This is a feature on our trip to Rizal in November 2012 for the Higantes Festival.
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PUBLISHED: The art and life of Angono’s higantes (Angono, Rizal, Philippines)
Tag Archives: philippine festivals
Kadayawan Festival 2012: Some Tips To Get You By (updated)
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.
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
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
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.
And watch out, you may also meet one of your idols along the streets. >>
We stopped shooting the parade just so we could catch up after Lito Sy and have this photo taken. 
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.
Sagay Restaurant’s Durian Pie
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.
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.
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.
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 snaps: Dinagyang sa Iloilo
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.
Wanna know how to get to Dinagyang next year? Read this.
Related posts here, here, and here.
~
This entry is part of my 12 Days in the Visayas series.
Heading to Panagbenga? Read this!
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.
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.
Spell crowds.
And 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.
Photo 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.
So bring bottled water like any smart kid. Photo by Owen Ballesteros
4. Secure your belongings. Pickpockets will be having a field day.
Be 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.
Like a pro!
Now, what to do after?
Photo 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. =)
Tada! Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
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
Sugarland Rush: Exploring Bacolod City Overnight
Bacolod is home to many delightful pieces of the Filipino puzzle. A plethora of sights—some souvenirs of its past and others a colorful parade of its present—welcomes every visitor to this Western Visayan city. Though 24 hours is arguably short for any trip, it was many times more so in Bacolod—just as we had experienced during its busiest weekend of the year, during the MassKara Festival. [See: MassKara 2011 photos by Nikka Corsino]
But an overnight stay should be enough to get a taste of Bacolod’s famed wonders, from history to the arts to food to the beguiling warmth of its people’s smiles. Head to Bacolod any day of the year, and get ready to fall in love—overnight.
DAY 1
8 AM
Visit The Ruins in Talisay City and be amazed.
The so-called Taj Mahal of the Philippines is an early 20th century Italianate ancestral house owned by a sugar baron, who built it as a profession of undying love for his wife, who had died in an accident.
This is easily the most photogenic building I have ever seen. The colossal gray skeleton, survivor of a fire at the end of World War II, looks cheery against the bright blue sky and the deep green lawn, well kept and beautifully landscaped with a four-tiered fountain at the center. Built around vast sugar plantations, it is said to be even more beautiful at night as it is bathed in different dazzling lights. The sunset can also be viewed from its belvedere on the second level.
During the day, you can try sipping coffee where the original dining room was at the house’s first level. In place of the usual long table are wrought-iron tables and chairs, with piped-in piano music, shafts of sunlight streaming into the windows, and a magnificent view of the century-old fountain farther off.
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
*The Ruins is around 20 minutes from the Bacolod city proper. Take a jeepney (Bata route) and ask to be dropped off at the Bangga Rose Lawns Memorial Park, then hire a tricycle to The Ruins for P10 per head (22 cents ). A P60-entrance fee (USD 1.36) will also be collected. The Ruins is open daily from 8 AM to 8 PM. [Also see: Seeing beautiful light at The Ruins]
10 AM
Experience storytelling the Negrense way
Never miss the Negros Museum—and I mean NEVER. It’s a fascinating place where history is retold through painstakingly crafted recreations of the Negrense way of life—life-size figures of the hacienderos (sugar barons); a local tending to his pharmacy and another to her sari-sari store; men preparing for battle during World War II; and workers in a typical day at the sugar plantation.
A day in the life of a sugar baron: one of several life-sized slice-of-life replicas on the second level of the museum. Fascinating!
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Right smack in the middle of the main gallery is a life-sized replica of a batil, a cargo boat about four times the size of a regular fishing boat used to transfer goods to and from Negros. The painstaking effort it took to put together this piece—everything else in the museum, in fact—is admirable: on the boat are mock-up baskets of fruits, several crates, as well as barrels of Tanduay (a local rum brand which operates a distilling plant in Bacolod. Sugar cane, it must be noted, is the main ingredient in rum production).
A steam engine, also called an Iron Dinosaur, is also on display along with the batil. A staple in the Negros landscape before, these trains were used to transport harvested sugar cane from the fields to the milling centers.
“The Negros Museum is the first in the Philippines curatorially conceived without focus on precious artifacts, but instead on the complex stories and people whose lives make up the stories,” the museum describes itself in its website.
Clay figures from the Chinese period.
