The Mind: My Own Personal Idea Factory

I discovered a Filipino community centre at Chinatown last Sunday. I was on my way to buy some Yakult for my girlfriend and some Japanese rice crackers for myself at a local Japanese store when this big, red image of a Jeepney caught my eye. I was curious what the place was, but it was closed when I tried to peek in. I came back this afternoon right after work to check it out. It was open. I walked in and met Caroline Mangosing - the centre’s Executive Director.                                                                                       

I introduced myself and asked Caroline what the place was. She explained that the Kapisanan Philippine Centre (KPC) provides Toronto’s Filipino Community with "artistic and cultural programming through performance, visual and literary arts, film and video, and music." According to information found on KPC’s MySpace Page, the facility provides a "venue for creation, exhibition, and networking while increasing community interaction and participation and exposing the broader community to Filipino arts and culture."

167 Augusta Avenue Toronto, ON

m5t 2l4   Ofc: (416) 979-0600                                      

Caroline added that not only does she commit her time being KPC’s Executive Director, but she recently just spent a good chunk of her life and energy as Producer of an upcoming independent Filipino movie - ANG PAMANA (The Inheritance), starring Phoemela Baranda. (official site)                                       

I told her about The Mind and asked if she was willing to strike a pose or two for the site. As you can see, she was more than willing to oblige. You can’t really tell from these pictures but she’s wearing a shirt that has MANILA printed on it, which I thought was kinda cool.                                                                                              

With the summer season long gone, work hasn’t been taking as much of my time as it did the last few months. I finally have some free time on my hands, especially during the weekends. Caroline said that I can always drop by and take part in some of the KPC’s activities, including a "Filipino History Class" that’ll be held this Sunday. I told her I was interested and that I’ll be seeing her again at the end of the week. I’ll post updates on the site and tell you all about it. ^_^                                                                                  

I’m actually really excited about this. It’s nice to be a part of a group that deals with things that are "Filipino-related." I’ve spent almost 5 years of my life being around Italians. For those of you who don’t know: I make gelato for a living. I’ve been doing it for almost 5 years.                                                                                             

It’s nice to be around Filipinos for a change. It’s nice to finally be with family.