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History of the Filipino Fiesta The Filipino Fiesta commemorates June 12, 1898, a significant historical event of Philippine history. On this day, Filipinos declared its independence from Spain after more than three hundred years of oppressive rule. Secondly, Filipino Fiesta brings us together to celebrate and promote our rich cultural heritage and contributions that Filipinos have made in the United States. And thirdly, we utilize this event to develop understanding and relationships with other groups in the broader community, all of which make this celebration of integral importance. The first fiesta started in 1975 at Miller Park, when student and community leaders got together and agreed to organize an event to celebrate June 12, 1898. It also provided an opportunity to unite and break down barriers that kept our community from becoming a cohesive group. Barriers such as, regionalism, Philippine-born versus American-born Filipinos, religious beliefs, and young and old, made unity very difficult during this time. We thought the spirit of unity could be recaptured as it was on June 12, 1898. The celebration at the time was called the ãPhilippine National Day Celebration.ä And the group that organized this event each year was called the Philippine National Day Association (PNDA). However, in the late 1980âs the Filipino Community of Sacramento and Vicinity (FCSV) organized a Filipino Food Faire in the same month. This event was within a week after the Philippine National Day celebration to raise funds for the planned Filipino Center. After a few years of having two celebrations back to back, both groups decided to work together and have only one event. The event was called the Philippine National Day/Filipino Food Faire Celebration. In 1997, the PNDA and FCSV acknowledged the fact that the celebration was getting bigger and demanded more help and manpower in order to meet the needs of the event. It was then that the Filipino American Veterans Association (FAVA) was invited to become the third partner. At this time the name of the celebration was changed to what is now called the ãFilipino Fiesta.ä The vision of this celebration is to gather as many Filipino organizations and individuals to work together as a community. As each year passes we reinforce this vision as more members of the community support the Filipino Fiesta. The Filipino Fiesta is a culmination of years of hard work and effort that highlights our beautiful Filipino culture and traditions. This event is the ultimate illustration of Filipino Community.
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