2011 Christmas Party Review

We would like to thank everyone who attended our wonderful Christmas party on Saturday, December 10, 2011.  The turnout was fantastic and we continue to receive many compliments and rave reviews from those who attended.  We are taking the time to post this review of our event for all our members as memorabilia and for those who weren't able to attend. 

One of our goals for next year is to increase the amount of guests and participants at our next Christmas party.  We hope you can share this review with others so they can see that our next Christmas party will be a  "can't miss" event for the 2012 Christmas season. 

Meanwhile, please enjoy this review and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

2011 BIBBAK-Illinois Christmas Party Review

VENUE

Due to the expected increased number of people attending this year, we were fortunate to find an alternative venue that could accommodate all of us.  We would like to thank the Egyptian community and St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Burr Ridge for allowing us to use their gymnasium for our Christmas party.  There were other activities taking place that day at St. Mark and we had several people stop by to see what was going on in their gymnasium.  Everyone we met was very nice and hospitable.  We would also like to give special thanks to Nabeel and Reda Saadalla of St. Mark for all the help they provided prior and during the event.  We can't say enough about St. Mark and its congregation.  

MEMORIAL

A short memorial was given in memory of those who have died within the past few years.  Again, we would like to offer our thoughts and prayers to the families and friends of:

• Henry Sapdcopen Sr. (6/27/09)
• Augustin Sarmiento (3/26/11)
• Donald Simon (10/4/11)

HONORARY GUESTS

BIBBAK-IL Officers with Philippine Consul General & his Wife

We would like to thank the following for their presence at our party:

• Leo M. Herrera-Lim  (Philippine Consul General)
• Fides Herrera-Lim  (Philippine Consul General's Wife)
• Estrella Ravelo Alamar (Founding President of Filipino American Historical Society of Chicago)
• Ruben & Merle Salazar (Filipino Cultural Ambassadors for Fil-Am Youths)

Fides Herrera-Lim Speaking to the Audience

We would especially like to thank Fides Herrera-Lim for her kind and inspiring words.  We were very happy to hear her message.  In addition, it was both consoling and refreshing for many of our BIBBAK-IL members to learn she is a fellow Igorota (Ibaloi).  We thank her and her husband for all the support they have given BIBBAK-IL this past year and we look forward to developing our relationship with them in the future.

FOOD & BEVERAGES

You never know what kind of food may turn up during a pot-luck party.  Fortunately for us, the delicacies that appeared not only pleased our palettes and stomachs, but they were also fine examples of Igorot and Filipino cuisine.  There were too many dishes and too many names to individually thank here, but we would like to give special thanks to Norman Longid & Family for providing the Lechon and the Batanes, Lehman & Aquisan families for butchering the goat. 

A big round of applause goes out to everyone who contributed food, deserts and drinks.  The following dishes are just a few of the many that comprised the collage of culinary cuisines that graced our tables that night:

Lechon, Kambing Kilowen, Kambing, Dinardaraan, Pinikpikan, Papaitan, Chicken Adobo, Fried Rice, Tapey, Dinakdakan, Fish, Egg Rolls, Barbecue Chicken, Dinengdeng, Shrimp, Vegetables, Igado, Cassava, Dikut, Ube, Leche Flan and so much more.

FUN & GAMES

What would a party be without fun and games?  We would like to thank Raul Buendia and everyone who helped make the games for children and adults so much fun. 

ENTERTAINMENT

Our BIBBAK-Illinois family is very lucky to have so many talented people.  Thanks to Lynn Fackayan and others, our young children conveyed a wonderful Christmas message by performing their version of the Nativity scene.    The teenagers also contributed with various musical performances. 

The youth weren't the only ones to delight the audience.  Women of BIBBAK-IL showcased their stage prowess by performing a spectacular interpretive dance of Salidumay while also spreading festive cheer through series of fun holiday dances.  The seniors, better known as the veteran youth, also took the stage to share holiday songs with our very own Igorot Elvis playing his mandolin.  

The best was saved for last when the BIBBAK-IL men surprised the crowd with their rendition of the Evolution of Dance.  At first, the audience watched what was beginning as the Bontoc war dance, when suddenly one of the teens, Mikayla Delson, interrupted and sent the dancers back stage.  "This is Christmas. Not a time for war," she scolded.  Then she instructed the sound man to cue the music, thus cuing the men to begin a series of past and present American dances in their wanes/bahags.  The audience absolutely loved it.

