On Sunday, June 1, the Filipino American community in the US celebrated the Philippine Independence Day by holding a parade at Madison Avenue, following the tradition holding the celebration on the first Sunday of June.

Padilla & Company, LLP, a Filipino American-owned CPA firm, is one of the organizations hosting CCIP interns. Eight CCIP students were invited by Padilla to partake in the parade.

Since its beginnings in 1993, the parade had steadily garnered attention not only from the Filipino American community, but also from the general population of the New York metropolitan area. The purpose of this celebration is to create awareness of Philippine culture and to raise funds for charity projects.

The festivities included the Diwa ng Kalayaan (Spirit of Freedom, a beauty and talent contest), Youth Festival, Independence Ball, Consul General Night, Grand Marshal Night and many other interesting parts. Filipino performers wore the colorful costumes of their native culture, danced, and interacted with the audience.

CCIP students enjoyed the celebratory atmosphere very much and were all fascinated by the variety of performances. All students eagerly took photos of the parade. Some of them even joined the parade’s performers and took photos with the Filipino community.

David Wang, who studies at the City University of Hong Kong, and Vince Wong, who studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, led this activity on behalf of the Student Advisory Board (SAB). Both currently intern at Padilla & Company through CCIP.

"I never imagined so many Asians in New York. Filipino is such a big community," David said.

"This activity was fun and fruitful," Vince said. I learned so much about Asian American culture and the multiculturalism of the US community."