June 23rd, 2002 - Chalk Farm Library
Rizal's 141st birthday ceremonies in Camden
In celebration of Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal’s 141st birth anniversary, which is June 19, a wreath-laying ceremony and cultural program were held on June 23rd at the Chalk Farm Library in Camden, where Rizal used to live in London in 1888 on a small street called Chalcott Crescent.
Ambassador Cesar B. Bautista speaks on the timeless relevance of Rizal at ceremonies commemorating the hero’s 141st birthday. Also shown in photo are Knights of Rizal Commander Barry Bowman (2nd, left), Lady Ana Bowman (2nd, right) and members of Maclariz and Kapariz.
Through the efforts of the UK chapter of the Knights of Rizal, a bronze bust of the Philippine national hero enjoys a place of honor inside the library, while a park bench has been dedicated to his memory at the nearby Chalcott Square.
Ambassador Cesar B. Bautista and Knights of Rizal UK chapter commander Barry Bowman led off the commemoration with a laying of wreathes before the bust of the hero, followed by speeches on the timeless relevance of Rizal to the Filipino nation, particularly the Filipino youth. In his remarks, the Ambassador described Rizal as "the pride of the Malay people, and one of the finest to have been produced by the human race." The hero, he said, has enjoyed a "universal recognition of his genius, his vision, and his profound contribution to the fund of human knowledge and to the heroic chapters of history."
"More than a century before the advent of the global village, Rizal and others like him were already citizens of the world, travelling in Europe and America, soaking up liberal and liberating ideas, writing incessantly, working tirelessly towards ending colonial enslavement and towards the recognition of the equality of all peoples of the world," Ambassador Bautista said, and furthermore: "In that great adventure, Rizal was among many who found in London a sanctuary for the mind, a refuge for the soul, and here in freedom he wrote parts of his social novel that would later shake the foundations of the colonial order in the Philippines."
Officers and members of the Knights of Rizal, Maria Clara ni Rizal and Kabataan ni Rizal are shown with Ambassador Bautista and Mrs. Ma. Paz Bautista at the Rizal commemoration at the Chalk Farm Library in Camden. Also in photo is Fr. Claro
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Barry Bowman, for his part, read out a long list of the national hero’s credentials as a Renaissance Man, whose mastery of many branches of arts and sciences, proficiency in several world languages, as well as athletic prowess indeed set him apart from the ordinary, and which have never been equalled since
A special part of the ceremony was the induction of the new members of Kapariz, the youth arm of the Knights of Rizal. The Sampaguita performing group rendered folk dance numbers and songs, followed by a salo-salo of Filipino delicacies prepared by the Maclariz.