Kim Rojo Celestino Barroso is the Music Director of St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. He has been a member of St. Augustine for 20 years and a choir director for 18 years. He leads the choirs, plays the organ and piano during different services, and arranges the music for the liturgies.
Barroso discovered St. Augustine through a piano teacher who mentioned the presence of a Filipino community in Old City. He quickly became involved in the church’s musical life, joining the choir and playing for services. His involvement expanded when he began playing for multiple services, including Masses, and eventually became the Music Director.
Barroso’s work as a pianist and Music Director has allowed him to perform at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. His connection to Filipino religious and cultural traditions is evident in the music of St. Augustine’s Filipino Masses, which feature Tagalog hymns and maintain a strong cultural identity within the church community.
How does Saint Augustine incorporate Filipino religious and cultural traditions into its services and events?
Particularly, St. Augustine’s 11:00 AM was designated or has always been designated in a Filipino mass. That means we sing some hymns in Tagalog. So, we always sing in Tagalog weekly is the Ama Namin or The Lord’s Prayer. My cantors are Americans who can sing Papuri sa Diyos (Praise the Lord). I taught them. They can sing Ama Namin (The Lord’s Prayer). I make them sing Tagalog songs. And whenever they hear Filipino songs, they’re moved. They always tell me it’s just so beautiful. It’s different and I say it touches the heart. It’s just the way it is. One might say if you really go down, as sad as this might be, Spanish [colonization]. There’s this big Spanish influence in our music and it blends with our culture. That’s what came out of it.
How do non-Filipino parishioners react to Tagalog hymns?
They love it. We have a lot of people come in, and they’re like, “what’s going on?” And then they follow. And then if [they] become a weekly person, it’s like a chance for [them] to learn another language. Praying in another way. And even if you’re just there, you have no chance, you have to sing with it. Or listen to it.
What is St. Augustine’s biggest event for the Filipino community?
I’ll tell you one thing about the Filipinos. They come to this church because of the Santo Niño de Cebú (a Catholic title for the Child Jesus). It’s the shrine of the Santo Niño. So, Filipinos go there because it’s Santo Niño, no matter what.
Our biggest event is Sinulog, which is the feast of Santo Niño. We have the Winter Sinulog, which coincides with the real date in the Philippines. We [also] have the Summer Sinulog, which we just had a month ago. The Summer Sinulog emerged from when the Santo Niño first arrived in 1992. And I think they had a big celebration around August or September. And that became the Sinulog during summer so people can celebrate outside the parish boundary [with] Prusisyon (a parade of religious statues that march through the streets, while devotees follow them with lighted candles).
And then people go crazy because in the end, because Binebendisyunan yung Santo Niñong dala nila (The priests bless the Santo Niño that people brought). And so, it’s just, for me, it’s just such a colorful event. The best part is when we go out into the street and show people our faith, which always catches people. They’re like, “Oh wow, what’s going on? Like, what’s going on here?”.
How do you think the church’s integration of Filipino traditions impacts the community in Philadelphia?
I think it’s a chance to reconnect with the culture. The feeling of connection, the feeling of wonderment that we can sing Tagalog in the U.S. You’d think that’s not doable, but the church does it weekly. It’s also a melting pot because everybody has a different background like Ilocanos, and Cebuanos. It’s also camaraderie, and at the end of the day, it’s the food, because we always serve lunch after the 11 a.m. mass with Filipino food. So, people come out to that and eat.
So, as someone closely involved with both the church and the Filipino community, what has been the most meaningful part of your work here?
I think it’s just the energy. When the crowd reacts to what you do, if the crowd cry or if you hear them all shout together, that means we’re doing something special here. It means the world. It feels like it doesn’t matter where you are, if you’re in the U.S., we’re able to still do what we do in the Philippines.
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