Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

NEW YORK—Charice, dubbed as the "singing sensation and Internet phenomenon from the Philippines," rocked the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, Nov. 27, and performed the Celine Dion classic, Because You Loved Me, in front of an estimated three million spectators who braved the wintry weather to watch the parade live.

The young singer rode the Good Housekeeping showboat float and waved to fans, some of who recognized her for her string of appearances at the Oprah show.

This year’s parade boasted a mix of the old and the new, with the more established performers such as James Taylor and Rick Astley. The younger idols such as Miley Cyrus and American Idol Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta also had the crowds screaming and chanting.

Charice was still in high spirits, munching on chocolates and Boy Bawang as she digested the experience of her first Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City, no less.

"Sobrang happy po ako. Unang thanksgiving ko, tapos ganito pa. Natutuwa po ako sa mga tao, sa mga kababayan natin at sa ibang mga lahi. Masasabi ko na tanggap nila ako," Charice told the Asian Journal, relishing the reality that she had an entire float to herself and a spot number where she performed one of her favorite songs for the millions of people who consider the parade as an annual tradition.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has become a part of New York’s historic fabric, a national icon that has grown into a world-famous holiday event. The first one was staged back in 1924 and it has been consistently staged annually, except for two years during World War II when it was cancelled.

"Ang ginaw lang po, sobra. Pero walang sinabi yung ginaw sa saya ko ngayon. Na-meet ko pa si Miley [Cyrus] saka si David [Archuleta]. Sabi ni Miley sa akin, napanood daw niya sa YouTube yung mga performances ko. Napakabait po niya, and I’m such a big fan," Charice rattled.

There was one incident that the giddy singer recalled, which made everyone in the limo laugh.

Along the parade route, there were three American teeners ("Mukhang mga 13 pa lang") who kept on shouting her name. "Then, sabi po nila, ‘Charice, will you marry me?’ Natatawa po ako. Gusto nila yung hat ko, pero ang lamig kaya napag-isip ako kung ibibigay ko ba," Charice said.

An NYPD cop suggested her gloves instead. Charice obliged and threw her gloves to the adoring boys. "Ayun, nag-agawan na po sila. Ako naman, lalong gininaw. Pero okay, basta masaya sila, masaya na din ako," she added.

Macy’s celebrated its 150th anniversary earlier this year with much fanfare, and the 82nd Thanksgiving Day Parade is part of the yearlong grand celebration. For the first time, the parade welcomed the addition of Buzz Lightyear (from Disney’s well-known animated movie, Toy Story), Dr. Seuss’ Horton and five-story Smurf (a blue, gnome-like creature popularized by a TV show that began in 1981) into the line-up of giant balloons of cartoon characters and icons that make the parade more awesome for the spectators.

The parade began at 9 a. m., going down Broadway, from Central Park West and West 77th Street to Herald Square, in front of Macy’s original, parent store with each block of the 2.5 mile stretch covered with people, mostly families with their young children, and of course, tourists. Hundreds of clowns, acrobats and cheerleaders joined ten marching bands, 28 gigantic floats and over 3.5 million holiday revellers to make this year’s parade another memorable one. g

( www.asianjournal.com )

( Published on December 3, 2008 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A1)