“Travels, Travels, Travails & Triumphs of Igorot Cordillerans in Europe” successfully launched

The book, Travels, Travails & Triumphs of Igorot Cordillerans in Europe, was launched virtually on Sunday, 27 November 2022.  The masters of ceremonies were Myra Zymelka-Colis, chairperson and founding member of MABIKAs Foundation-The Netherlands and Lorena Domanog-Clerc, past president of BIBAK-Switzerland. 

Dheza Aguilar, Managing Editor of The Filipino Expat Magazine, who is based in the Netherlands, gave an insightful book review. Marilyn Pretty Magoo from Austria also reviewed the book, and said it is easy to understand and to read. She is a member of RAMBAK Austria and Union of Youth Centers in Vienna, Austria. 

For the intermission, Mercedes Dewalan of MABIKAs Foundation rendered a song entitled “Umus-usdong si Kabunyan,” which means “Kabunyan is watching over us.”  

The authors, who were present during the book launch, read an excerpt from their entry. They were Ricardo Cuyob from Belgium; Kristine Kawi-Gorans from France; James Leroy Quintin from Ireland; Cesar Tomilas Taguba, Rachel de Weerd, Myra Zymelka-Colis, Christina T. Moncado, Yvonne Kay-an Belen from The Netherlands; Ruth Tindaan and Maureen Belen-Loste from the Philippines; Lorena Domanog-Clerc from Switzerland; and Averil Pooten-Watan from the United Kingdom.  

In Lorena Domanog-Clerc’s closing remarks, she aptly described the book when she said, “Self-representation in literature is scanty among Filipinos; more so for Igorot Cordillerans. Very often, we read books that tell about us, about who we are, and we seldom read stories about us written by us. It is about time we write our own stories so that readers of our origin will find someone who looks like themselves in the book they read – the way they think, speak, the values they hold – affirming their own reality.”

The book launch could be viewed on YouTube through the link:  https://youtu.be/kEOO_00V0cg. Myra Zymelka-Colis produced the video.

There are also articles on the book and the book launch on the ICBE website: www.icbe.eu. 

Travels, Travails & Triumphs of Igorot Cordillerans in Europe is a collection of essays, poems, songs and anecdotes written by 35 Igorot Cordillerans in Europe. The writers include two from the Philippines, who studied in Europe or  attended an Igorot Cordillera BIMAAK-Europe (ICBE) Consultation. The other writers are from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. 

The book is published by ICBE and MABIKAs Foundation-The Netherlands. ICBE is an informal network of Igorot/Cordillera/BIBAK organizations, foundations, associations or groups in Europe. It holds biennial conferences (we call them consultations) aimed at preserving the Igorot Cordillera culture and passing it on to the next generation.

A Book Committee was formed for the book project and its members became the editors. The Book Committee members-cum-editors are: Kristine Kawi-Gorans;  Myra Zymelka-Colis, Christina T. Moncado and Yvonne Kay-an Belen; Lorena Domanog-Clerc; and Evangeline Martinez, Grace Nabus and Averil Pooten-Watan  (the United Kingdom).  

The book was published in November 2022. There were 250 pre-orders and all the books were sold out. Some of the authors have donated or will donate the book – to a foundation and to the Philippine Embassy in The Hague; to libraries, colleges and schools in the Philippine Cordillera, and outside the Cordillera Administrative Region like Cervantes, Ilocos Sur and Quezon City. 

Due to interest in the book, there will be a second printing sometime in 2023. The book printing will be funded by pre-orders. For those who would like to pre-order, they may contact: yvonnekbelen(@)gmail.com. 

 

To feature more articles from Igorot Cordillerans in Europe, Volume II of the book is in the pipeline. The aim is to publish the book in the last quarter of 2024. For further information on Volume II, please visit the ICBE website.