Digital spectacle marks 36th Kadayawan

Photo by JC Molina
Photo by JC Molina

A FESTIVE array of colors, music, dances, cuisine and fashion awaits viewers to the much awaited digital celebration of the 36th Kadayawan Festival.

Due to pandemic restrictions five major events of the Kadayawan Festival have been produced as online content. These are the Opening ceremonies, Sayaw Kadayawan, Tunog Kadayawan, Indak-Indak sa Kadayawan and Habi Kadayawan. These events were the main attractions of previous physical festivals which have drawn thousands of tourists to Davao City every August.

Also set to premiere on the Kadayawan weekend is Tribu Kadayawan, the first documentary produced by the City which highlights the 11 ethno-linguistic groups.

Sayaw Kadayawan features the iconic tribal dances of the 11 ethnic groups, Tunog Kadayawan is the showcase of the biggest Dabawenyo musical artists, Habi sa Kadayawan focuses on the fashion and artistic creativity of Dabawenyo fashion designers inspired by the wealth of indigenous culture, Indak-Indak sa Kadayawan is the digital interpretation of the most festive event of the festival.

This year’s Kadayawan will have the theme ONE BEAT, ONE CULTURE, DABAONEYO.

“Kadayawan is really about our thanksgiving for bountiful harvest but beyond the bountiful harvest especially at this time it is really about our hope, our health and our life,” says City Tourism Operations Office head Generose Tecson.

Tecson said they wanted to show how the culture and traditions of the 11 tribes continue to live on. She said originally the plan was for a hybrid festival a mix of face-to-face events and online shows but the threat of the Delta variant-led Covid-19 surge forced them to make it fully online.

To bring the online event into fruition the city government has partnered with private sector particularly the top event organizers to handle the digital programs

“Tunog Kadayawan is a platform for homegrown Davao likewise Mindanao music talents that recognizes the significant contribution of the cultural communities of the island. Hence, Kadayawan as a whole is not only a celebration of the people of Davao but a celebration of pride of the Filipinos to the world,” says organizer Maree Contaoi of Alampat productions

Contaoi, also a renowned Dabawenya musician, has been organizing the past Tunog Kadayawan events during the pre-pandemic days. She brings her musical forte to the online staging of the popular Kadayawan event.

For Dan Salvaña of Salvo Events, who is bringing online Sayaw Kadayawan the production process was difficult this year as they had to follow strict health protocols like social distancing and the use of face masks and face shields but with proper coordination with the performing groups the production went smoothly.

“Sayaw Kadayawan focuses on the dances of the 11 groups in a theatrical presentation since it was night time we were able to use light effects to enhance their performances,” Salvaña said.

“The locations are in SM Lanang Premiere and Abreeza Ayala Mall so the whole show is a mixture of traditional performances with the modern structures as their background,”

Salvaña said they made sure the show will be appealing to viewers and also be an educational experience as they added information that describes the narrative of the dances.

For those who want to catch these online spectacles it can be viewed at the Kadayawan sa Davao Facebook page. (PIA)

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