Local woman shares her love of heritage
September 24, 2010
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<span style=
“font-size: medium;”>Bowling Green
resident Nellie Cornett knows the value of
culture.
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But
not just American culture — in fact, she’s only been in the U.S.
for about 40 of her 74 years.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>Cornett immigrated from the Philippines to the
U.S. in 1970.
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She
originally moved to Cincinnati before moving to Bowling Green in
1983.
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<span style=
“font-size: medium;”>In 1995,
Cornett began forming the Filipino American Association of Southern
Kentucky after seeing the growth of the local Filipino
community.
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“We
are all one nation and one spirit, though we have different
dialects,” she said. “People need to know who we are and where we
came from.”
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<span style=
“font-size: medium;”>She is now the
vice president and coordinator of the organization, one of many
cultural groups being represented at the Bowling Green
International Festival tomorrow.
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The
Filipino American Association of Southern Kentucky will have a
large commercial booth at the festival.
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The
booth will be one of the many at the festival representing cultures
throughout the world, said Kim Mason, the executive director of the
Bowling Green International Festival.
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The
festival will be at Circus Square Park, which is located at 601
State St.
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The
event will be from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>Admission is $3, according to the event’s
website. Booths will offer various food and products to patrons,
she said.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>This year, the Filipino booth will feature
cookies and other traditional Filipino desserts.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>“All of our products are made in the
Philippines,” Cornett said.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>Funds raised by their booth will go to the
association, said Cornett, who has participated in the festival for
the past three years.
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The
funds provide financial support for members that are going through
hard times, she said.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>There will also be several stages set up at the
festival where cultural groups can perform, Mason
said.
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A
group of young girls from the association is preparing a
traditional dance to perform during the festival, Cornett
said.
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The
dance is called Pandanggo sa Ilaw, meaning “dance with
lights.”
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>Cornett said the dance was chosen because it’s
easy and popular in the Philippines.
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“In
the Philippines, Pandanggo sa Ilaw is taught in schools,” she said.
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The
group performed the same dance in last years’
festival.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>Mason said the act is special to many local
participants.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>“Dancing is important to a lot of these
cultures,” she said. “It gets downright emotional at the
festival.”
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>Jonathan Quiton, the president of the
association, said the event is important because many people are
not appreciative of other world cultures.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>“Education about other cultures promotes
tolerance,” he said.
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<span style=
“font-size: 14px;”>Quiton, who immigrated from the Philippines to
the U.S. in 2002, is also an assistant professor of mathematics and
computer science at WKU.
