EARLY last week the Philippine-Italian Association (PIA) held its traditional Christmas party to touch base with members and friends.
We got together at the Conservatory of The Peninsula Hotel for an event filled with merriment and song, where old friends touched base anew and enjoyed conversing over a sumptuous spread prepared for us.
PIA President Zenaida R. Tantoco welcomed all guests, reminding us about Lina Paolini Lorenzo, the prime mover of the association who fondly nurtured it as if it were a child of hers; how she selflessly dedicated herself to bridging two countries that she considered home, by spreading the Italian culture in the Philippines and promoting a healthy exchange.
Signora Lorenzo herself came to the Philippines for love, having married painter Diosdado Magno Lorenzo whom she met in Rome while he was studying at the Accademia di Belle Arti.
A pioneer in her own right, she landed in Manila in 1934, and until her death, she was a living repository of great historical anecdotes about the Italian community living in the Philippines.
Italian Embassy First Secretary Fabio Schina spoke right after to convey a short Christmas message.
Right after dinner, we had the pleasure of listening to the angelic voices of Coro San Benildo, a multiawarded choir that recently returned bringing top honors from Gorizia, and rightly so, as we were all enchanted by their rendition of Christmas favorites and their version of “The Prayer”, Maestro Ruggero Barbieri, one of the special guests, could attest to that!
We then proceeded to exchange gifts as instructed by Lyn Liboro, our emcee for the evening, who prepared a little story to spice up the, otherwise, typical exchange. All we needed were listening and comprehension skills.
Massimo Petrone, our designated tombola master, invited our guests to get tombola cards to join a game of this traditional Christmas game of chance. Similar to bingo in some ways, but it was actually the homier and friendlier version of Lotto, when it was outlawed in Italy centuries ago.
Tombola prizes were sponsored by Rustan’s, just to make the game more enticing, particularly for the ladies, as they were designer bags, after all.
Proceeds of the games are earmarked to sponsor PIA’s charities, and to that end, we also invited the Servants of Charity to sell their homemade Panettoni, typical Italian Christmas cakes, in support of their livelihood project.
The Servants provide a home for abandoned and destitute special children in Quezon City. It is a project that has been supported by the PIA through the years.
Wishing everyone a merry Christmas in the spirit of giving to the least of our brothers, that was the core message that everyone went home with. It is something that we should all carry in our hearts to make a better world.