DAYS from now, we shall be celebrating the feast day of one of the greatest doctors of the Church, Saint Augustine. His saintly conversion is perhaps equaled and may be only surpassed by his impact on Christianity and philosophy. One is conferred the tile of Doctor of the Church when one is considered an authority of and for having significant contribution to the theology and doctrine of the Church. We all know that St. Augustine became the patron saint of Cagayan de Oro for it was the Augustinians who built the first Church and completed on August 28, 1780.
Religious feasts are observed by novenas, a nine-day series of masses, prayers and devotions, leading to a procession and a most solemn Eucharistic celebration. Unlike other religious feast like the elaborate fluvial procession of Penafrancia of the Bicolanos or the Sinulog of Cebu drawing hordes of tourists, the Archdiocesan celebration pales in comparison.
But leave it to the local government to capitalize on a feast day and convert it to a lively fiesta. Called by many names, it is now billed as Higalaay Festival, reflecting the spirit of Cagayan de Oro as a City of Golden Friendship, “higalaay” as the local dialect akin to friendship. Higalaay I suppose means more than being friends. It also connotes friendship in a proactive way. Kagay-anons are known to drop work and studies to spend time with visitors to see, eat and shop. As a city with not much physical evidence of history, as the old fort has long been demolished and ancestral homes of the “buena familia” mostly the heroes credited for the first victory against American rule, has given way to commercial building or left to decay. We offer the great stories of the past, handed from one generation to another. As one of the few accredited operators of the Department of Tourism in the region, tourists though amazed by the malls and commercial centers prefer to be brought to places to enjoy local delicacies and products.
And to the credit of the Cagayan de Oro Hotels and Restaurant Association, their decades old “Kumbira,” a culinary fair and competition, has enabled us to restore and concoct what is truly a Kagay-anon delicacy. This event has also encouraged entrepreneurial chefs to establish bistros and restaurants, from native to fusion cuisine, and even restaurants serving foreign cuisine. The evolution of the kinilaw and sinugba to sinuglaw, the binaki now with choco syrup and the grilled chicken now served in air-conditioned comfort from the carts along street corners. While I still have yet to see stuffed fish balls, the “masa” food and the old family recipes are slowly finding their way to fine dining and pasalubong centers. Not to be outdone is the popularity of Slers chicharon, that US Customs now ask if Filipinos entering their borders brought these crunchy delights for pasalubong. Even our bakers have become celebrated food artisans churning savory produce from their ovens.
I remain unconvinced however that annual Ms. Cagayan de Oro beauty contest promotes equality and respect for women, for it excludes those who are plump, shorter and flat-chested. Admit it, such an activity defines and propagates beauty as slim, tall and well-endowed. I find no beauty in that, even if in his youth, St. Augustine did indulge in earthly pleasures and is noted to have implored “grant me chastity and countenance, but not yet.”
I do miss the drum and bugle competition and I definitely find it strange to have a poor-copy of the Carnaval del Rio de Janeiro. We are probably better off with a Higaonon street dancing instead. And while I welcome the removal of the stone grotto to house the life-size Birhen sa Cota, it is good that we having fluvial parade if only to focus on the importance of the Cagayan de Oro river. As historical accounts state, it was an image of a white lady in the sky which drove away the marauding invaders out to revenge the shame brought to their clan. As the foreign funded dike remains unfinished, we only have divine intervention to count on in the years to come if a great flood from the mountains come roaring down our city once more. In the meantime, we feast on the sights, dance, music and food, over the memory of one of the greatest saints of the Catholic Church.