29 January 2010. The Philippine Consulate General was the Final Stop for the “Fourth Annual Liliha-Nu’uanu District Candle Light Tour.” Held on the first full moon of the year, the tour, with ninety participants, is a socio-cultural project of Representative Corinne Ching that provides guided tours for residents of District 27 (Liliha, Alewa Heights, Nu’uanu, Pu’unui, Palama) which acquaints them to organizations and people that live and work within their district.
Photo 1: Consul General Cardenas (2nd row, 8th from left) and Rep. Corrine Ching (9th from Left),
with the Philippine Consulate General Staff
The Philippine Consulate General building, built in 1905 in the Hawaiian style of a Summer Mansion, is one of the historical buildings and a long-standing organization in District 27 that includes the Queen Emma Summer Palace and the Consular Missions of Japan, Republic of Korea and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. Consul General Leoncio R. Cardenas, in his welcome remarks, expressed his appreciation to Rep. Ching on her initiative to nurture an inclusive community in District 27 that has been the home ground, not only of the Philippine Consulate, but also of the Filipino Community in Hawaii which has held many of their Town Hall Meetings, festivities, commemorative events and other socio-cultural events since the opening of the Consulate in Honolulu in 1957.
The Philippine Consulate prepared a program that included a guided tour of the building and a briefing on the mission and activities of the Consulate. As an offering to the participants and on the request of Rep. Ching, the Philippine Consulate General Chorale performed “Harana Sa Aming Bahay” featuring well-loved Filipino kundiman.
Tour participants were profuse in their appreciation of the Philippine Consulate’s warm reception of serving Filipino-style savories and performing musical numbers showcasing Philippine culture. A Filipino participant in the tour said that she could not feel any prouder of being Filipino than at that night where her “kababayans” at the Consulate welcomed them in the true tradition of Filipino hospitality. END
Photo 2: Consul Lourdes Tabamo conducting a tour of the Consulate Building.