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
It’s storytelling through art, something that’s very much alive in Bacolod and the whole province, and it’s something that the Negros Museum has lavishly, lovingly put together.
You can walk through larger-than-life murals of myths, rituals, and early life in the island along the first level’s cavernous halls. All these, plus oil-on-canvas paintings, terra cotta sculptures, and bas relief paintings depicting the local life, were created by Bacolod’s homegrown artists—a source of pride for the province and living proof of its vibrant art scene.
Mural paintings depicting early life and rituals in the island.
Kids and adults will also love the Jose Garcia Montelibano Gallery of International Folk Art and Toys, a 3,000-piece collection from 60 countries gathered for 25 years. From Russian and Japanese dolls to wooden animal figures, some very intricate, others fascinatingly simple, it’s an interesting walk back our very own childhood.
Now, eating al fresco while surrounded by all that history and art is another experience altogether. The Museum Cafe, which flows naturally from the children’s gallery, serves up homemade bread, cheese, and pastries. It’s a refreshing cap to what would certainly be a tiring yet interesting walk through history.
The Museum Cafe. Bright and sunny, it’s not your ordinary cafe experience.
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
*The Negros Museum is located at the Former Agricultural Building (old Capitol Building) along Gatuslao Street. It’s a 3-minute walk from the Negros Occidental Capitol, otherwise pedicabs (foot-pedaled tricycles) can easily take you there. It opens 10 AM, Tuesdays to Sundays. Entrance fee is P50 (USD 1).
12 NN
Taste the other side of Sugarland in Manokan Country
You can’t have been to Bacolod and not have eaten its chicken inasal (roast chicken)—aside from its sweet treats, of course. Head to Manokan Country for affordable meals and satisfactory serving sizes (Aida’s is a favorite, but we dined at Lion’s Park, which was the preference of our Iloilo-based companions). A pecho (chicken breast) with a serving of rice costs Php90 (USD 2). Don’t be surprised if they don’t serve you with spoon and fork though—tastes better when dipped in calamansi and soy sauce, chicken inasal is usually eaten sans fork and spoon, but these are still provided upon request. Finish off your meal with ice cold soda and you’re ready to see more of the sights around.
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
*Manokan Country is beside SM City Bacolod.
1:30 PM
Get a bird’s eye-view of the city from Pope John Paul II Tower
Eight stories high, this whitewashed building was built in 2010 to commemorate the late Catholic Pope John Paul II’s 1981 visit to Bacolod City (a life-size bronze statue of the late leader was also built in front).
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Seven floors contain the Pope’s memorabilia as well as oil on canvas paintings of the Stations of the Cross done by Bacolod artists. Climb all the way to the viewdeck and see bustling Bacolod on one side and the Guimaras Strait on the other.
Steel cross on top of the building.
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Artworks depicting the Stations of the Cross, done by Bacolod artists, are also on display throughout the building’s eight storeys.
*The Pope John Paul II Tower is open daily and entrance fee costs P20 (45 cents) per person. It is located across SM City Baguio.
2 PM
Taste the sweetest of Sugarland
Bacolod is the country’s sugar granary, so I regret not having been able to squeeze in time for a quick sugar fix in the city’s well-known sugar haunts. Calea and Felicia’s Pastry Cafe are two of the most popular—having been recommended by the locals we had asked for tips and directions.
*Calea is along Lacson St., beside L’Fisher Chalet, while Felicia’s is at 6th St.
3 PM
Buy local crafts at the Negros Showroom
Locally made products—from native handicrafts to sweets to furniture—are for sale at the Negros Showroom, established to give entrepreneurs an avenue to showcase their products.
*The Negros Showroom is a 3-minute walk from the Negros Occidental Capitol or the Negros Museum.
4 PM
Spot picture-worthy sights along the street
Stop for quick snaps when you pass by these noteworthy sights. All are easily accessible via pedicab.
Should be fun!
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Negros Occidental Capitol is a beautiful whitewashed classical-inspired building, its towering Corinthian columns casting beautiful shadows in its well manicured lawn.
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
*Negros Occidental Capitol is at Lacson cor. Gatuslao St.
San Sebastian Church is Bacolod’s oldest church, and is an architectural wonder for its façade’s coral stones from Guimaras Island.
Dome of the San Sebastian Church
*San Sebastian Church is at Rizal St., in front of the Bacolod City Public Plaza.
