Mla Bulletin | Ogie Alcasid takes on new role as Heritage Ambassador

by Crispina Martinez-Belen
May 14, 2011, 1:00am

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Our congratulations go to multi-awarded singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid for having been appointed by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as Heritage Ambassador.

For him, this is an exciting and challenging role to take even if he is already saddled with work as TV host, actor and entrepreneur, and president of the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM).

Promoting heritage is not entirely new for Ogie as his family, particularly his mother Mini Alcasid, is active in heritage advocacy. And so, he did not hesitate to help out when the NCCA asked him to endorse and promote the activities of the National Heritage Month, which incidentally kicked off with a grand opening ceremony at the Rizal Park and National Museum last May 1 with a pre-program that included a Santacruzan, an exhibit on the Vintage Scenarios of Manila; Philippine National Cultural Treasures and World Heritage Sites; and Heritage Conservation activities of the Esuella Taller and Intramuros Administration; a food festival of authentic Filipino cuisines and delicacies.

Program proper includes performances by the Kalanguya School of Living Traditions group, Alonzo Saclag and the Kalinga Budong Dance Group and Uwang Ahadas as well as Filipino folk dances by the Barangay Folk Dance Troupe. These will be capped by kundiman performances by Aretha Ancao and Ogie himself accompanied by the Banda Kawayan.

Ogie will be utilizing his popularity to call attention to the Philippines’ heritage, generate greater awareness on its plight and foster wider appreciation of its importance and beauty. These he will do for the celebration of National Heritage Month which the NCCA is spearheading this month of May.

This year’s celebration is led by the NCCA’s Subcommission on Cultural Heritage headed by Regalado Trota Jose, with a lineup of activities for a whole month that will surely feed the soul. This year’s theme, “Taoid: Weaving Our Stories, Threading our Paths” will give us a glimpse of the legacies of the past and how it remains to shape the present and the future.

Other activities are Angat Kabataan! Preservation of the Philippine Churches Declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and National Cultural Treasures, a three-day youth camp initiated by the NCCA-National Committee on Archives (NCA) in Iloilo this month, a Cordillera textile exhibit at the Tam-Awan Artists Village in Baguio City, a pilgrimage to the country’s old churches, a Sta. Ana Church misa cantada; a performance by Coke Balipata and the Pundaquit Virtuouis at St. Peter and Paul Church in Calasiao, Pangasinan.

The National Heritage Month will end on May 27 in Dapitan City, ushering in the main celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of our National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

By the way, NCCA is led by its OIC-Chairman, Jose Laderas Santos, and its executive director, Malou Jacob.

*Photo taken from Manila Bulletin*

Source:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/318038/ogie-alcasid-takes-new-role-heritage-ambassador