, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the bust of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Embassy building. On June 16, an Independence Day celebration was hosted at Vienna International Centre by members of the Filipino community working in the United Nations offices in Vienna. On June 28, a National Day dinner event was hosted by Philippine Honorary Consul Professor Waltraud Steinböck held in St. Pölten, NiederÖsterreich (Lower Austria), with Yparraguirre and St. Pölten mayor Magister Matthias Stadler as guests of honor. - VVP, GMA News