NATIVE DANCING

Bendian Dance

Ifugao Dance

Pattong

In addition to all the fun that comes from games and performances, what would a BIBBAK-IL party be without our native dances?  We are thrilled to hear from many people about their happiness to see our native dancing brought back to the BIBBAK-IL Christmas party and all of our BIBBAK-IL events.  This year's  Ifugao addition to BIBBAK is being received with so much joy.  The rich dances from Ifugao more than compliment the Ibaloi and Mt. Province dances that we have been dancing this past year.  Huge thanks go out to Ray Baguilat, Joel Tayaban and all our Ifugao friends who brought their wonderful dances to the party. 

FUND RAISING

As announced in the beginning of the year at BIBBAK-IL's Kickoff Meeting, the money we raised is being sent to the Cordilleras to help a much needed endeavor to save our culture by aiding in the documentation, education and promotion of our indigenous knowledge.  The money will be going to the following network of organizations that are spearheading this endeavor:

• Cordillera Indigenous Knowledge Network (CordiknowN)
• Cordillera Administrative Region Association of State Universities & Colleges (CARASUC)
• Benguet State University Center for Culture and the Arts (BSU-CCA)

Interestingly enough, our fundraising display table attracted several of our younger children.  The book, "Stories of Alapu" was picked up and read by many of the children.  Some went as far as to read it in length.  This was truly a very encouraging sign for us adults to see that night. 

We would like to remind everyone of the importance of this endeavor with the following quotes:

"These storybooks ["Stories of Alapu" books] will give parents and their children an opportunity to read indigenous stories of their "Alapus" (ancestors) and learn from them. . . I commended the project team for realizing the importance of gathering and publishing these local stories so that younger generations will know their very own folk stories." - Governor Dalog

"Why don't you look into the preservation or conservation of the indigenous material and non-material culture of the region? These are fast disappearing.  It is an irony that "educated" leaders of the region are talking of autonomy but look of what they are pushing at. They talk of development but only infrastructures, developing material resources but what use are these if the people will lose their identity and values as a people."  - Marcelino Delson (former President Mt. Province Polytechnic College)

"He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination."  - Dr. Jose Rizal

As our party was taking place, the mentioned organizations above were conducting their second week of "Cordidance Powow" back home in the Cordilleras.  In addition to publicizing the Stories of Alapu, they are now creating educational and instructional videos of our native dances.  They were told of our commitment to support their efforts and were gracious to take several minutes out of their time during their event to personally thank us.  Here is what the students had to say:

THANK YOU AGAIN

We want to thank again everyone who shared in that memorable evening with us.  We realize it took some of you more than an hour (in some cases two hours) to travel to the party.  It really means a lot to us that those people from Rockford, Chicago, Elgin, Grayslake and all the other distant places decided not to make the distance a reason for not attending.  We also realize many just weren't able to make it for good reasons such as work schedules and sickness.  We know you wanted to come, and we truly missed you, but rest assured that your heart's desire to attend was felt by us in that gymnasium that night.  In essence, you were there in spirit.

SPECIAL GRATITUDE FROM REX

I would like to thank all of the officers and leaders of BIBBAK-IL who volunteered their precious time in the preparation and coordination of our Christmas party.  I especially want to thank:

Gerald and Kathleen Batanes:  Thank you for your leadership and support throughout the entire process.  I am grateful for letting us use your house to practice and prepare, for your wonderful ideas (especially the men's dance routine) and many more.

 Marlon and Marissa Jose:  Thank you for spearheading many of our activities and opening you house for us to practice and prepare.  I am grateful for all the "behind the scenes" things that you contributed, but most importantly - your time and support.

Merry Christmas everyone and we hope to see you throughout the oncoming year ahead.  For the sake of our future generations, let’s keep this train rolling  :)

VIDEOS:

2011 Christmas Party

We are happy to announce the date and location of this year's Christmas party. The venue is as follows:

BIBBAK-Illinois Christmas Fundraising Party
When: December 10, 2011
Time:  1:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:  St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church
                15 W 455 79th St.
                Burr Ridge, IL 60527
Donation per Family:  $25
Map: Click Here

Please RSVP by contacting us at bibbakil@gmail.com as soon as possible.  Our program will feature games for children, entertainment performances by youth, teenagers and adult members.  Families are encouraged, but not required to bring a dish, desert or drinks (non-alcoholic).

