Founder - Leticia Bulotano Wheeler
Written by Elenita Belgica
Editor in Chief, Montreal Pinoy Post
June 2009 Issue
Visionaries are people who have great insights and passion for magnificent goals. They are risk takers with tre-mendous faith. Their undertakings make ordinary minds waver in faith and frozen in fear and doubt. There are so many great names of visionaries like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Bill Gates, and Mother Teresa. But there are so many visionaries in our social circles, our families, communities, cities and countries. They are people who pioneer, initiate, and organize. They are harbingers, leaders, dynamic thinkers and dedicated movers.
Leticia Bulotano-Wheeler is a classi-cal community oriented visionary with a driven mission at heart. She was born and raised in the biggest province in the archipelago at the north western part of Mindanao. Most of her academic and university life were lived in Butuan City, Cebu, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Growing up in that part of the Philippine archipelago known as Mindanao a province that lies at the eastern side of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei with a pluralism of 127 indigenous communities that are so vibrant and colorful in customs and tradition, all these factors made inevitable that a cultural awareness and attachment to its magnificence were the constant promptings that moved Leticia towards her cultural vision and mission. These were the immortal words that prompted her to live her thirty six years in Montreal with the objective of extending a profound influence to generations of young Filipino Canadians.
Her family orientation were anchored in family gatherings each evening where her mother was the dynamic storyteller who wove the tapestry of colorful traditional stories depicting dances and songs as well as developing that deep interest in her children for respect and love for their Filipino values and culture. She reminded them that national pride and respect for heritage is what makes a nation special. She admonished them to remember that they are the unique indi-viduals that comprise the whole and that they have to honor that birthright. They are the representations of that nation’s pride and God’s gifts.
She was the founder of the Kalayaan Dance Troupe later known as Filipiniana Dance Company of Montreal. Filipiniana was the first Filipino-Canadian Group that represented Canada in the CIOFF festival all over the world. She also founded Kalinan-gan Dance Troupe, Salinggawi and PAMANA ng LuzViMinda.
PAMANA ng LuzViMinda is different from other groups she organized be-cause she has given the youth total opportunity to take leadership.
These groups are focused towards cultural dances and the full apprecia-tion of Philippine history. These groups were opportunities for parents to be totally involved in their children’s participation and the call of discipline and commitment were instilled and valued. It became a way for families to bond and work towards a common goal.
Her efforts in 2005 in founding PAMANA ng LuzViMinda and ensur-ing that the leadership of the pres-ervation and promotion of the Fili-pino heritage are disseminated through our dedicated youth leaders headed by John Tuvida, Veraida-Lyn Bermejo, Sherling de la Paz are typical of her volunteer work since arriving in Montreal 36 years ago.
Editor in Chief, Montreal Pinoy Post
June 2009 Issue
Visionaries are people who have great insights and passion for magnificent goals. They are risk takers with tre-mendous faith. Their undertakings make ordinary minds waver in faith and frozen in fear and doubt. There are so many great names of visionaries like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Bill Gates, and Mother Teresa. But there are so many visionaries in our social circles, our families, communities, cities and countries. They are people who pioneer, initiate, and organize. They are harbingers, leaders, dynamic thinkers and dedicated movers.
Leticia Bulotano-Wheeler is a classi-cal community oriented visionary with a driven mission at heart. She was born and raised in the biggest province in the archipelago at the north western part of Mindanao. Most of her academic and university life were lived in Butuan City, Cebu, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Growing up in that part of the Philippine archipelago known as Mindanao a province that lies at the eastern side of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei with a pluralism of 127 indigenous communities that are so vibrant and colorful in customs and tradition, all these factors made inevitable that a cultural awareness and attachment to its magnificence were the constant promptings that moved Leticia towards her cultural vision and mission. These were the immortal words that prompted her to live her thirty six years in Montreal with the objective of extending a profound influence to generations of young Filipino Canadians.
Her family orientation were anchored in family gatherings each evening where her mother was the dynamic storyteller who wove the tapestry of colorful traditional stories depicting dances and songs as well as developing that deep interest in her children for respect and love for their Filipino values and culture. She reminded them that national pride and respect for heritage is what makes a nation special. She admonished them to remember that they are the unique indi-viduals that comprise the whole and that they have to honor that birthright. They are the representations of that nation’s pride and God’s gifts.
She was the founder of the Kalayaan Dance Troupe later known as Filipiniana Dance Company of Montreal. Filipiniana was the first Filipino-Canadian Group that represented Canada in the CIOFF festival all over the world. She also founded Kalinan-gan Dance Troupe, Salinggawi and PAMANA ng LuzViMinda.
PAMANA ng LuzViMinda is different from other groups she organized be-cause she has given the youth total opportunity to take leadership.
These groups are focused towards cultural dances and the full apprecia-tion of Philippine history. These groups were opportunities for parents to be totally involved in their children’s participation and the call of discipline and commitment were instilled and valued. It became a way for families to bond and work towards a common goal.
Her efforts in 2005 in founding PAMANA ng LuzViMinda and ensur-ing that the leadership of the pres-ervation and promotion of the Fili-pino heritage are disseminated through our dedicated youth leaders headed by John Tuvida, Veraida-Lyn Bermejo, Sherling de la Paz are typical of her volunteer work since arriving in Montreal 36 years ago.
Sherling de la Paz, Veraida-Lyn Bermejo, John Tuvida & Leticia Bulotano Wheeler