JEDDAH, 5 November 2003 — Traditional Filipino costumes emerged as the top choice in a contest involving students of the Al Afkar International School in Jeddah recently.
Dubbed “International Day,” the annual event features a colorful display and stylish pageantry of various costumes representing different countries of the world.
Each grade level represents particular countries such as Ireland, Mexico, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Sudan and Italy.
In this year’s contest, Grade 7 students wearing the Filipino barong tagalog, Maria Clara, baro’t saya and other well known Filipino Muslim outfit from Mindanao, were selected as the winners.
Their homeroom adviser, Mohammad Isa Carlos de Leon, has been instrumental in the meticulous preparation of the costumes that eventually won them the pride, honor and trophy. “As a Filipino, I’m proud that our traditional costumes are recognized everywhere. I am particularly appreciative to the students who were able to properly display the Filipino costumes elegantly and distinctively,” de Leon said.
The other winners were: Grade 4 (Mexico), 1st runner-up; Grade 6 (Malaysia), 2nd runner-up, and Grade 5 (Sudan), 3rd runner-up.