149th Birthday of Dr. Jose Rizal Celebrated in Chicago

By Sir Felix O. Gonzales, KGOR
We arrived at the Dr. Jose Rizal Monument grounds and noticed a lot of fallen trees. The night before, there was a huge storm that hit the city and made a huge mess. Nobody would have ever thought that we could hold the floral offering at the monument on that beautiful morning of the 19th of June.

The new consul general Con Gen Leo Herrera-Lim and his staff led the wreath laying ceremony at the Dr. Jose Monument on North Marine Drive assisted by knights and ladies of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, Central USA Area Council. Other community leaders from the Philippine Week Committee and the Philippine American Cultural Foundation also joined in the celebration of the 149th birthday celebration of Dr. Jose Rizal.

Con Gen Leo Herrera-Lim thanked the Almighty God that in 1861, Dr. Jose Rizal was born and lived to fight for our independence. Next year, the 150th Birthday celebration is going to be a milestone as we find the relevance of the teachings of Dr. Rizal. Even though we ourselves now live overseas and are like Dr. Rizal who fought for the social and economic upliftment of the Filipino people. ConGen Herrera-Lim is challenging everyone to get together for this upcoming celebration of the 150th Birthday of the Hero and a milestone in remembering the tenets of the Hero.

This summer, Sir Cornelio Natividad, KGOR mentioned in his remarks that the monument of Dr. Rizal will undergo maintenance and restoration. In addition, the Ladies for Rizal of the Malaya Chapter as represented by Lady Marge Viesca-Appleton and Lady Evelyn Natividad mentioned that we should plan early for the upcoming celebration of the 150th Birthday of Dr. Rizal. We all take pride in having Dr. Jose Rizal’s edifice here in Chicago.

The evening’s activity was held at the Dr. Jose Rizal Heritage Center. The Knights and Ladies of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, Central USA Area Council, led a wreath offering with Consul Orantes Castro assisting. To highlight the evening’s affair, Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim was the main speaker and he was later awarded with a certificate of being an Honorary Member of the Order of the Knights of Rizal. The chapter commanders from Central USA Area Council made their comments on the early life of the National Hero.


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