9 January 2021 – Consul General Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia today joined the Filipino-German Community of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart who highlighted the 500^th Year Anniversary of the Arrival of the Image of Sto. Nino in the Philippines during their virtual celebration of the 27^th Sto. Niño de Cebu Sinulog Festival, which was streamed live via the Facebook page of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart (@pmgstuttgart).

In her remarks, Consul General Austria-Garcia commended the devotion among the Filipino Catholic Community in Germany to the Sto. Niño and how it has taken root within the Filipino culture and how the Sinulog Festival has become an expression of our Catholic faith. “This year’s festivity is particularly special as the country celebrates the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the image of the Señor Santo Niño in the Philippines. We remember the story of how Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were able to indoctrinate the natives in 1521, some 500 years ago and underscored that though some may see the image of the Sto. Nino as one of colonialism, it can also be argued that Filipino natives at that time were baptized of their own free will,” the Consul General said.

Among those who delivered messages during the online event were Ambassador Ma. Theresa Dizon de Vega and Philippine Honorary Consul in Stuttgart, Dr. Axel Neumahr, as well as Filipino and German religious and community leaders including the Most Reverend Archbishop Jose S. Palma D.D. of Cebu, Reverend Father Eligio Suico of Archdiocesan Shrine of Guadalupe, Cebu, Brother Roy Paraiso of Archdiocese of Freiburg, Germany, Reverend Father Jonathan Ramose of Filipino Chaplaincy in Stuttgart, and Mr. Alfredo Silacan, President of the Sto Nino Group Rottenburg-Stuttgart.

The Sinulog Festival also featured musical numbers from members of the Manila-based Imusicapella Chamber Choir and Sinulog song and dance performances by members of the Filipino-German Community in Stuttgart. Due to the expanded COVID-19 restrictions mandated by German authorities until 31 January 2021, this year’s celebration of the Holy Eucharist in honor of the Sto. Nino was cancelled. END

4 December 2020- The Philippine Consulate General in Frankfurt, in collaboration with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), conducted today an online talk entitled “Engaging the Filipino Community in Germany in Promoting the Philippine Performing Arts” with Mr. Calvin Millado, CCP Vice President and Artistic Director, as guest speaker. The online talk was aimed to cultivate appreciation, gather support and engage the Filipino-German community in promoting the Philippine performing arts. The activity was conducted via Zoom and Facebook live.

In her remarks, Consul General Evelyn D. Austria-Garcia thanked CCP Vice President Millado for taking the time to engage with members of the Filipino-German community and present them with new artists, art forms, ideas and stories. She emphasized that the online event was an opportunity for the CCP to broaden its audience and create a meaningful collaboration with foreign communities. She also called on the diaspora in Germany to become partners of the Consulate and CCP in promoting the performing arts industry of the Philippines.

“Beyond entertainment, the performing arts has a strong educational purpose, provoking our thoughts, critical thinking and social dialogue. There is a need for the Philippine performing arts to be supported and nurtured, especially during situations like the one we are currently experiencing,” the Consul General said.

CCP Vice President Millado delivered a presentation enumerating the CCP’s artistic programs and contents on alternative platforms in response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. He also underscored CCP’s goal to protect the lives and livelihoods of the cultural workers, while continuing to deliver educational and inspiring contents to Filipinos. He introduced the CCP Arts and Culture Online, which streams videos of the theater, dance, visual arts, film, literary and workshop events from the CCP’s Cultural Content Digital Archives. Some sample video clips of these digital contents were shown during the event.

Vice Consul Fatima Mueller introduced the Filipino-German community, and explained ways to leverage the community in promoting the Philippine performing arts.

Some 31 participants from the Filipino-German community organizations, social media groups and vloggers in Germany, as well as the Consulate’s and CCP’s personnel joined the lively Zoom discussion.  The online event reached about 1,370 people, garnered 655 views, 34 likes, 20 comments, and 18 shares on its initial livestreaming. END