Statue of Filipino national hero planned for northeast Calgary park

A statue of Filipino icon Jose Rizal will soon become a focal point in a popular northeast Calgary park.

The project is being built in Prairie Winds Park and is expected to become a popular gathering place for the community in the future while honouring the contributions of Filipinos who now call Calgary home.

The monument will be similar to one constructed to honour the Filipino national hero in Manila, which has been replicated in towns and cities with large Filipino communities around the world.

Rizal was a nationalist living in the mid-to-late 1800s who opposed Spanish colonial rule and pushed for democratic rights, freedom, justice and social reforms. He was known for his intellectual prowess and compassion for his countrymen.

The Spanish colonial government charged him with inciting rebellion after the Philippine revolution.  

Rizal was executed on Dec. 30, 1896.

"This project has been going since 2018 and the vision was really simple: to have a monument that we can all gravitate towards as a symbol of belonging, multiculturalism and diversity," said Vangie Caoile, chair of Fiesta Filipino, Alberta's largest Filipino organization.

Caoile says Rizal symbolizes sacrifice, determination, courage and intellectual abilities. She says as well honouring Rizal, the monument also symbolizes the significant contributions Filipinos have made and continue to make in Alberta and Canada.

She hopes the statue, which will be designed by a local artist and engineers and stand around 15 to 20 feet (4.5 to 6 metres), can become as iconic as other Calgary landmarks like the Calgary Tower and the Peace Bridge.

"We want people to celebrate diversity by coming to this park and enjoying the amenities and understanding more about belonging and acceptance," said Caoile.

A portion of the park will become known as Rizal Park.

Caoile says they've had support across many different cultures and faiths in the northeast and from politicians like Ward 5 Coun. George Chahal.

"We are really grateful that this is not just a project by the Filipino community but the entire community as a whole," she said.

She hopes the project will inspire other immigrant communities to think about starting projects to add statues of icons from their own countries in other parts of the city.

"It is very important for us to be proud of our heritage," said Sherrisa Celis, a program co-ordinator at the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society. 

"Rizal is an inspiration to many Filipinos, and being a national hero, we look up to him."

Celis says the monument will be a great reminder and educational tool for future generations of Filipino Canadians and where they came from.

"This is very important to us. It is our hero and it's wonderful for the Filipino community," said Pepe Siapno, known throughout the Filipino community by just his first name. 

Pepe says Prairie Winds Park is already a popular picnic site for Filipinos and a statue would make the park even more of a destination and focal point in the city for Filipinos.

"We want to have it materialized that a statue of our national hero must be in this place," he said.

"We can show the kids, this is our national hero in the Philippines," he added.