Friday, October 06, 2006
'Politicking' in street dancing
By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan and Roberto L. Bacasong
"WHY are the five biggest barangays, who have the most vibrant entries, excluded in this year's Masskara street dancing competition?"
So asked many when it was found that Barangays Mandalagan, Bata, Villamonte, Taculing and Banago are not in the list of the participating barangays.
Barangay Villamonte is this year's defending champion while Barangay Taculing was the back-to-back champion for 2002 and 2003.
All five barangays are also perceived to be against the administration of Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
"No, nothing political here," was the quick answer of Rudy Reveche, in-charge of the street dancing competition when sought for comment last night.
Reveche clarified that he's not a Bacolod resident and would not have known the local politics, he being a resident of Murcia town.
The captains of the five barangays claimed they never received any invitation to join this year's festivities from the organizing body, a contention which Reveche dismissed with an allegation that there never was an invitation sent.
"Since I assumed the task in 2004, we never do that. Only the choreographers from the barangays would come to the Masskara office three to four months before October and inquire about the guidelines," he explained.
Reveche added that anyone or any barangay is welcomed to join the street dancing competition although the participating teams, which is limited to 25 this year, will be served on a "first come, first serve" basis.
This year's official participants in the barangay category are Barangays 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 37, Alijis, Granada, Handumanan, Felisa, 30, 38, Punta Taytay and Singcang-Airport.
Politics behind
Some of the barangay officials claimed that one of the main reasons why the biggest barangays were not invited to join this year's celebration is the "politicking" that is going on in the city.
Banago village chief Eduardo Torrecampo, in a telephone interview, said their barangay really wanted to join the contest just like what they did last year.
"That's why I myself also wondered why we haven't received any communication from the City or the organizer inviting us to join the street dancing," Torrecampo said, adding that they can really afford to finance their entry.
He suspected that politics maybe behind this as he opined that the organizer is supposed to spare the Masskara and the street dancing competition from "politicking" because this is an affair for everybody.
Eduardo Requillo, Barangay Bata secretary, also said that they are supposed to join the contest but were not also invited.
For Taculing chieftain Rommel Sanson, an invitation could have made them decide whether or not to join this year's competition.
Taculing was the champion for the 2002 and 2003 Masskara street dancing competition.
Sanson said he feels being "snubbed" by the present administration just like the other barangays who are identified as "anti-Bing."
He is thankful though that they were not invited so he would not have to raise funds to cover other expenses that may not be covered by the P100,000 cash assistance from City Government.
Sanson said the cash assistance is not enough for the costumes and foods of the dance group as he pointed out that each contingent would need at least P350,000 for the entire duration.
For Barangay Villamonte, last year's Hall of Famer in the open category and two-time champion for barangay category in 2004 and 2005, joining this year's competition is no longer necessary.
Arnold Elijay, the barangay secretary, said that having been at the Hall of Famer in the open category is already enough for them.
"Besides," he said, "joining this year's competition will entail us to spend at least P300,000 excluding the food expenses."
Reveche said he has no idea nor has he anything to do with the cash assistance given to the barangays as he stressed that it is the City Hall who does that and not the organizers.
Meanwhile, the schools category will be managed by the Department of Education (DepEd), which may issue additional guidelines other than the barangay and open categories.
Reveche said that each contingent must have a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 60 dancers.
On the other hand, the top three winners in the school category and the top 10 in the barangay are allowed to join in the open category.
The competition will be on Oct. 20 for the school, Oct. 21 for the barangay and Oct.22 for the open.
Prizes for barangay and open categories are P100,000 for the champion, P75,000 for first and P50,000 for the second runner-up.
For school category: Champion- P30,000, first runner-up-P20,000 and second runner-up- P10,000.
Other special awards include Best in Concept, Best in Call and Response, Best in Mask, Best in Costume and Best in Choreography with corresponding P5,000 cash prize each.
(October 6, 2006 issue)
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