President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III

The Philippines welcomed a new President today with the inauguration of Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III at Malacañang Palace. Noynoy is my Uncle. His father Ninoy Aquino Jr. – who was assassinated in August 1983, is first cousins with my grandfather, Claudio Aquino. The Aquino’s are leading the country once again as Noynoy follows in his late mother Cory’s footsteps as President of the Philippines…and he carries on the dream of my Lolo Ninoy to serve his people because in Lolo Ninoy’s words, “The Filipino is worth dying for.”

noynoy

All that being said, it was a big, exciting day for my relatives in Manila to watch history in the making and attend today’s event …

Here are a few more photos they took at the inauguration.

A sea of supporters..

WE ARE FAMILY!

Congrats Uncle Noynoy…we are all so proud!

My President is Black

I wish I had made the trek to DC for the inauguration. It’s definitely the place to be at such an exciting time for the country, and January 20, 2009 is a day so many never thought they would ever see in their lifetime! I am so proud to be an American and overjoyed to have a President who I can really identify with…a fellow minority who speaks to my generation! I distinctly remember when I was young, maybe 6 or 7 years old and my Auntie Cici asked me if my Dad could be anything, what job would I want him to have…and I responded the President of the United States! She laughed, maybe because it wasn’t possible since my Dad wasn’t born in the U.S. or maybe because back then she didn’t believe a person of color could ever win. Well, the time has come. I know it’s tough times for so many right now, but if we can all hang in there and keep believing, “A Change is Gonna Come” because we ARE making progress! Tomorrow the entire world will welcome the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama! YES WE CAN!

BTW…anyone who’s been in my car the past 5 months knows I’ve been bumpin that Jeezy and Nas… “My President is Black…” 🙂