Figure 1. (L) Mayor Evelyn Matthei of Providencia, Santiago at the PH booth; (Top Right) ACS Heads of Mission & Mayor Matthei inaugurate the 2nd ASEAN Fair in Chile; (Bottom Right) PH Embassy Chargé D'Affaires, a.i. Marcos Punsalang with the Ambassadors of Thailand and Indonesia
Figure 2. Handicrafts from the PH and brochures on doing business and tourism in the PH are prominently featured at the Fair; Chileans are introduced to the Philippine jeepney with the PH booth
Figure 3. Filipino Community members perform the tinikling; The Petiki Tirsia Kali Group of Santiago demonstrate kali, a Filipino martial arts; Embassy personnel perform a maja blanca cooking demonstration
With a booth in the shape of the iconic jeepney, the Philippine Embassy in Santiago drew the attention of Chileans at the 2nd ASEAN Fair in Santiago. The fair, organized by the ASEAN Committee in Santiago (ACS), was held at the Indonesian Embassy in Chile on 27 July 2017 from 1 pm to 6 pm and attended by over 2000 people. Chileans were treated to classic Filipino favorites such as the pancit, adobo, buko pandan and yema at the Philippine booth. The Mayor of Providencia, Santiago, Ms. Evelyn Matthei who was escorted to the booth by Philippine Embassy Chargé D’affaires, a.i. Marcos Punsalang, was one of the first to visit the Philippine booth and tried the Filipino-style empanada, after which she promptly declared, “Your empanada is much, much better than ours!” The food and drinks were in demand, which resulted in their being sold out by the end of the day.
The event was inaugurated with Opening Remarks from the ACS Chair, Ambassador Philemon Arobaya of Indonesia and Mayor Evelyn Matthei. Among the VIPs who attended were members of the diplomatic corps and officials from the Foreign Ministry of Chile and the local government.
Cultural shows from all five ASEAN countries represented in Chile were also held throughout the event. The Philippines presented the tinikling, performed by members of the Filipino community; Filipino-martial arts Kali, demonstrated by members of the Petiki Tirsia Kali Group of Santiago; and a cooking demonstration of the maja blanca, by Jeffry Aranda, a staff of the Embassy.
The ASEAN Committee in Santiago is composed of the Embassies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Other attractions at the fair included cooking demonstrations from the other four Embassies, Lancang Kuning and Lenggang Nyai Dance from Indonesia, Kampang Show from Malaysia, a Thai Massage Demo and Thai Costume Show from Thailand, and a Chicken Curry and Pad Viet Shrimps Cooking Demonstration from Vietnam. The event was broadcasted live by the national TV channel of Chile.END
