Recently, Makati was included in the first-ever Los Angeles Sister City Festival held at the Page Museum Gardens in Los Angeles. The fair was organized by The Sister Cities of Los Angeles Association headed by council member Tom Labonge of the fourth district. It aimed to bring together the cultures, heritages and folklores of the 21 Sister City members – among them Busan, Korea; Guanchou, People’s Republic of China; Berlin, Germany; Athens, Greece; Nagoya, Japan; and Makati, Philippines.
"The Sister Cities Organization is a people to people program and Los Angeles is a people to people city. This is what we love about living here and it’s also why people from all over the world continue to visit here," Labonge said. "In a few short blocks, the character of a neighborhood seems to cross all continents and cultures. Our city is unique in this way."
The Sister Cities Program was first created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, aiming to strengthen partnerships between the US and international cities with the hope that personal relationships fostered through sister city affiliations would lessen the chances of future world conflicts.
The City of Angeles began its Sister Cities program with Nagoya, Japan in 1959. Through the years, it has collected a total of 21 Sister Cities across six continents, spanning Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.
Makati became a Sister City in Dec. 4, 1992, when then Mayor Jejomar Binay signed an agreement with former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Since then, the two have shared a close relationship.
"It’s mostly socio-cultural for now. But what we intend to do is make this relationship between Makati and Los Angeles to become a more substantive. One that will go into business, one that will take advantage of the fact that Makati is a financial center. Los Angeles is a huge city and land of opportunity. Perhaps we can look into that in the mid-future," said Consul General Marciano Paynor of the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles.
Paynor, along with other officials of the Consulate and some members and officers of the Makati Association in Southern California shared in the day-long festivities that included booths to showcase the treasures of each Sister City. The Philippine contingent also proudly cheered on the Sinag Band, a local acoustic band who performed an interesting mix of Philippine folk songs arranged in a modern rock/reggae twist during the hour-long variety program at the end of the day. Think Ati Cu Pung Singsing with a reggae twist reminiscent of Bob Marley and hiphop/RnB flava characteristic of Usher.
"It’s something out of the traditional. But, of course, we wanted something that would represent Makati because you know Makati is a very modern city," said Annie Cuevas, director of the Philippine Department of Tourism in Los Angeles.
The president of the Philippine Jazz Society of Manila, Sandra Viray, also performed to represent Makati. She sang a medley of America and Bayan Ko. And it was just fitting for Viray, who even flew from the Philippines to grace this occasion, since she herself is a product of Makati.
"Well, basically it’s about sharing our own diversity and so we have this, sharing our own diversity with the community here in Los Angeles," said vice consul Hellen Barber of the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles.
According to the members of the Makati Association who manned the Makati Booth in the grounds of the Page Museum Garden, the fair contributed a lot in making the international community aware of what Makati is like and what the Philippines is all about.
"Many were really curious about our city, especially since they think that the Philippines doesn’t have those tall skyscrapers. And they were also interested in all the other tourist spots in the Philippines because we have the picture of the Banaue Rice Terraces," said Frances Maylad of the Makati Association.
In all, the first-ever staging of the Los Angeles Sister City Festival was hailed by many as a success. And this only encouraged the City Council to make the event a yearly gathering of international Sister Cities to celebrate diversity.