Philippines among countries featured in Quermesse Festival in Brasilia

The Philippines was one of only five countries featured during the 45th Quermesse Festival in Brasilia this August. India, Malaysia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka were the other countries featured in the month-long festival.

The Quermesse Festival is an annual celebration of Asian food, music, dance, games, and arts. In Brazil, quermesse is a term used to refer to any outdoor religious festival. This year’s Quermesse was held at the Pure Land Shin Buddhist Temple in Brasilia over the four weekends of August, with a different country featured every weekend. The Philippines was the featured country on the weekend of 11-12 August 2018.

The festival’s theme this year is “A Present Community”. The event hopes to make people more aware of the invisible relationships that exist among people, to remember that with the help and unity of all, we are stronger and can live in harmony.

The Philippine booth was organized by the Philippine Embassy in Brasilia and featured artisanal items such as pearl jewelry, bags, hats, capiz frames and abanicos, and typical Filipino food such as pancit, lumpia, chicken and pork barbecue, turon and siopao. Arnis self-defense techniques were also demonstrated by Filipino Arnis Master Dada Inocalla and his students.