Tacloban City, found in the diverse Visayan region have festivals of their own that pay tribute to the heroes of the past through colorful dances and face paints. To truly understand and appreciate the beauty of Tacloban, it is a must to witness at least one of their festivals.
Pintados Kasadyaan is celebrated every 29th of June and this event lasts a whole month. Pintados Kasadyaan was said to have started from another festival, the feast day of Senor Santo Nino and these parades are held to commemorate the bravery of the Filipinos during the Spanish occupation. The Pintados Kasadyaan has several highlights and since this is a month long of merry making, there are several events held in between such as the Pintados Festival Ritual Dance, Paghayak Grand Parade and dubbed the Festival of Festivals, the Leyte Kasadyaan. During this festival, aside from the festive dancers who perform tribal dances, they recollect the past including folk religion and the wars so that we never forget the roots of Tacloban. Pintados Kasadyaan also showcases the exceptional talent of the Visayans in body art and tattooing and the dancers have themselves tattooed and painted as if they were warriors of old. The streets are jam packed with the performers during Pintados Kasadyaan and the excited onlookers who are dazzled and mesmerized by this event.
The Sangyaw Festival is also celebrated in Tacloban about a month before the Pintados Kasadyaan. The Sangyaw Festival was held May 11 this year but this date is subject to change and spans about week. This festival involves every member of the community and there are several events scheduled during this week. The Sangyaw Festival is usually started with a band fest with both local and foreign bands playing and some schools hold their cultural night prior to the grand event. The grand event itself of the Sangyaw Festival is a parade held on the streets of Tacloban attended by the tribes, and participated by the ladies dancing on the streets in colorful costumes and accessories. There are contests for street dancing and awards are given for those best in costume, best in music and of course for the Sangyaw Festival grand champion.
The Sangyaw Festival and the Pintados Kasadyaan are just two of the festivals celebrated in Tacloban that showcase the talent of the residents in terms of dancing and costumes. These festivals also provide the onlookers with an experience straight out of history and a chance to experience the culture of Visayas.
Bacolod City is the city of smiles. This fact is evident as one encounters a person from Bacolod City who is generally mild-mannered and soft-spoken. It is no wonder that festivals and events from this city are gaily and festive.
Masskara Festival is held every October. This is the most popular event in Bacolod. The highlight of this festival is a street parade of people wearing colorful masks and costumes dancing to the rhythmic beat of drums. This festival commemorates the foundation day of the city. Masskara Festival was originated when the sugar industry (Bacolod’s chief industry) was not doing very well. The festival has become an event that celebrates the determination and resiliency of the Filipino spirit. Good or bad times it may be, they face it with a smile.
Every April Bacolod and the whole province of Negros celebrate Panaad Sa Negros. This festival highlights the festive nature evident of all Negrenses. Every town and city of the Negros province parade banners and floats along the streets. The delicious dishes that the province is famous for are also showcases in this event. Fireworks at night add color and pageantry to this celebration.
Mainly occurring in Sagay City, Sinigayan Festival is also celebrated in Bacolod and other nearby towns. This feast is a thanksgiving to Saint Joseph. Skills, craft and dances are highlighted in this event.
Kali-Kalihan Festival, held every November, is celebrated in Don Salvador Benedicto. This is a very exotic and unique event as the ancient of beliefs of local tribes about spirits, fighting and self-defense are showcased in this festival. One feature of this fiesta is a live coal walking.
In La Corta, a town near Bacolod, residents celebrate the Pasasalamat Festival. Held in May, this is a thanksgiving festival where a colorful and festive parade is one of the highlights of this town.
The Pinta Flores Festival showcases the tradition that began during Spanish times of welcoming visitors by dancing in the streets. Every November, street dancers clad in flowers parade through the thoroughfares of the city.
Cooperation is the theme of Ugnoyan or Snake Festival. The highlights of this event are folk dances performed on the streets, sports contests and a parade of colorful floats.
