Monday, September 20, 2010

Congratulations to the Winners of the Bicol Talent Fest - Bay Area

Champion
Alex Giva of Tiwi, Albay

2nd Place
The Haranistas of Iriga City

3rd Place
Angelica Almazan of Iriga City

The winners received $300, $200 and $100, respectively.
Congratulations!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Meet the Board of Judges


KEESA OCAMPO
Keesa Ocampo is a 28-year-old government and community relations officer for Philippine international media conglomerate, ABS-CBN International.
The young philanthropist and community advocate was born in California and raised in Manila. Belonging to a political family, her father showed her early on the value of public service and working for progress, justice and human rights. Despite a degree in pre-med and a six-year career in ethnic media, Ocampo has been unable to escape a calling into public service.
Her involvement and advocacy began as an active stakeholder of numerous Asian Pacific American organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area like the Young Filipino Professionals Association, Filipino Entrepreneurs Network, Asian Heritage Month Committee for the City of San Francisco, Asian Pacific Fund and San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee. Her wide span of networks in the Filipino-American and broader Asian American communities and persistent work to build bridges resulted in co-founding the progressive organization Citizen Hope. Inspired by the energy generated during the Obama campaign, the group formed with a commitment to engage in community and civic service projects.
Not an unusual portfolio for emerging community leaders, Ocampo’s course took a turn and her stronghold was catapulted by the September 2009 devastation of Typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines. She galvanized a team across organizations and communities to develop a disaster relief fundraiser that was recognized for its vast coverage, speed and success. The series of 2009 disasters led her to co-found Bay Area Benefit, champions of “guerilla philanthropy.” Her deep organizing and fundraising skills have benefited numerous disaster relief efforts and have supported initiatives towards equality, justice and education. She also serves on the board of the Glide Memorial Young Professionals Board.
Keesa is the recipient of a Presidential Citation from Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, for her humanitarian work.
Bay Area Benefit 
Citizen Hope

CARLOS ZIALCITA
Manila-born blues harmonica player and vocalist Carlos Zialcita has been part of the Bay Area blues and jazz scene for three decades as a performer, promoter, educator, and former radio announcer. Zialcita's career began in the early ‘70s as a founding member of the Chico David Blues Band, a popular Bay Area band, which backed legendary blues artists like T-Bone Walker, Charles Brown, and Big Mama Thornton. Since those early days Zialcita has been on numerous musical journeys with many of the blues, jazz, and R&B legends he has long respected and admired.  Zialcita has recorded two CDs as a solo artist, Train Through Oakland produced by legendary R&B pioneer Johnny Otis, and Evolution, produced by Carlos Zialcita for SeƱor Blues Productions.
Zialcita continues to perform, tour, and record with several blues artists including Sonny Rhodes, Johnny Otis and Afro-Filipina R&BN diva Sugar Pie DeSanto.  Zialcita appears on DeSanto’s latest CD, Refined Sugar.  Since 2006, Zialcita has been a founding member of Little Brown Brother, a jazz fusion group that combines elements of jazz, latin jazz, blues, R&B, and Filipino music into a sound that is uniquely their own.  Their CD, Soul Shadows, is dedicated to the Filipino American jazz and blues pioneers and has received radio airplay and rave reviews in the SF Bay Area and beyond. 
Zialcita is the founder and Executive Director of the San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival, now in its third year.  Their mission is to promote, preserve, and celebrate Filipino American history, art, and culture.  It focuses on the unique history and legacy of jazz as performed by Bay Area Filipino American jazz artists.  The Festival presents events throughout the year and partner with other organizations to further their goal of building community, promoting education about jazz artists, and preserving this rich, shared cultural heritage. 
San Francisco Filipino American Jazz Festival

WILFRED GALILA
Born, raised and cultured in Iloilo City, Philippines, he moved to Manila, the country's capital, in pursuit of filmmaking. His works include Cinematography, Photography, Lighting Design, Editing and also Writing and Directing.
Hovering above the thin line between good and evil, he is in constant pursuit for the understanding of the human condition and Man's place in the cosmos.
Now based in the Bay Area, he also makes music with two of his bands, The ElectroSonic Chamber and The Family of Man.
He also majors in film production at The Art Institute of California-San Francisco, to learn more to aid him in achieving his goals and perfecting his craft.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Get your tickets to the Penafrancia TriCentennial Celebration Ball

Join us on October 2, 2010 as we celebrate the 300th Anniversary of Our Lady of Penafrancia with a night of great food, fun and dancing.
This event is doubly special because we're also celebrating the 40th anniversary of the DOLVP and its sponsorship of the Penafrancia festivities in Northern California. DOVLP is the first organization to bring the Bicolanos' devotion to Our Lady of Penafrancia in the United States.
Plus, on this night the winner of the Miss Penafrancia TriCentennial online voting contest will be revealed.

Reserve your seats and buy your tickets now! Call (619) 245-5548.

Ticket Price: $60
Date & Time: 6:00 PM Saturday, October 2, 2010
Venue: Fremont Marriot Silicon Valley
46100 Landing Parkway
Fremont, California See Map & Get Directions
Music: Elements of Time
Reminder: No dinner is served after 9 PM

Proceeds benefit the Archdiocese of Caceres, DOLVP and the Penafrancia TriCentennial Celebration in the Bay Area.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Penafrancia TriCentennial Commemorative Shirts Now On Sale


Penafrancia TriCentennial Commemorative Tees Now On Sale

$17.00
Available in S, M, L and XL. Limited supply.
Order now. Call 619-245-5548, or email nonoani@gmail.com, or contact your DOLVP Member Organization.

Proceeds benefit the Archdiocese of Caceres, Devotees of Our Lady Virgin of Penafrancia and the Penafrancia TriCentennial Celebration in the Bay Area