T his is one summer that would define Toronto for many years. Though it has been more than two weeks since the advent of the summer solstice, the temperature has not only become exceedingly hot; the events and the people behind them are also hot, that is, from a newsman's perspective. As in other communities elsewhere, summer is the best time to celebrate all kinds of milestones. With a Filipino population bigger than a typical rural village in the Philippines, Toronto stands witness to the vibrant and colorful spectacle the Filipino community has to offer.

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PREROGATIVE

By Romy Marquez

Toronto's Summer Solstice

T ORONTO—The summer solstice officially arrived in Canada three Mondays ago, that's on June 21st, and with it came the summer that would define Toronto in the years to come.

Not that the weather was too hot and uncomfortably humid, it was that we were practically buried in the avalanche of events that made Toronto hot; in fact, shaped Toronto as a "significant other" in many people's estimation.

Toronto isn't even Canada's capital, Ottawa is. But Toronto is Canada's largest city, a capital no less, of the province of Ontario. It may lack the charm and sweetness of Quebec City or Montreal, but Toronto is as cosmopolitan as New York, its neighbor to the south, and the center of multi-culturalism.

As the summer descended on us, other concomitant summers came, metaphorically that is.

These are the summers of political and economic discourse that gave birth to the summer of discontent; the summer of royalty that reminded Canadians of ancient monarchy; and the endless summer of community feasts and celebrations.

I covered Toronto's summer of discontent, particularly the part that brought memories of yore when youthful idealism virtually clothed one with inexhaustible courage to brave live bullets, truncheons and tear gas fighting against an emerging dictatorship in Manila.

I did survive that; in fact, I went through the nearly two decades of strong-arm rule by the martial law architect Ferdinand Marcos as a foreign correspondent.

I thought it was surreal being on the side of the protesters (but not with them) now as a phalanx of armoured men and horses stood guard to protect national leaders from being disturbed as they talked about world politics.

The pedestrian among us, myself included, was cast aside as royalty took center stage from where modern czars from rich and powerful nations left off. What would have been my first real-life encounter with the royals quickly vanished.

The news of their presence didn't quite hit, though in journalism that would be an inexcusable gaffe. It became interesting only on Monday (July 5, 2010) when a power outage temporarily disabled the royals. They're just as vulnerable like the rest of us, I whispered to myself, and gloated secretly.

On the other hand, the summer of milestones is here.

The fiestas, picnics, rituals and every excuse to bring us all together in one giant binge of eating, singing and dancing are truly Filipino, a natural Filipino proclivity. Who is Filipino who knows no fiesta, neither beauty pageants nor singing contests?

The basic concept of family widens into the broader community. And we stop there for some reasons. Either we're afraid to go beyond or we're too timid to prove ourselves capable of reining in a bigger community.

Could this be the reason Filipinos haven't truly redeemed themselves from the parochial? That we're good only within that small unit, which is why there's a proliferation of many organizations with the same intents and purposes targeting the same community?

I am groping for answers, though at this juncture of my stay in Toronto, I'm already beginning to form an idea. San Diego, California, had been my home base in the last 16 years, and that gave me knowledge of practically everything in the Filipino community there, among others.

San Diego is a perpetual summer with a few variations. The sun god always smiles on America's finest city most times in 365 days. Winter, spring, summer and fall are calendar events rather than nature's occurrences.

The fiestas, picnics, rituals and every excuse to bring us all together in one giant binge of eating, singing and dancing are truly Filipino, a natural Filipino proclivity. Who is Filipino who knows no fiesta, neither beauty pageants nor singing contests?

T he snow that enveloped Toronto when I came in February was pretty much a fantasy until the moment I stepped out of Pearson airport. I hadn't had touched and felt snow in its freshest form as I did in Toronto the following weeks later, first in Niagara, then in Montreal and Ottawa.

The closest -- and please pardon my blissful ignorance -- to seeing and feeling snow was in California's Lake Arrowhead, up there in the San Bernardino Mountains. But that was only a few days after a record snowfall. By the time I drove up there from San Diego, snow was already melting on the sidewalks.

The summer, I suppose, is the Filipino community's excuse for the many parties and celebrations of all kinds. That's valid. That also puts a natural cap to the holding of such events. Which brings me again to San Diego, where down there, it's year-round phenomenon. In many instances, the community just stops due to rising costs. People complain of spending fatigue or donor's fatigue.

Since March, I've attended a number of functions. I soon discovered that it was such a fun way to know about Toronto's geography and transport system. I also learned to take the bus to catch a train, and vice versa, in order to be on time for an appointment.

From north to south, east to west; from one organization to the next; from person to another -- it's during the summer solstice that I'm beginning to know them all. # # #

(PREROGATIVE is the title of Romy Marquez's longest-running column in several newspapers in the United States, specifically in San Diego and Los Angeles, California. In Chicago, Illinois, that column carried a different name and is called PASSWORD. - Editor)

For more news and photos, visit: http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/ and http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/.

For news videos and photos about the G20 summit, click the following links:

1. The other side of protest at: &feature=channel" target=_blank>&feature=channel

2. Part I: &feature=channel" target=_blank>&feature=channel

3. Part II: &feature=channel" target=_blank>&feature=channel

4. Part III: &feature=channel" target=_blank>&feature=channel

5. Part IV: &feature=channel" target=_blank>&feature=channel

6. Part V: &feature=channel" target=_blank>&feature=channel

7. Part VI: &feature=channel" target=_blank>&feature=channel

8. Part VII: " target=_blank>