In addition to celebrating Christmas, we are also raising funds to support the preservation of our Igorot culture by donating financial assistance to the University of Benguet to support their Preservation of Indigenous Knowledge Efforts.  This year's donations will go toward the editing and production of educational videos of our indigenous dances.  Along with other universities, a joint effort to create such a project has already begun.  Earlier this week, 129 participants from 6 provinces joined to begin the production of these videos.  Portions of the raffles and entrance donations will go towards this cause.  We hope you and your family will join us for this festive event.

Pictures of the big video production "Powow" going on back home

Ma'am Lydia de Castro demonstrating the basic figures in the Ifugao dance with her students from the Ifugao State University

               

In Memory of Donald T. Simon

We regret to inform our BIBBAKIL family of the death of Donald T. Simon, a long-time member of BIBBAK-Illinois: Donald T. Simon and husband of Gloria Simon.  May he rest in peace.

2011 Fall Picnic & Camping: Belated Thanks

We wish to thank all who made last month's Fall Picnic and Camping event a memorable and successful event!  With cool temps and rain in the forecast for that weekend; BIBBAKIL Igorots still showed up to make the event. God must have favored us because rain did not make its appearance at all.  In fact, while it was raining in neighboring cities, we had nothing but sunshine and warm temps for the entire day of the picnic.

A special thanks to Vice President Gerald Batanes and his family for providing the pig and goat that was butchered and cooked Igorot style!

BIBBAK-IL Cell Phone Drive

Your cell phones will be used to collect funds to support BIBBAK-Illinois and our efforts to support the preservation of our culture by making financial contributions to help in the research, creation, publication and distribution of culturally-related Igorot books, videos and programs that members of the University of Benguet are spearheading.  See our Save our IK page for more information of such efforts.  

Check our "Events" page for dates and details of the two upcoming events where we will be collecting phones.  

2011 Summer Camping Trip

Some of the members of trip made a last minute decision to take advantage of such great weather by going camping at Blackwell Lake in Warrenville, IL. We wished more could have joined us, but campsites were limited and the reservation deadline was prohibitive. None the less, we had a great turnout and fantastic time. Here's a glimpse of our weekend together.



We will surely do another camping trip this fall so stay tuned and check back frequently to get the date and details.

2011 Summer Picnic

Despite the morning storms, our summer picnic was a success. Here is a glimpse of that day:



A short blog about the picnic can also be read at "Picnics of Culture"

BIBBAK-IL Performs at Reunions

On August 6th, we performed at the St. Mary's of Sagada High School reunion and at the Baguio City High School Reunion. Below are sample videos of the fun that we had.

Passport to the Philippines a Success!

It’s Sunday, and the Passport to the Philippines that started Thursday is coming to a close. We are proud to announce that yesterday’s parade and performances were a success! It would not have been possible if not for all the Igorot families that came out to support and partake in this wonderful event. We were first unsure of how many people were attending because of the few responses from our BIBBAK members on Facebook and our Webpage. However, any questions and concerns about having enough participants to represent us Igorots were quickly answered when the line for the parade outside Navy Pier showed many Igorots eager to lead the Filipino parade.

The day started out cloudy, and the temperature was cool with a light mist in the air, but this didn’t hold back the smiles of all the lolos, lolas, parents, teens and young children. They held their ground dressed in their tapis and wanes. The younger children held their instruments while the teenage boys held their shield and spears. The men clung to their gangsas in anticipation, while the onlookers to our left, right and ahead took pictures and observed.

This is our third year doing the Passport to the Philippines event at Navy Pier, and some changes have taken place since our first time. The most pleasing of those are the increase number of new faces joining us; new not only to the event, but to BIBBAK-Illinois. This year, the women and girls also added a beautiful touch to their apparel by including beautiful flower arrangements, which were made by Raul, one of our new members. Again, thanks to Raul, the men and boys included tattoos to add more flavor to our already flavor-filled cultural recipe. Inside the Children’s Museum where we performed, we held our first Igorot workshop that featured coloring of pictures by Steve Limpkin, tattoos by Raul Buendia and the touristy-like picture board by Arlene Sadcopen.

Another pleasing alteration to our portion of the event was the focus of having our children do most of the dancing inside the museum. This was something we discussed in the beginning of the year: focus on our youth. Unlike the last two years, the adults performed the music on the side, while the children took the stage. Their first dance was the Tayao or Tayaw. After that, two of our younger boys, Royce and Darryl, performed the Bontoc war dance. Since there were many children in the audience, we pointed out that the bravery and courage displayed in the dance portrays the importance of using the Igorot trait of bravery and courage to stand up for good when bad things try to change us to bad people. The last dance was the Bendian in where all the children joined the lolas and some parents.