Bago City, a city near Bacolod, celebrates the Babaylan Festival. This is held every February 19. The life and times of the tribes that used to live in the area are commemorated in this event. Local mythical legends, tribal music, handicrafts and ancient religious beliefs of the tribes are showcased.
On January 9 a huge procession would take place every year during the Feast of the Black Nazarene. It is by far the single biggest festival in the whole Philippines. It's a fun event to watch, as a tremendously huge crowd of people, usually on bear foot to show their humility, would struggle to pull the carriage carrying the Black Nazarene.
Every year, when the Black Nazarene procession occurs, we can expect several dozens of people faint or pass out and are rushed to the nearby hospitals of the Quiapo District in Manila. If you plan to take part in the procession be forewarned that the crowd may at any time turn into a mob in a frenzy to get close and touch the Black Nazarene.
The Black Nazarene is a life-size statue of Jesus Christ. An Aztec carpenter carved it and it is now enshrined in the minor basilica of Quiapo in Manila, Philippines. Devotees to the Black Nazarene usually flock to church on Friday to pay their devotions. Today the statue has become dark-skinned thus the name Black Nazarene.
Augustinian Recollect friars brought the Black Nazarene to the Philippines on May 31, 1606 from Mexico. It was first placed and enshrined at what is now known as Rizal Park. The Black Nazarene was inaugurated on September 10, 1606.
A bigger recollect church was later completed and dedicated. By order of then Manila Archbishop Basilio Rufina the Black Nazarene was transferred to that church in Intramuros in 1608.
The Black Nazarene was able to miraculously survive the great fires of 1791 and 1929. It was also able to escape the 1645 and 1863 great earthquakes. During World War II, Manila was bombed but the Black Nazarene remained quite intact though it was damaged in 1945.
Today, during the Feast of the Black Nazarene, only a replica is brought out for the procession. You will also see smaller replicas of the original Black Nazarene in Quiapo Church.
For more than 200 years the Black Nazarene has been a figure of devotion for Filipinos of the Roman Catholic faith. People, especially the devotees, would crowd around the Black Nazarene and hope to touch the image believing it would heal them of various diseases.
Believers would even throw towels at the guards in the procession for them to wipe it on the Black Nazarene and toss it back. Devotees take the towels home believing it also has caught some miraculous power.
The Black Nazarene, with devotees dressed in maroon, is a spectacular sight. The sea of people joining in the procession is a mark of religious devotion for the majority of Filipinos.
[Tags]Fiesta, Philippines, Nazarane, Festival, Black Nazarane, Quiapo, Manila[/Tags]
"Viva Pit Señor!" That's what you'll hear people chant in a Sinulog Festival. Every third Sunday of January is a joyous day for the people of Cebu City. It is the month when one of the grandest festivals of the Philippines is celebrated. The Sinulog Festival is the most colorful one, too. The Sinulog Festival is celebrated in honor of the Santo Niño, which is the patron saint of Cebu. The Sinulog Festival is a dance ritual that reminisces the time when Filipinos embraced Christianity.
In the Sinulog Festival, you will see the most colorful displays and street dancing. The participants in the Sinulog Festival wear bright-colored costumes and dance to the music made by trumpets, native gongs, and drums. The streets are full of people eager to witness the beauty of the festival. Sinulog Festivals are also held in other parts of the country, but in smaller versions.
Traditionally, the Sinulog Festival is celebrated for nine days. The ninth day culminates into the Sinulog Festival Grand Parade. A water parade called Fluvial Procession is held on the day before the Grand Parade. The procession starts at dawn from Mandaue City and ends in Cebu City. A pump boat is decorated with flowers and candles with the Santo Niño in it. A reenactment of the Christianizing of Cebu follows at the Basilica. A solemn procession is held in the afternoon along the city's major streets. This usually lasts for hours due to multitudes of participants.
On the Sinulog Festival day, a Pontifical Mass headed by the Cardinal is held at the Basilica. Bishops of Cebu assist in this event. Devotees and others populate the Basilica to attend the mass. Afterwards, they all head out to the streets to witness the Sinulog Festival Grand Parade.
