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Sunday, August 05, 2007
Festival shows off each community’s goods, traditions
By Jujemay G. Awit
CEBU -- Ten cities and towns showcased their festivals Saturday as part of Cebu’s 438th founding anniversary.
Dubbed as the “Pasigarbo Festival of Festivals,” the celebration was meant to display the province’s unity amid diversity, shown in the dances that varied according to the history, patron saint, religious events or products each place was known for. Watch video here
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“You witnessed the color, the pageantry, and the creativity of the different festivals of the different towns and cities…(It shows) how much more there is of Cebu to discover,” Governor Gwendolyn Garcia told the gathering of provincial and town officials and their constituents.
“We want to promote and enhance our culture for it is our culture that gives us our soul,” she said.
Festivals, too, are the best images of Cebuano hospitality, said Vice Governor Greg Sanchez Jr. He joked that tourists will never grow hungry in Cebu as long as they know the fiesta schedule of each sitio, town, or city.
Starting at 4 p.m., the 10 contingents paraded from the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) to the Mandaue City Coliseum and back.
Garcia joined the parade. She was garbed in jeans, a white shirt with a red scarf twined around her neck and a cowboy hat when she rode a horse in going up the stage erected outside the CICC grounds.
Mandaue City Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna said the festival should make not just Cebu, as the “festival capital of the country,” but the entire Philippines shine as well.
Fortuna led Mandaue’s Mantawi festival dancers. Dressed in red and gold, the Mantawi dancers presented a tragedy surpassed with the help of their patron St. Joseph.
Alcoy town dancers dwelt on the same theme by showing a dying siloy (black shama), which is endemic to Cebu, that was healed because of the Sto. Nińo’s help.
Minglanilla, with its religious tradition, showcased the popular Kabanhawan festival depicting the resurrection of Christ.
For its part, the Danao City contingent moved to the fast beat popularized by its Karansa festival, which is about celebration and merry-making.
Dumanjug town presented the Sinanggiyaw festival, which got its name from the word “sinanggi,” which roughly means harvest, and “sayaw” or dance. Its contingent danced for a good harvest.
Good harvest, too, and a good catch was the theme behind Alcantara town’s Bahandi festival.
Despite missing a propsman, who was shot dead earlier that day, the dancers never missed a beat, and showed the abundant marine and farm resources the town is known for.
With the beat provided by bamboos struck with sticks, Alegria danced the Kawayan festival, its performers’ costumes accentuated with bamboo adornments.
And because Santander is known for its tostado, a delicacy made from a mixture of flour, sugar, baking soda and vegetable oil, the town’s dancers wore violet and gold and tostado-adorned headdresses.
Bantayan’s Palawod festival, on the other hand, delighted the crowd with its “swimming” contingent.
Newcomer Aloguinsan town turned to its history for inspiration in its presentation with the discovery of its Spanish-era tradition of enjoying kinsan, a local dish (made of fish heads) popular during the months of May to July.
“Cebuanos are a great people, a cut above the rest. That’s why Cebu is number one,” the governor declared in concluding the festivity, which caused heavy traffic even up to the Marcelo H. Fernan Bridge.
Unity was depicted by the contingents dancing together at the end to the Province’s theme song “Mabuhi ka Sugbuanon” while fireworks capped off the program. (Sun.Star Cebu)
Watch video hereFor more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (August 5, 2007 issue)
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