Monday, April 30, 2007 Basakanon wins P1M in national festival By Rene H. Martel Sun.Star Staff Reporter
AFTER lording it over in this year’s Sinulog, Lumad Basakanon reasserted its dominance in the national scene when it was crowned as back-to-back winner in the Aliwan Festival in Pasay City last Friday.
The Aliwan, now on its fourth year, is an inter-regional competition in which contingents showcase different major festivals from all parts of the country.
With the win, Lumad Basakanon of Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City achieved the rare feat of winning the contest twice in a row, and took home P1 million and a trophy.
Choreographer Norman Navarro said that at first, they were not optimistic to win after hearing that they earned some point deductions for going beyond the allotted time by a few seconds when they presented at the Quirino Grandstand.
Norman, a Basak San Nicolas councilor, and his brother Dennis, who works in the Cebu City Hall, are the contingent’s choreographers.
Faster
Norman said they tried to recoup the loss by having the drummers make the beat a bit faster when they performed again in Star City about three kilometers away.
Iloilo’s Dinagyang took second place, while Hilongos, Leyte got third spot.
Norman said all presentations were astonishing in terms of visual impact, but he credited their win to their performance, on how they perfectly executed the fast-paced dance steps.
Still donning the Yakan-inspired costumes that have already become the group’s brand, Basakanon again wowed the judges and spectators with their unique steps, which include dancers swaying with their arms interlocked, a Sto. Niño image held aloft amid a sea of bobbing heads.
Norman said they just added a few more features in their Sinulog 2007 presentation and spent for additional costumes, as they had to bring in more props and propsmen.
Donations
He said that of Hilongos was especially beautiful that he thought it would take the second place.
Navarro thanked M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala for donating P310,000 for their food and pocket money, the Cebu City Government for taking care of their transportation worth over P700,000, and Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Rep. Antonio Cuenco for giving P50,000 each in personal funds to the contingent.
After Lumad Basakanon won in the Aliwan last year, the Cebu City Government declared it as the city’s official dance troupe that will “represent the City in all cultural events nationwide to portray the Sinulog.”
Norman said the donations helped a lot because while before they had to solicit and even thought of no longer joining because of tight finances, they had a few worries this time in terms of logistical support.
Vice Mayor Michael Rama, Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera and Sinulog Foundation Inc. officials led by Ricky Ballesteros were also present during the competition and cheered for the group.
City Hall likewise sent three Kaohsiung buses to ferry the dancers to the competition venues from their billeting areas.