All, but one thing were great new changes/additions to our portion of the event. Ah, and what is that one sour apple you may ask? Well, we were asked prior to the event not to expose our ubet (buttocks), which is written more about in Rex’s blog (topic of g-strings). Maybe we can convince the event leaders next year to allow us to be truly “free” (at least those who want to be).

We are very pleased to see the change of attitude in some of our youth, who understandably had reservations about wearing the bahag or participating in dances. What may have been reservation in the eyes of our youth a month ago, turned into a sparkle of pride yesterday. This is such great and encouraging news because we live in a culture that can easily sway our children from their heritage.
For those who could not attend, we hope you plan on participating in more of our future events by keeping up with our events calendar. For those who attended: THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support! There are many pictures and videos currently circulating throughout Facebook, but for those who are not Facebook members, please enjoy a snippet of those pictures below. Also, please share this with your friends. Hope to see you all at our Early Summer Picnic in July (see event calendar)!

2011 Spring Picnic

Thanks to everyone who attended our Spring picnic yesterday.  Even though rain and chilly weather made its way to our location, we still had a wonderful turnout.  It was great to see new and old faces, but it was even better to see all the young children who attended.  We had plenty of food, dancing, games and singing.

The picnic was a clear indication that frequent gatherings are key to growing BIBBAK Illinois.  Every time we gather and participate in events, our bond and sense of community becomes stronger.  Knowing this, we decided to have another picnic this coming July 16th.  Please check the events calendar  for updates and details.  Until then, enjoy the pictures and video of yesterday's wonderful picnic.

SPRING PICNIC - Memorial Day Weekend

Come celebrate the coming of Spring, Memorial Day, and our wonderful Igorot heritage this coming Saturday (5/28/11) at Whalon Lake.  See event calendar for more details.

Dancing in the Park

Marlon teaching the girls

Hello everyone!  We just finished our first practice for the Passport to the Philippines (P2P) parade/performance that will be held at Navy Pier this next month.  The turnout was far from what we need it to be, but we made the best of it anyway - like any Igorot would.

The sounds of our gangsas and sulibao created curiosity from people passing by.  In fact, a chef from Egypt stopped by to talk about how similar our instruments are with some of his country's instruments.  It's always nice to see and meet people who are interested in other cultures, particularly ours.

The chef is just a smidgen of what we might encounter at Navy Pier as we parade down the entire pier amidst tourists and unsuspecting onlookers.  Our interest in performing at the P2P is primarily fueled by our desire to share our Igorot culture to the world, so please help us out by coming out to our practices and to the P2P event.  

We need as many boys and girls to participate in our dancing.  We also need the support of those of you who have been active with BIBBAK-IL in the past.  Please see our events calendar for times and locations of our P2P practices.

Getting Ready for Passport to the Philippines at Navy Pier

We will be gathering every Saturday in May to practice our dances for the Passport to the Philippines (P2P) parade/performance in June.  Our gatherings/practices will be outdoors when weather permits.  We plan on having as many of our kids participate at P2P, so please bring your children.  In addition to practice, we will have food at each gathering.  If you plan on coming, please bring a small dish to share.

For more information, see our events calendar.

Please pray for the family of Agustin Sarmiento III

Agustin A Sarmiento III

February 10, 1964 - March 26, 2011

It is with great regret to inform everyone of the loss of one of our extended Igorot brothers, Agustin A. Sarmiento III (Joey), who passed away on March 26, 2011.  He is the son of Agustin (Joe) and Ida Sarmiento, who are one of the founding Igorots of BIBBAK-IL.  At the age of 46, Joey left behind a beautiful family.  Please take the time to visit the link below to find out more details and view his pictures.  Also, while visiting the site, please take the time to send his parents and family your condolences by signing the guest book located on the right side of the page.


Obituary: Agustin A. Sarmiento III

Welcome Elginites!

Last month members of BIBBAK-IL traveled to "not-so-distant" Elgin, where we met more fellow Igorots during our dance & music gathering.  Not only did we play our gangsas and practice several dances, but we also enjoyed great food.  Our new friends, the Pataras family, who hail from Benguet, made all of us feel at home with their homemade pandesal and watwat.

We are very happy to have them join BIBBAK-IL, and we are looking forward to having more Igorots from Elgin join our BIBBAK-IL family.

Seeking Ifugao & Apayao Representative

We are seeking individuals to become the Representatives for the provinces of Ifugao and Apayao.  If you or anyone you know would like to volunteer your time by filling these positions, please send us an email.

