LIN-AY sang Silay pageant is more than just a show. It features the role of Silay ladies in various fields of endeavors. Our women played great roles in the home but they also excel in a job of their choice outside their comfort zone.
Our women in the haciendas (the wives of the “dumaans”) have been responsible for the planting of cane points that become sugarcane with excellent “pureza.” Our women in the fields made sugar sweet because they have been tasked by the “hacendados” to apply fertilizers. Only our hacienda women can be more affectionate to “saccharum officinarum.”
The Silaynon ladies have Lin-ay Kansilay as their model for patriotism, love of people, care for freedom, and sustained love for the environment. The Legend of Kansilay as portrayed in our “zarzuela” and “baile de calle” has always reminded the Silaynons that Kansilay is always beautiful in life, in death, and in becoming a sturdy tree with purple-pink flowers.
Our women in the village of Carobcob stood with their men in fighting against the Moro pirate raiders from Zamboanga who burned the houses, looted the properties, raped the other women, and abducted the able-bodied youth to be made slaves. Our women braved the flying arrows and whirling spears to stand up for their village just like what Kansilay did.
Together, Silaynon women constructed the “Estacada” for common protection. No story of heroism could be compared to the women of Silay. That was again shown during the Cinco de Noviembre 1898 Revolution in Negros. The flag of the revolution in Negros was sewn by Silaynon ladies... Olympia Severino, Perpetua Severino, and Eutropia Yorac.
The Silaynon ladies played prominent roles during “peacetime” as good makers of delicacies that made Silay famous as “Banwa sang Dulce”. They were there at the Kahirup Theater as patron of the arts. When World War II broke out, many of them were secretly preparing food for the guerillas in the mountain. When liberation came, they played the role of the good hosts for the American soldiers, especially those involved in the “Battle of Patag.”
Those who were born in Silay could not forget a beautiful face, a beautiful heart... who became a mezzosoprano and made a name for Silay in New York Center Opera Company. She is our “the one and only Conchita Corteza Gaston.” We don’t forget also Magdalena Puentevella, the first pharmacist in Negros who is also a daughter of Silay.
Then we have Leandro Locsin, a national artist for architecture, whose wife, Cecilia Yulo, shared with her husband the passion for music, dance, painting, oriental ceramics, conchology, and economics. Cecilia is not a native ofSilay but her commitment to her husband made her a Silaynon.
That could be the reason why Lin-ay sang Silay pageant is not just a beauty and brain contest. In this event, we remember our history, art and culture, our struggle for freedom, and our passion for change is having women on the front line. Our women up to now have remained in their best.
Lin-ay sang Silay pageant will be on June 9 at 7 o’clock in the evening. The venue is at Natalio G. Velez Sports and Cultural Center. Mayor Mark Golez invites everyone to come and see what other big surprises are going to happen... in choreography, production, and light magic.