The word 'Sinulog' is from the Cebuano adverb 'sulog'. It means "water current movement." Its adaptation describes the forward-backward step movement of the Sinulog dance. According to the rhythm of the drums, people dance two steps forward, then one step backward. In the latter years, this dance has evolved into three categories: Sinulog-base, Free-Interpretation, and Latin Category. And has been the cause of some arguments if it has to do with the Sinulog tradition. But the candle vendors at the Basilica still prefer to perform the traditional version for their customers.
The historic event where the Sinulog Festival is based was on April 7, 1521. Fernando de Magallanes, a Portuguese navigator, landed on Cebu and claimed the area in the name of the King of Spain. He gave the Santo Niño to Rajah Humabon's wife, Hara Amihan as a baptismal present. Rajah Humabon was Cebu's ruler at that time. In honor of Carlos I's mother, Juana, Hara Amihan's name was changed to Queen Juana. 800 natives together with their rulers were baptized into Christianity.
This is the event where the Sinulog Festival revolves. The main theme of the Sinulog dance is Queen Juana, with the Santo Niño in her arms, blessing the people that are ill due to evil spirits.
The Sinulog Festival is an important event in the Filipinos' religious life. It's a time for joyful and colorful celebration. For a spectator on the street, it's a beautiful scene to behold. But for a participant doing street dancing, it's a way to show their devotion to God. The Sinulog Festival is a must see event.
[Tags]Fiesta, Sinulog, Philippines, CebuFestival[/Tags]
Christmas is a big holiday in the Philippines. It's so huge almost every Filipino really go out of their way and take time to prepare for this annual occasion. Though Christmas in the Philippines may have been influenced by European traditions in the latter part of its history, its own traditions have surpassed the changing times. This has made Christmas in the Philippines quite unique.
During the cold nights, people would crave for bibingka and puto bumbong. These are delicacies specially prepared during the Christmas season. They would often be served on banana leaves topped with butter or margarine and grated coconut meat.
It wouldn't be uncommon to find the local folks bringing out their Christmas decorations. The star of the season in the Philippines isn't the Christmas tree but the Christmas star locally known as the Parol. You will find Parols hanging just about anywhere from malls, to offices, and even in the modest Filipino homes.
Some places even host a Parol-making contest where people create many wonderfully spectacular light displays using Parols. These are sights to see and you can even buy the ingenious light display after the contest.
Starting on December 16, a large portion of the population would flock to attend Mass at their local Catholic congregation. This part of the Philippine Catholic tradition is called Misa de Gallo or locally known as Simbang Gabi in the native vernacular. It translates to Masses at Cock's Crow, which is usually held either very early in the morning (sometimes at the early hour of 3 a.m., others at dusk). This is a religious Christmas tradition that has been passed on through centuries.
Caroling would also be heard during the Christmas season in the Philippines. You'll get to see a gang of little kids walking from house to house (even car to car in some cities, but that is actually outlawed for security reasons) singing the old time favorite Filipino Christmas carols. Even the older generation may go about caroling as well.
Employees in the Philippines would usually be treated to a long five-day vacation during the Christmas week since some employers would want their employees to spend time with their families (though there are industries that would also require people to work during the holidays).
Christmas Eve is often celebrated by families at home enjoying a Christmas dinner at midnight. This tradition is called Noche Buena. It is a time for thanksgiving and a time for families to be together. Friends may also be invited to the Noche Buena and this is often a great honor. Gifts would usually be given during the Noche Buena or Christmas morning.
Christmas in the Philippines is a time for families. It is a time of gift giving and a time for warm friendships during the Christmas season.
Poker is believed to have been introduced to the Philippines during World War I by American soldiers who brought in the Bicycle brand playing cards. All playing cards in the country in the 1950s were imported and many were sold behind the counter or secretly sold by Maranao sidewalk vendors.
For many many years people have been playing a local version of the game of Poker with the use of 52 cards where 13 cards are distributed all face down to four players one at a time.
