Celebrating diversity

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Today we celebrate our diversity by joining our Chinese brothers and sisters as they celebrate the lunar New Year, ushering in the year of the earth rat with a wave of revelry.

Bacolod , like most Filipino cities, is blessed with a vibrant and supportive Chinese community whose members and culture have successfully and seamlessly integrated themselves into our mainstream society, as well as made significant contributions to the progress and development of the country over the years.

However, what makes Bacolod different from most Filipino cities when it comes to embracing and welcoming our cultural differences with the Chinese community, is the institution of the BacoLaodiat Festival, a citywide celebration of the Chinese New Year. This unique festival was born three years ago, and judging from the ambitious plans of its organizers, this year's BacoLaodiat will be the biggest and grandest yet.

As we partake of the festivities and enjoy the sights, sounds, and treats of this Filipino-Chinese way of celebrating the lunar new year, one that is so far, unique only to Bacolod, let us revel in the fact that while cultural diversity may be a source of conflict in other countries, the multicultural background and history of the Philippines does not give us that problem but instead has allowed us to be more tolerant of diversity and absorb the best (and worst) of those cultures through the years.

Bacoleños, regardless of ancestry and culture, have joined hands in ensuring that the celebration of the 3 rd BacoLaodiat festival will be a runaway success and a marked improvement over the previous edition. May the lunar New Year be marked with this spirit of cooperation and goodwill between the different people, who all have different beliefs, cultures, causes, and philosophies, but who make up, and collectively hold the fate of the City in their hands.*