Category Archives: Festivals

Festivals of the Philippines and elsewhere

The Black Nazarene procession in photos

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This was my second time to cover the Black Nazarene procession happening in Quiapo in Manila every 9th of January. The big difference with my first time, of course, was that I tagged along Owen this year.

We went with only one plan: to shoot as long as we saw fit but not to trail the procession until it reaches the Quiapo Church, its destination. On my first time in 2010, the procession lasted well over 10 hours, but that was nothing compared to how long it had been for the past years: 18 hours this year, 22 hours last year! This year, the procession finished at 1:30 AM, last year’s at 5 AM.

We decided to call it a day quite early, since shooting for that long was out of the question that time. It had been an exhausting photo walk to say the least, but one that’s always worth seeing every time.

Here are some of the photos I took that day. More photos and full account of the story is available on Two2Travel.com.
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Kadayawan Festival 2012: Some Tips To Get You By (updated)

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Our trip to Davao City for Kadayawan last year had been my first time in Mindanao, and though it was a very short stay, we had a grand time taking photos of the two-day parade, bingeing on humongous crabs, and tasting a banana split that was partly durian-flavored. We also managed to squeeze in a quick sidetrip to Samal Island, which was a five-minute boat ride from the mainland.

The term “Kadayawan” is derived from the Mandaya word “madayaw”, a warm and friendly greeting used to explain a thing that is valuable, superior, beautiful, good, or profitable. ~www.kadayawan.com

Kadayawan is Davao City’s annual thanksgiving festival. The highlight of this fiesta is a two-day parade participated in by the ten indigenous tribes of Mindanao: the Ata, Matigsalug, Ovu-Manuvo, Klata-Djangan, Tagabawa, Tausog, Maguindanao, Maranao, Kagan, and Sama.

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Young and old tribesmen will come parading down the streets in their indigenous garb, with some playing the kulintang and larger gongs. Women will come clothed in their tribe’s respective woven patterns and beaded pieces, from headdresses to necklaces and bracelets. On a separate trip to Samal Island earlier this year, we had met a local weaver at a resort who told us that weaving one dagmay cloth measuring about 4 feet by 3 feet would take a whole month.

2012 SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES FROM Davao City Tourism

kadayawan 2012 schedule of activities

TIPS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SHOOT DURING THE PARADES:

1. Watch out for the Indak Indak sa Kadalanan on August 18 and the Pamulak Kadayawan on August 19. Both parades started at 8 AM last year and lasted two to three hours. You’d need a media pass for this one. Which leads me to>>

2. Get a media pass from the Duaw Davao Foundation.

We applied last year as photographers and paid P300 each for an ordinary pass, although if I remember right, this was ‘upgraded’ to an all-access pass later on. The ordinary pass would give you access to the two-day parade only, while the all-access covers all Kadayawan activities for the whole month.

UPDATE (August 12, 2012): According to Ms. Joyce Mariscal, who was with the festival secretariat last year, those who want to secure media passes will need to contact:

Mr. Jason Magnaye, Head, City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO)
Doors 7 & 8, Magsaysay Park Complex, Magsaysay Ave., DVO
info@kadayawan.com | (082) 222-1956 | (022) 222-1957
Kadayawan 2012 Secretariat

nikka kadayawan 2011 id Their IDs are HUGE–pwedeng pamaypay. LOL.

2. The area along Marco Polo Davao is a good vantage point since dancers stop at this area to perform, but prepare to be squashed by bigger, burlier photographers. You may also station yourself at the final stage (last year it was in front of the city hall) where all tribes will perform before the judges. BUT you need to be early as there are only limited seats for ID holders.

See: My photos of Kadayawan sa Dabaw 2011

And watch out, you may also meet one of your idols along the streets. >>
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We stopped shooting the parade just so we could catch up after Lito Sy and have this photo taken. :P

3. Davao is a big city. Be prepared to take very long walks and very very very long jeepney and cab rides.

RESTAURANTS WORTH CHECKING OUT:

Sagay Restaurant (Casa Leticia, Camus St., Davao City)
Try their refreshing Halaan Soup, their very creamy Sizzling Sisig, and their Durian Pie. Owen wasn’t very keen on the pie but I liked it. Its subtle flavor grows on you, so the only way to really appreciate it is to eat the whole thing.

nikka kadayawan sagay restaurant Sagay Restaurant’s Durian Pie

nikka kadayawan sagay restaurant Sagay Restaurant’s Halaan Soup and Sizzling Sisig, said to be the best one in Davao City.

Glamour Restaurant (along J. Camus Extension, near Sampaguita Inn 1)
Big, all-you-can-eat crabs. A year after and we’re still not over it. Best crab fest yet! Check out my separate post for more.

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ACTIVITIES TO TRY OUT
1. Ride one of their e-trikes! Last year the city government had all the e-trikes give free rides to all the major spots in the city. It was as fast as its gas-powered counterparts but this one’s engine was very quiet. According to our trike driver, an eight-hour charge is enough for an eight-hour field day and costs P50.