Qualifications Required:

• Be of Ifugao or Apayao heritage
• Permanent residence in Illinois
• Willing to be actively involved
• Agree to BIBBAK's Constitution and Bylaws

2011 Kickoff Gathering was a Success

2011 Kickoff Gathering - Some of our Core Group

We held our first gathering this past Saturday, and we are pleased to announce that it was a success.  We had a good mixture of people who attended.  Among them were long-time members, somewhat newer members, brand new people and a good mixture of youth.

The gathering began with food and socializing.  Our "finger food" potluck turned into a nice showing of dishes like kambing papaitan, purple rice, fried chicken, dinakdakan, tapey, pizza, garlic peanuts, buffalo wings, pies and cheesecake.  As we enjoyed the food while music form the Cordilleras played in the background, new friends were made and old acquaintances renewed.

Our officers then introduced themselves before conducting a wonderful presentation about BIBBAK-Illinois and its vision for 2011 (see our Vision 2011 page).  At one point, everyone including the children broke into small workshop groups to collaborate and discuss their wishes for BIBBAK-IL while taking part in fun discussions about our Igorot culture.  Towards the end of the presentation, Rexcrisanto introduced the "I'm an IK" fundraising & awareness effort (see I'm an IK page).  After he raised the challenge to revive BIBBAK-IL, everyone sang "Nan Layad nen Sikhafan" to the strumming of a guitar.  Even though not everyone understood the meaning of the lyrics, it was beautiful and bonding none the less.

Two new people were added to our group of leaders.  We would like to congratulate and introduce you to Lynn Fackayan, who is our new Representative for Bontoc / Mountain Province, and Brendon Joseph, a new Sargeant of Arms officer.  Both are very excited to be part of BIBBAK-Illinois, and we are excited to have them on board.

Lynn Fackayan                        Brendon Joseph

As much as we are excited about the year(s) to come in BIBBAK-IL, we are also aware of the challenges that lie ahead.  For us to turn our Vision 2011 into reality, we need the help of all our members. Our membership registration is at an all-time low with less than 20 registered families.  This is a drastic reduction from past years.  The low census could be interpreted as bad news for most, but the true Igorot character within our core group of leaders refuses to surrender to any such colonization of pessimism, and therefore, are committed to turning things around by reviving the BIBBAK-Illinois community.  We hope you will join us.

Please, if you haven't registered yet, please do so by registering at our "Registration" page.

Kicking off 2011 with Meetings & Gatherings

Yesterday's 1st Executive Board Meeting was a success thanks to the enthusiam of the officers who attended, the hospitality of the Jose family and of course - the food and tapey!  A renewed spirit to make 2011 a great year for all those involved in BIBBAK-IL was truly present throughout the entire meeting.  We are really excited and look forward to working together to achieve our goals.

However, we cannot do it alone.  WE NEED YOUR HELP.  There are so many Igorot brothers and sisters in Illinois who do not know about our organization or have not been active for whatever reason.  Please share our enthusiasm with them by referring our website to them and inviting them to our 2011 Kickoff Gathering & Potluck on the 29th of this month.  We originally scheduled it for the 22nd, but realized this isn't enough time to properly prepare for the event (Please see our Events page for more information).

Lastly, please remember to register or re-register yourselves in our new registration form (See Registration page).  We need to know how many people are still active with BIBBAK-IL and how many new people want to join.

Discussing the Purpose of BIBBAK Illinois



Not a Note Missed (Secretary hard at work)

A Moment of Thought

A small birthday celebration for two of our members

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome to 2011 everyone!  We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Eve.  We are excited to move into the new decade with a renewed spirit.  Our goals for the oncoming year will soon be set at our first upcoming meeting.  This meeting will be an "OPEN" meeting similar to a "Town Hall" meeting where we look forward to the feedback of everyone.  Anyone interested in supporting BIBBAK-IL are encouraged to come.  This includes existing members, non-members who plan to become members, supporters and friends.  The date will be on Saturday, January 22.  The location will soon be announced (see Events tab for updates).

Meanwhile, stay connected and help us connect with more of our Igorot brothers, sisters and supporters.  Here are recommended ways to do this:

1. Join our network by becoming a "Follower" of our blog (see right sidebar)
2. "Subscribe" to our posts and/or comments (see right sidebar)
3. "Share" it on Facebook or Twitter (see right sidebar)
4. Copy & paste our blog address and email it to friends
5. For those with blogs of their own: add a link to ours
6. Any other way you can

Please take the time to answer our surveys (see left sidebar)