It is known in the Visayas and Mindanao as piat-piat or pusoy in Luzon. Most, however, call it Chinese Poker. The pot usually runs up to hundreds if not thousands of pesos, particularly those games participated by weekend professional gamblers, including government officials.
This game became so popular that those that could not afford cards themselves created their own deck of cards with some cardboard and pens so that they could play this ever growing popular card game.
Chinese Poker is played just like the 5-card stud poker with a twist. The last five cards should be arranged that it would be the best. The second group of five cards should be better than and that of the third group--the three cards.
For example, if the last three cards form a trio, the middle group should form a straight but not two pairs since the trio is higher.
The Chinese term for this is totyu or inverted or disarranged. With this you become outright the loser for the round.
The 13 cards grouped in 5-5-3 should then be arranged that the last five would be the best, the middle group better and the three cards as good or whatever.
With the popularity of Chinese Poker or Pusoy Filipinos easily found favor with the new game on the block and play the now popular Texas Hold 'Em High Poker, which is played in casinos in Paranaque, Pasig City in clubhouses; Manila, Tagaytay and other cities in the country legally.
Entry fees are reasonably low at PhP1,000 or so but with the total tournament top prizes of PhP1 million or $20,000, many join the regular tournament sponsored by a club formed by a journalist.
Others are now into the bandwagon sponsoring Texas Hold 'Em High tournaments with the same format of putting in $200 as entry fee for the elimination round. If you want to immediately join the championship game you have to buy in with P20,000 or $2,000.
Since Texas Hold 'Em is simple many have been playing the game even clandestinely.
With the Filipinos' propensity to gamble putting casinos in the country with Poker as the main attraction could be a profitable business. The government casino operator is eyeing an Entertainment City in the heart of Metro Manila-- at the reclaimed land near the popular SM Mall of Asia, one of the biggest malls in Southeast Asia.
Philippine fiestas are main attractions in the country the whole year round. They are enthralling to watch, especially to foreigners. But don’t get too absorbed in them; it pays to watch one’s back---or front.
Stampedes do happen in crowded celebrations, and fiesta celebrations are often crowded occasions. Before the thrilling fiesta scenes completely drag one away to oblivion, remember to consider stampede precautions in a crowded fiesta celebration. It may be a happy fiesta crowd, but crowds are unpredictable; one minute it is vibrantly sweet, the next it may turn sour and violently come after people like stampeding wild cows.
Stampedes happen without warning in fiesta celebrations. They happen even without provocation. Just one guy stumbling over a too crowded fiesta celebration and a domino effect might lead to a full-blown fateful stampede. It has happened quite a number of times. Even the most solemn fiesta procession, like the Black Nazarene Fiesta in Quiapo, Manila among others, ended up in fatal tragedy.
The best precaution against a fiesta celebration stampede is to avoid getting too close to the idol being marched around the streets---it’s the spot where a dense fiesta crowd is likely to stumble on one another, especially when provoked. Another is to keep a stance wide enough to secure body balance. Be alert; when people get too crowded start to keep distance. Never mind if the procession gets past ahead.
If in case a fiesta celebration stampede happens and one is right in the middle of it, look for a safe cover---stand against a post or column, stand against a wall, get under a table, or hold on to something sturdy. Or, if with a group, stand around each other with wide stances to buttress one another against a pressing fiesta crowd.
If unfortunately one falls down on the ground in a fiesta stampede, the best option is never lie flat on one’s back. Always lie sideways, bend the trunk and legs, and protect your chest, side ribs, head and throat, with both bended arms covering them as in a boxing defense or “rope” posture. Stampedes, especially in fiesta celebrations, become fatal when people are stepped on the chest or head or throat by panicking people.
Fiesta celebrations are thrilling events worth keeping as treasured memories. Lots of fiesta fans take pictures of themselves right in a fiesta crowd to stash later in albums; just make sure the fiesta celebration photos don’t end up in the morning’s headlines.