THE Hinugyaw sa Kalsada Streetdancing Competition is one of the highlights of the Hinugyaw Festival (August 28-September 1), coinciding with the 96th Foundation Anniversary of the Cotabato Province.
Annually held in its capital city, Kidapawan, this grand showdown is the culmination of a weeklong festivity that showcases activities like civic parade, ethnic performances, sports competition, concerts, battle of the bands, and agri-trade fair. Hinugyaw means "loud merrymaking."
Giving the unique Cotabateo culture and rich heritage a boost, the participating groups came from municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Makilala, Midsayap, Alamada, Aleosan, and Matalam, mostly secondary school students.
All were equipped with inventive costumes and huge props (Matalam went as far as bringing a fire truck in to shower rain during the entrance of their performance) to provide spectacular performances to a huge crowd in the large Cotabato Province Sports Complex.
Peace and order was admirably maintained through the vigilance of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army who kept the crowd orderly.
This year, the contingent from the small town of Alamada won grand champion, receiving a cash prize of P100,000 and a trophy. They won the crowd and judges with their faultless choreography, consistently high energy and very attractive costumes.
The group from Matalam town won second place (P95,000), and Midsayap came in third (P70,000). The champion is set to represent the province in Cebu's Sinulog Festival in January 2011.
Gracing the event and cheering their respective groups were mayors from different cities, local officials, VIPs (Hon. Francisco Duque of the Civil Service Commission and others), and the new Cotabato Governor Emmylou "Lala" Talio-Mendoza, who thanked her constituents and local executives for a successful celebration, hoping the next year will bring in more participants to the festive anniversary.
Special thanks to Ms. Marie Fe "Ging" Geronga-Pame (head of Kidapawan City Tourism & Investment Promotions Center and President of the Association of Cotabato Provincial Tourism Officers) for the assistance, and accommodation in Old Barracks Suites courtesy of Kidapawan Mayor Rodolfo Gantuangco. For more information of the province and its tourist destinations, visit http://www.cotabatoprov.gov.ph.
(Jojie Alcantara is a travel photojournalist and Sun.Star columnist based in Davao City. She has been writing and painting before she took up a camera and expanded her world through images published in magazines. Her recent travel to the Cotabato Province is a documentation project for DOT Region XII. View her works and adventures in www.pbase.com/jojie_alcantara)