Members of the Filipino community in Airdrie were joined by representatives of the Filipino government to celebrate Dr. Jose Rizal Day, a national holiday celebrated on December 30 in the Philippines to commemorate the life and works of one of the Philippines greatest national heroes.
A wreath laying ceremony was held in Nose Creek Park on Dec. 30 at the Jose Rizal monument to mark the occasion, with the Philippines Consul General Zaldy Patron, Banff-Airdrie MP Blake Richards, and Airdrie Deputy Mayor Tina Petrow in attendance.
In remarks to the assembled members of the Filipino community, Patron, who has been the Filipino Consul General in Calgary since 2019, said that Rizal “has become a beacon for all peoples yearning for a life of freedom and liberty for their nations,” and that his “teachings, idealism, and heroism are an important inspiration to all Filipinos.”
Jun Martin, with the Filipino Airdrie Association, said that the Rizal monument doesn’t just serve as a tourist attraction, but as a representation of all Filipinos, and that the Filipino Airdrie Association was deeply honoured to be a part of the “historic” Rizal monument in Airdrie.
An intellectual, novelist, and doctor who was born and raised in the Philippines at the end of the 333-year period of Spanish colonial rule, Jose Rizal spent a portion of his life living in Spain where he wrote most of his work, including novels that inspired the calls for revolution. Upon his return to the Philippines, Rizal was arrested by the Spanish colonial government and upon the commencement of the Philippine Revolution. He was tried for treason and executed by firing squad on December 30, 1896.
The first Rizal Day was observed in 1898 and has been celebrated by Filipinos around the world since then to mark the anniversary of Rizal’s death.
“Everywhere in the world, the Filipino community observes Rizal Day,” said Patron. “[We’re] here trying to make this a rallying point…to reflect on the life and teachings of Dr. Rizal.”
“When you think about a national hero like Dr. Rizal, you think about the values that he stood for,” said Banff-Airdrie MP Blake Richards. “Education, justice, unity of community, those are such important things to celebrate and to try and live them in our everyday lives…when I think about the Filipino-Canadian community, those values are exactly what come to mind.”
Airdrie Deputy Mayor Tina Petrow remembered the process that it took for the Rizal monument to get made and the friends that she made within the Filipino community.
“It’s a testament to Dr. Rizal…unifying people throughout his life and forever afterwards,” she said. “[The City] is so proud to have this monument here in Airdrie and I know that in the years to come, we will have many more friends that will come to this community.”
While Rizal Day is a holiday only in the Philippines, Patron remarked that the point of celebrating someone like Jose Rizal in different communities around the world, is to share and teach what he stood for.
“What [Rizal] has told us in his writings is that we should fight for our freedom and liberty, and love our country…that’s what we’re trying to pass on to the future generations.”
“While we already have this Rizal monument in this part of Canada,” continued Patron. “We need to do more to introduce him to the members of our community, especially those who have not grown up in the Philippines.”
Patron ended his remarks by calling for a spreading of Rizal’s teachings and example of heroism to Filipinos in Alberta, and throughout Canada.
“Let us make Dr. Jose Rizal an inspiration to the members of our community so they can develop and nurture a love for our country [and community].”
