The Philippine Fiesta in America brings all three together

EVERY year, New York-based couple Fernando ?Nanding? Mendez and wife Mila get ample proof that indeed, you can take a Filipino out of the country, but you can?t ever take the country out of the Pinoy.

For 12 years now, the couple has been giving Filipinos in the US another taste of the ole country through that most familiar and irresistible hometown tradition: the fiesta. Except that the Mendezes? ?Philippine Fiesta in America? has a touch of American laissez faire: it?s not just an excuse for another raucous reunion among Filipinos friends and families in the United States, it has also become a venue for trade exhibits and business networking.

Says Mendez: ?The main audience of the Philippine Fiesta in America were Filipinos living in the East Coast, many of whom are affluent. Eventually, Filipinos from farther states heard about it and used this once a year event to network with Filipino business owners in New York and New Jersey.? Although 95 percent of its 20,000 annual visitors are of Filipino descent, there are also non-Filipinos who are interested in the Philippine market, he adds.

Like many transplanted Filipinos, the Mendez couple was always attending outdoor Filipino parades and events in the East Coast in the 1990s, ?until [we] realized that we could offer better and guaranteed services and entertainment for longer hours in an enclosed environment.? They found the ideal venue at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, ?with over 60,000 square feet of exhibit and entertainment space [that] provides a home for many Filipinos from New Jersey, New York and neighboring states for two days every year,? declares Mendez proudly.

He describes the Philippine Fiesta in America as ?the largest indoor gathering of Filipinos in the East Coast? that also provides trade exhibits of Filipino products and services, business to business networking, cultural entertainment and food festival. This year?s Fiesta, on August 14 and 15 also features ?an art and photo gallery, a children?s pavilion, business and self improvement seminars, a health pavilion, a job fair, a beauty pageant and entertainers from the Philippines and the US.?

A private initiative that ?could use more support from Philippine officials in the US,? the event is a non-profit effort that gets funding for its operations and marketing from Special Edition Press, Inc, a company involved in graphics and printing headed by the Mendezes.

The Philippine government can use the ?Philippine Fiesta in America? as the event of choice ?to communicate information about immigration, government investment opportunities and special projects to Filipinos abroad. It can also be a place to hear the voice of visiting Philippine government officials,? suggests Mendez.

The event derives its income from company sponsorships, exhibit fees, entrance ticket sales and concessions, says Mendez.

While the Philippine Fiesta has been graced by the likes of New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, Lipa mayor (now Batangas governor) Vilma Santos and former Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, Mendez says their biggest challenge is getting more Filipinos from the working class, those who juggle two to three jobs, to attend the event. ?If ever we find them, we have to convince them [through our marketing efforts] to take a two-day break and experience the Philippines one more time at the Philippine Fiesta.?

The majority of Filipinos in the East Coast apparently need little coaxing. ?Filipinos like to have a big event. Recession is not in their dictionary. They just want to have fun and are willing to pay for it,? explains Mendez of their success.

It also helps that the Mendez couple used to be in advertising and are experts in marketing. Nanding Mendez was an art director of Philippine Advertising Counselors (PAC) in the ?70s and handled many multinational accounts like San Miguel Beer and Marlboro for the agency. Mila Mendez meanwhile served as Media Analyst for the same ad agency.

What Filipinos miss most about the Philippines, the couple concluded after studying the most successful features of the event, are food, handicrafts and the familiar brown faces and attitude of their kababayan.

?And Filipinos love to sing and dance,? says Mendez. Piolo Pascual, he adds, remains one of their biggest crowd drawers.

The ?Philippine Fiesta in America? has helped locally-based Filipinos as well, he adds. ?This event helps remind Filipinos of their roots. Pinoys who have become successful tend to share their wealth through donations to their hometown. For others, like medical professionals, the event facilitates meeting like-minded individuals who offer their services for free through medical missions in the Philippines.?

As for them, the biggest reward of organizing the Fiesta, says Mendez, is ?seeing Filipinos get together and giving job opportunities to at least 150 workers every time we hold it.?

The only thing that could make them happier, he adds, is seeing ?Philippine Fiesta in America? become a project of Philippine tourism in the US.

Not a bad idea at all. Pennie Azarcon-Dela Cruz

Visit www.philippinefiesta.com for more details.