Can't get enough of Balagtasan? Relive this timeless celebration through photos! Also check out our Facebook Page for a live recording of the event and the complete album of photos!

Balagtasan 2024 would not be possible without the support of the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia.

We would also want to thank our venue sponsor for tonight, which has been the home of Balagtasan for 4 years, Praise International Church through Team Art and Charen.

We would also want to acknowledge our premium sponsor from Greatway, your independent Insurance broker, Vicki Buechler. We would also like to thank our regular sponsors: Foundation for a Path Forward, United Filipino Canadian Associations in British Columbia (UFCABC), Hablon Styles and Hues, Northam Law: A Law Corporation, Terra International Food Inc., and UMAC Express Cargo.

We would also like to thank our food sponsors, Cucina Balai, Paradise, and Think Tank; and our media sponsor PNT: Reyfort Media Group.

Lastly, to the generous donations of oragnizations and fellow UPAABC members: Rotary Club of Mountainview Vancouver, Dr. Iris Radev, Tita Leonore Lim, Tito Dodie Lucas; and Tito Bert Parungao

Muli, maraming salamat po sa inyo.

Line of performances included UP alumnus Cliff Belgica’s Ivadoi Bendian Dance - a traditional Cordillera tribal war dance, Ikaw and Rosas ng Pandan (Harana/Kundiman) by Himig Kabataan, and the timeless traditional dance numbers of PCG to the tune of Alitaptap and Binatbatan. (“Binatbatan” is an Ilocano occupational folk dance translating the old, painstaking process of weaving “abel”, the Ilocano’s indigenous woven cloth.) Former UP Diliman Professor Veronica Caparas recited her original historical narrative poetry with the title, “Wika Mo, Wika Niya, Wika Ko… Anong Wika Yan?”.

With the theme, “The Philippine Language in Song, Serenade, Debate, Poetry, and Dance – 8th Chapter (Harana, Kundiman, Balagtasan, Tula, at Sayawan – Ikawalong Yugto), the University of the Philippines in British Columbia (UPAABC), in partnership with the Philippine Consulate in Vancouver, held its traditional annual event of the Balagtasan to celebrate “Buwan ng Wika” once more.

The event kicked off with an enlivening “La Jota” dance number from the Philippine Consulate Vancouver. Next performance was a mesmerizing rendition of “Dahil Sa Iyo” and Paru-Parong Bukid” by the Holy Cross Regional High School Choir, a Catholic senior high school group based in Surrey. They were performing for UPAABC the first time and are expected to execute anew in the coming years.

The highlight of the program, Balagtasan, had the theme, “Bakit Mahal Pa Rin Kita, Pilipinas?” that conveyed the current realities of Filipinos living abroad, to which debaters argued on the “whys” and “hows” of showing love for the Philippines while living a more quality life away from its nest. In the end, audience participation decided that “to love the Philippines with full-cycle idealism is impossible while the mother land never delivered expectations, especially on the issue of financial stability.”
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​The much-awaited singing number, “Harana”, has given much joy to the audience as Friends, Apothic, and Music (FAM), a group that also hails from the University of the Philippines, gave the traditional version of Harana a modern twist by performing Filipino love and dance songs from the 1970s.

This year’s celebration of UPAABC’s and PCG Vancouver’s Balagtasan wrapped up by singing “Ako ay Pilipino” and with a simple dinner prepared for sponsors, performers, and guests.
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Balagtasan, Kundiman, Harana, Tula at Sayawan: Ikawalong Yugto is presented by the UP Alumni Association in British Columbia (UPAABC) and the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver. UPAABC would like to give its wholehearted thank you to the generous support of Hablon Styles & Hues, Sun Life, Irene Querubin from RE/MAX, Praise International Church, Friends, Apothic, and Music (FAM), Iris Radev, M.D., T1 Mobile, United Filipino-Canadian Associations in BC, Paradise, Grandt Kitchen, Eat Kanadiyan, and Vicki Buechler from Greatway Financial.

​By: Bella Balisi-Bevilacqua