Did we celebrate?

IMPORTANT events just passed, falling on two consecutive days last week, or on March 21 and 22. Did we celebrate them?

March 21 was World Poetry Day. It was a special holiday proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999 to encourage reading, writing, publishing, and teaching of poetry worldwide, as well as to support creative expressions and endangered languages. It is said that poetry is the window of the soul.

We remember Ilonggo poet Flavio initial discovery that our residents do Zaragoza Cano who was writing not know many of the personalities poems in easy-to-read short verses for whom our streets are named. in a local Hiligaynon weekly. Was he Once our Committee can set up from Mandurriao? We saw a memorial our first historical marker scheduled marker for him at Mandurriao Plaza for Quirico Abeto Street which the that badly needed a facelift because barangay council is set to approve it can hardly be read now. Is the in their meeting on Sunday, then we local group of poets in Iloilo called will have a model to follow and will Sumakwelan still active? Did they accelerate this historical project in celebrate World Poetry Day? We wish other areas. they can maintain memorial markers Right now we are completing like that for poet Flavio. our research on Roman Mapa Street

Poetry i s a type of artistic and soon Oñate, De Leon, Guzman, expression that emphasizes feelings Mejorada, Mirasol, Perfecto and and ideas by using different styles Benedicto streets, all in the vicinity and rhythms. It promotes literacy as of the church and Mandurriao plaza, well as close cultural understanding will follow. among our people and can be a good We looked forward also to the communications tool, too. Philippine River Day on March 22,

With the advent of computers, 2017 in Iloilo but we did not notice more popular now however with the any special activity at the Iloilo youth in social media is Facebook, River or at the esplanade on the Instagram and Twitter. river banks. It was a public holiday We believe that as originally declared in 2014 to Streets, a project discussed in provide a united movement for our

Writing History our two past columns of putting up people to save our rivers and remind in our markers with historical information us of our duty to the environment. on our street names can also qualify We did not notice, however, any fiesta to be included in social media. atmosphere at the Iloilo Esplanade or

We are simply awed with our on the river during the holiday, or did just miss it? We recall joining a three-city tour of Australia for nine days about two decades ago that included the cities of Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. All three cities we visited had navigable rivers but it is at the Gold Coast that we like to remember our river tour experience to this day.

We had a night tour of the river that opened up to the sea on the

Ferry, with dinner, music and a dancing orchestra on Island Queen board. We did not even notice that it was already midnight when we came back to port.

It was such an enjoyable evening that set us to thinking of the tourist potentials of our own Iloilo River. It is sad that we never came to such an idea up to now for Iloilo. (jnoveracompany@yahoo.com/ PN)