5 PM
Buy pastries from Bong-bong’s
Like Iloilo’s Biscocho Haus, Bacolod’s Bong-Bong’s is where you get your pasalubong—a wide array of affordable pastries, including biscocho, ube piaya (a must-try!), fruit tarts, etc. You can find a store at SM City Bacolod and at Gaisano Mall.
DAY 2
10 AM
See Silay
Silay is a tourist attraction on its own. Comparable to Vigan, Ilocos Sur in Luzon, Silay’s bahay-na-bato (stone houses) are picturesque historical remnants that are sure to be worth an afternoon trip, as is a stop at El Ideal, a circa-1920s bakery that’s still up and running. Also drop by nearby Balay Negrense, a stone-house-turned-museum.
*Silay is 30 minutes from Bacolod City, but since it’s en route the airport, you can take this sidetrip right after arriving or just before leaving.
When visiting in October, catch the MassKara
The MassKara Festival is one of the country’s most visited fiestas, and the two-day parades on the weekend nearest October 19, Bacolod’s charter anniversary, are the biggest crowd-drawer. Bacolod literally lights up in a dizzying array of colors as masks—some donned by dancers, others hanging on trees as lanterns or being sold as souvenirs—fill the streets, all smiling back at you. The parades (one on a Saturday and another on a Sunday) start in the afternoon so you can spend your morning going around the city.
*Access to the festival is free for all, but if you want to take photos up close, you’d need a festival photo contest ID, which the local government provides with the Camera Club of Negros. Details in securing IDs are posted at www.themasskarafestival.com.
See you in Sugarlandia!
Photo by Owen Ballesteros
Travel Snaps: Iloilo’s Kasadyahan Festival 2012
Photo from Iloilo’s Kasadyahan Festival, January 21, 2012
That winning big smile!
CONGRATULATIONS, OWEN! So PROUD of you!
~Photo shows one of the dancers in this year’s Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City. Next one’s in January, so be sure to catch those big smiles!
Owen Ballesteros’ online gallery can be found here.
Dinagyang: Hala Bira! (AsianTraveler Magazine)
This piece is originally published at asianTraveler magazine‘s January-February 2011 issue, ‘Food Trip.’
Words by Nikka Corsino
Photos by Gabriel de la Cruz
Unlike leisurely vacations, chasing after festivals all over the country will most probably leave you more tired after than you had been when you arrived.
But being toasted under the hot sun, getting your feet swollen from all the walking, and snaking through thick crowds to have a good view have their unique ways of gratifying anyone who wishes to see the country in a different—albeit adrenaline-filled—light.
Having seen not too many festivals, I was hungry for more; taking photos of the annual Panagbenga at home, promising though it is, simply could not satisfy me. I knew I had to pack my bags and dust my camera for the rest of the country’s drum-beating offerings. I had therefore made it this year’s goal to attend as many festivals as I could, believing it would give my hungry—but otherwise healthy—body the rush of adrenaline it seeks.
So off we went to the Visayas—home to the country’s biggest and most colorful fiestas—all the way from Baguio City at the end of January for one of the three biggest celebrations in honor of the Sto. Nino (Infant Jesus)—the Dinagyang.
But as it turned out, festival-hopping wasn’t as easy as hopping on a plane with my camera. Government accreditations, club memberships, festival schedules, and photographers’ IDs were just some of the things I had to settle before finally boarding a Manila-bound bus from Baguio for an early-morning Iloilo flight.
With all paperwork miraculously in order a mere hour before our departure, all thanks to people we had bothered for their signatures, everything else took off as planned. Dinagyang was waiting for us.
The complete article is available at AsianTraveler magazine’s Food Trip issue, now in circulation.
Frolicking in Iloilo’s Kasadyahan
Another equally popular part of the Dinagyang Festival is the Kasadyahan, a series of lively dance numbers with the same historical and religious themes as the Ati contest.
Performed by younger dancers from Iloilo’s schools and barangays, the Kasadyahan’s dances pay homage to Sto. Nino’s saving grace to the Ilonggos.
*Please hit play to listen to Dinagyang’s theme song as you browse through the photos. You can also view photos from the Ati contest here. Meanwhile, my sidetrips in Iloilo can be read here. Happy viewing!
Hala Bira Iloilo -Dinagyang Them…