We rode one to Aldevinco Shopping Center, a square of pasalubong shops selling everything from woven bags to durian treats. This is across Marco Polo Davao and Ateneo de Davao.

nikka kadayawan 2011

2. Spend at least half a day in Samal Island.

The nearest beach resorts in Samal Island are just five minutes from the mainland, although the boat rides could get really wobbly, as we have experienced in our two last visits. Our first trip was nothing really special, since the weather had not been favorable and we ended up eating ice cream while waiting for the boat back.

HOTEL SUGGESTIONS

We stayed at the Grand Men Seng Hotel because it was near the City Hall. The hotel is a bit old but the rooms were spacious and our stay was fairly comfortable. This is where we tried the banana split with durian-flavored ice cream, which was actually good—surprising, but good.

As it turned out, we also stayed a night at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, courtesy of PAL who canceled our departing flight to Manila and booked another flight a full day after our original schedule. They billeted all passengers in this boutique hotel, which was a consolation because of its tasty danggit. We ended up spending the whole day watching Rowena del Rosario’s storytelling par excellence on ANC.

mandaya hotel davao city

You can also try checking out Casa Leticia and Sampaguita Inn.

USEFUL LINKS
Davao City Tourism | Kadayawan Dot Com | Davao Tourism

MAP

View Davao City in a larger map

Travel Snap: Palm Sunday

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The Philippines, the only Catholic country in Asia, opens the Holy Week with Palm Sunday exactly a week before Easter, which in turn marks the end of the Christmas season in the Christian calendar. Palm Sunday is a reenactment of the biblical story when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem and people waved palm leaves as a fitting welcome.

Photo shows a mother and daughter busy putting together Silag leaves, which are a more popular alternative to the palm in the Philippines. Locally known as palaspas, these bundles of Silag leaves sell for P10 each. Priests hold a quick blessing of these symbolic leaves in between or right after every mass.

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Also see: Seven Churches and a Temple

Photo taken March 31, 2012
San Fernando City, La Union

Dancing the Dinagyang one more time (AsianTraveler magazine)

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asiantraveler

Our second jaunt to Iloilo for the Dinagyang Festival this year is on the pages of AsianTraveler magazine’s latest issue, Best of the Philippines, featuring some of the country’s ‘most luxurious, challenging, & pristine’ destinations. Among these are El Nido in Palawan, Caramoan in the Bicol Region, Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, and Cebu City in the Visayas.

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Dancing the Dinagyang one more time: Words by Nikka Corsino, Photos by Owen Ballesteros

AsianTraveler’s Best of the Philippines issue is available in all major newsstands and bookstores nationwide.

AsianTraveler magazine | @asiantravelmag | AsianTraveler Facebook Fanpage

Travel snaps: Dinagyang sa Iloilo

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After a whole year of festival-hopping, from Iloilo to Baguio to Davao to Bacolod to Cebu, I still find myself at awe at the first ever fiesta I’ve seen for 2011, that which had started this whole festival spree in the first place.

Having seen it a second time this year left me with no doubt that the Ilonggos’ biggest fiesta is the country’s best as well. Composed of two days of hair-raising dance routines and heart-thumping drum beating episodes, Dinagyang leaves you with a high that lives up to what this Ilonggo term means in the first place: merrymaking. It’s the loudest, wackiest, happiest festival I’ve been to–something I believe gives me enough inspiration to go traveling all year.

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Wanna know how to get to Dinagyang next year? Read this.

Related posts here, here, and here. 

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This entry is part of my 12 Days in the Visayas series.

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Experiencing the many faces of Sinulog

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Finally, the Sinulog mystery dispelled.

This is the longest festival parade I’ve been to, and most probably the longest in the country as well: non-stop street dances for at least 10 hours, the largest crowd I’ve ever seen in a single day, and perhaps the longest parade route I have ever walked.

No wonder this festival, taking place every second weekend of January, enjoys the reputation as the grandest in the Philippines (and that’s saying something since this country knows its festivals really well, with every major region having its own version of yearly street dances and parades).

As in any local festival, Sinulog draws its pomp and color from the many groups attending the competition every year. Some come from all over Cebu province; others as far as Negros and Panay islands.

All the activity lasts way past midnight following the carousel parade. Cebu is well known for its street party, running the whole stretch of Fuente Osmena (which locals simply refer to as Fuente). Elsewhere in the city, people celebrated their own way. Not far from our street, way before dark, men had positioned cases and cases of beer right in the middle of the street, a huge ice box on the side, and begun what surely was their own version of street partying till the wee hours of the morning. My phone was also abuzz with Sinulog revelry, thanks to the nifty little social network called Twitter.

