Wow, I was blown away by the energy, color, and culture presented in the two Festivals honoring Senor Santo Nino that we took part in on Saturday. I had the opportunity to sit in VIP and watch the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festivals. In anticipation of the festivals we started by watching the Grand Parade through downtown Tacloban and it was something to see.
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| Parade in the afternoon to lead up to competition. |
This festival carried the theme of resilience and strength of the people of Tacloban after Typhoon Yolanda. Later we watched the competition between groups. Each group represented a different Barangay which is what Filipinos use to describe a village, similar to our term neighborhood or suburb. The groups were from all of the Visayas region. We had the honor of being invited to eat lunch with a family that was celebrating a housewarming. We took a tricycle ride there, it was pretty neat.
Then, we headed to the Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival where we watched different contingents (Filipino word for contestants) compete in a competition for best performance. Here is one of my favorites:
I learned
that the Filipino culture is very rich and full of character and joy. I
could see joy and enthusiasm in each performance. Filipinos are also so
creative, this was evident in the costumes and props that were used. I
could tell that the neighborhood had worked so hard to make this performance a
success ---and the manpower that went into each presentation was incredible! I
am so grateful to have had the opportunity to witness such a spectacular event.
As they say, "It is more fun in the Philippines!" There
is no doubt about that, and I am so proud to be a part of this culture.
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