Sentro Rizal inaugurated in DC

“Wherever they may be, Filipinos are the bearers of our nation’s beliefs, values, customs and traditions that make our culture unique. But physical distance and the passage of time have frayed cultural bonds between people and homeland. The next generation of Filipino-Americans yearns to connect with their Filipino heritage,” Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez said at the launch of Sentro Rizal Washington DC last Sunday.

Sentro Rizal Washington DC is the 30th branch of the Sentro Rizal, mandated by the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, which specifies a center “whose main purpose is the promotion of Philippine arts, culture and language throughout the world.”

Romualdez and NCCA chairman and National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario signed the Memorandum of Understanding establishing Sentro Rizal Washington DC.

“Sentro Rizal embodies the Filipino spirit we want to rekindle in every part of the globe. It is meant to serve the need of Filipinos to remain Filipino at heart,” said Almario.

The occasion also saw the launch of the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino traveling exhibit featuring “Piña-Seda: Pineapple and Silk Cloths from the Tropics” that will showcase Philippine textiles and weaving traditions at the Chancery Annex until July 16.

The display includes a week-long series of lectures, weaving demonstrations and embroidery workshops featuring pineapple and silk

(piña-seda) weavers and embroiderers from Kalibo, Aklan and Lumban, Laguna.

The traveling exhibit is part of the permanent gallery established at the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila. It has traveled to London, Lisbon and Madrid. Washington is the exhibit’s first stop in the US.