But this merrymaking is just one of Sinulog’s many faces. Religious in nature like most other festivals, its central figure is the Sto. Nino (the Child Jesus), an image of which is paraded down during the Sinulog Carousel Parade by a so-called Festival Queen, which leads every contingent in the parade. This Festival Queen represents Reyna Juana (Queen Juana), the leader of the locals when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan set foot in the archipelago for the first time. Juana is also the first baptized Catholic, making Cebu City the long-standing seat of Catholicism in the entire country.

The day before this parade, devotees from all over the Philippines flock to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino in downtown Cebu where the annual grand procession takes place. The number of people attending this never fails to surpass the million mark–this year, reports said crowds reached 3 million. Elsewhere in the country, only Quiapo’s Black Nazarene procession rivals this devotee crowd.

Everywhere we went there was something going on–and rightfully so in one of the Philippines’ most vibrant cities. I love Cebu!

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This entry is part of my 12 Days in the Visayas series.

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Heading to Panagbenga? Read this!

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February is the month of blooms in the Philippines’ summer capital, Baguio City. It’s the perfect excuse for that weekend hike to Baguio for an early summer treat, although you would have to brace yourself for big crowds–and I mean BIG–especially during Panagbenga weekend.

events Photo grabbed from www.panagbenga.ph

Activities to watch out for are the Panagbenga Grand Street Parade on the 25th and the Float Parade on the 26th–Baguio’s answer to Pasadena’s Rose Parade. Both of these events start in the morning and end just before noon.

As in the past, tourists come to Baguio in droves, often more than the city could comfortably accommodate. So here are some tips to survive the Panagbenga weekend (and when I mean ‘survive’, I mean it literally):

1. Find your spot early.

In Baguio City, where space is so limited that even the tops of waiting sheds are used as viewing areas, you’d have to exert more effort at securing your area. And when you finally do, stick to it. Moving around is literally impossible once people fill up behind you. Between 6 AM and 7 AM is the ideal time to be there, and any later than that you’d be surprised at how thick the crowds already are.

Panagbenga 2009: Full to the brim Spell crowds.

DSC_5517And here’s another one. Photo by Owen Ballesteros

2. Head to Harrison Road if you want a little bit more space than what Session Road could give.

Or for those who want to finish the parade rather early, troop to the performers’ starting area–usually near Victory Liner at PNR Road stretching all the way to South Drive. There are even less people here and you can more freely move around.

DSC_4642Photo by Owen Ballesteros

3. Prepare to walk.

–that is, prepare to walk long, uphill, and downhill to almost all your destinations as either the road you’re trying to pass through is closed or there’s just too many people that taxis are almost always full. Weather in Baguio is still more conducive for walking than any other part of the country so it’s bound to be not as traumatic as walking the same distance elsewhere.

DSC_5298So bring bottled water like any smart kid. Photo by Owen Ballesteros

4. Secure your belongings. Pickpockets will be having a field day.

DSC_5624Be extra watchful of your valuables. Photo by Owen Ballesteros

5. Have your photos taken with the floats at the Athletic Bowl (near Burnham Park).

They are usually displayed the afternoon following the parade.

DSC_5741 Like a pro! :P

Now, what to do after?

DSC_5519Photo by Owen Ballesteros

Let the crowds subside before going around the city center. Burnham Park will be full to bursting with tourists immediately after the parade, and the big mall on top of the hill is impossible to navigate at this time. For lunch, head to places quite a distance from the city center. My picks would be Villa Cordillera along Outlook Drive, Cafe by the Ruins near the City Hall, Choco-late de Batirol at Camp John Hay (as well as any of the restaurants inside, including the Filling Station, TechnoHub, and commissary), Hill Station (it’s below SM but this is one of Baguio’s best so you really have to try it), Forest House (South Drive), and PNKY (on the way to Teacher’s Camp).

You can also try picking strawberries in La Trinidad, but this can set you back by P500 per kilo, according to one of the farm tenants we talked to recently, who told us prices are bound to go up by the end of February (current rate is P300 per kilo, although you can buy as low as P120 per kilo from vendors in front of the farms). A better deal is this: buy strawberry ice cream from one of the many vendors just outside the farms. They’re made from real strawberries and are hot pink, not the usual pale pink dirty ice cream. You can buy a small cup for P15 and a sugar cone for P20–and you can’t find this in the city proper. =)

DSC_1547 Tada! Photo by Owen Ballesteros

DSC_2268 Photo by Owen Ballesteros

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Wanna head to Baguio this February? There’s Victory Liner and Genesis coming from Cubao and Pasay (fare is around P450 for a 7-hour ride. Deluxe trips take about half as fast and cost almost twice as much). If you’re looking for accommodations near the parade route and city center, head to Legarda Road, Baguio’s hotel strip. There are also hotels below SM Baguio that are a walking distance from the parade route.

Should you want to secure a photographer’s pass, visit www.panagbenga.ph.

Click on this link for Panagbenga 2011 photos.

Thumbnail photo by Owen Ballesteros