| Town Fiestas are a tradition in the Philippines; it is a form of social interaction with local communities dating back to pre-colonial days. Most of it is lost in big cities in Metro Manila, but in regional or rural areas, it is a yearly celebration.
It's a consistent date, just confused some who had never grown up or lived in these parts. Personally, the last time I had to see a town fiesta in Pura Tarlac was back in 2017, when a former office colleague invited me to visit her hometown, taking a bus to make it there early in the morning and spending most of the day there. They had parades and all the pageantry of a town fiesta had to offer, and it was just about that. |
In Kinablangan, the opening event was this recent Saturday, while dealing with an almost 12-hour power outage. There were musicians with their instruments and majorettes twirling their shiny batons like it was second nature for them. The small parade consists of high school students from Dr. Beato Macayra High School.
They did their long parade while I spent the next hours at the Fish Landing Jetty trying to access the internet signal in the sea, since the cell site owned by Globe Network was also down during those hours.
It was a weekend when everyone had to deal with being outdoors without internet access. I could have brought some books I haven’t started catching up on, but I never realized how long I’d be around to also deal with the constant power outage, thanks in part to DORECO for the inconsistent announcements that don’t match the actual time they pull the plug for the power outage.
But that seems to be minimized during the past few days since the municipal town of Baganga is set to celebrate its 122nd founding, which includes Kinablangan and the other small towns that are part of this ever-growing region.
The actual fiesta is not celebrated until October 18th, and the town council has already erected an arch that shows the local officials and the logo representing this year’s fiesta. Pop-up vendors are starting to set up their wares, while mobile food stalls start making their presence for those looking for an afternoon snack.
Refurbished Areas
Among the surprisingly notable things inside the town council’s compound are the newly painted concrete benches. These benches stood the test of time all the way back to December 2012, when Super Typhoon Pablo (International name: Bopha) ravaged the region, taking down the basketball gym and its surrounding areas.
The only things that stood between the typhoon and the surrounding area were these concrete benches that are now repainted to match the colours of the old health care building. A few weeks ago, they looked beat up, and the vibrant colours were getting dirt all over them. Now, they are good as new, which also matches the yellow flowers growing in the area.
More Basketball Games
Of course, the local pastime that the community is into is basketball; they really painted up the court this past week. The past two days is nothing you can hear, but the basketball games. There were volleyball games too, but nothing like Filipinos getting into the court, down to the kids trying to play hoops, while the games were not happening. Every early afternoon, competitions are happening, and that’s part of this month-long celebration.
I’m just passing through and observing the locals and even those who are not based in this town making the effort to visit and see the games. They said that the event will culminate on the main date. There are also activities happening in other villages within Kinablangan and other neighbouring towns.
It’s great to see the locals are participating and supporting grassroots like this, which is far gone in some parts of Metro Manila. I remember growing up going to town fiestas in Manila in late January in the old place.
Those were things you no longer see where kids play in the streets, that most now stay indoors, glued to their phones or tablets.
For now, will keep checking out what’s happening in the next few days and enjoy the first two days of October through these images.
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