By Jinky Jorgio
Kalilangan Gensan
MANILA, Philippines - Will the reigning champion TribuPahidaet, of Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo make it the second time around as 2011 Aliwan Fiesta street dance top winner or will Hall of Famer Sinulog Festival of Cebu take the crown?
Top of mind for the 21 other participants of the Aliwan Fiesta is the one million peso pot money for the street dance competition in this year’s festival.
Festival organizer Manila Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) announced that this year’s three-day Aliwan Fiesta will start on April 14 and awarding will be on April 16 right after the grand parade and street dance competititon.
Aside from the street dance, the participants will also compete for the best float and the Reyna ng Aliwan.
MBC President Ruperto Nicdao said that more than 5,000 participants are expected to troop to the CCP complex in Pasay City to compete in the much awaited three-day Aliwan Fiesta. Thousands more of these revellers will clog the stretch of CCP to Quirino Grandstand to witness these events.
Nicdao said participants and revellers enjoy the event not only because of the different sights and sounds but also because it provides an opportunity to celebrate Filipino craftsmanship and ingenuity.
The street dance competition is a fusion of cultural diversity, though our provinces are separated by more than hundreds of kilometers of land and water.
Festival organizers explained that the streetdance celebration is rooted in different ceremonies from different provinces. For example, some participants from Mindanao draw their inspiration from the royalty; others, from everyday tasks such as planting and pottery, while others institutionalized in songs and dance the rituals their forefathers performed for the gods.
Nicdao said with the P1 million prize in mind, participants put in hours and hours of practice to perfect their craft. Some practice under the sweltering heat of summer fully made up with their lavish and originally crafted costumes while some opted to practice at night time until the wee hours of the mornings.
Participants gyrate, climb, jump, flip, tumble in unison to perfect their moves.
Innovative ideas are the motivations for making the best float as the participants use their craftsmanship and ingenuity to win the half a million peso prize.
Float designs use local textiles, decorative mats, and basketry in vibrant colors distinct enough to imprint their regional characters. They also use agricultural products and flowers.
In one of the earlier festivals, for example, the Ilocos contingent used its indigenous produce, the garlic, in adorning its float. The Bulacan contingent, meanwhile, used “puto” around its float.
The Maranao, Tausug, Samal, and Badjao use okkil originally from the middle-eastern Islamic art of the Umayyad dynasty in the eighth century. This lends a whole repertoire of plant-shaped folk motif to carved, woven and brass-cast pieces. The skills and creativity of Mindanao natives can also be found in their seafaring and boat-building skills.
Ilokano damili pottery marked by indigenous features are also dominant fixtures of the float as well as Bulacan’s folk art, the Singkaban, giving rise to the decorative arches whittled from special wood.
On the other hand, 21 muses from different parts of the Philippines are competing to take the title Reyna ng Aliwan.
Nicdao said though the prize for the Reyna is not that much compared to street dance and best float, the pageant is still much awaited by the participants and the audience as well.
Nicdao said though the prize for the Reyna is not that much compared to street dance and best float, the pageant is still much awaited by the participants and the audience as well.
Previous winners of Reyna ng Aliwan are also winners in national beauty pageants. The 2008 Reyna ng Aliwan winner will compete in this year’s Bb. Pilipinas pageant while the 2006 Reyna ng Aliwan winner won a Ms. Earth title.
“Those who join the Reyna ng Aliwan are winners also from their respective provinces and they continue their journey as beauty titlist as they compete in other national beauty pageants and even international pageants,” said Ellen Fullido, VP and HR for Technical and Marketing of MBC.
In terms of the security both for the participants and the audience of the event, Nicdao said they hired professional bouncers to man the more than three kilometer parade area as well as festival venue aside from the coordination and cooperation of police from the cities of Manila and Pasay.
Photo enthusiasts and hobbyists also have a chance to win during the festival as the organizers opened a photography competition to both amateur and professional photographers who can submit five of their best photos taken during the April 16 grand parade and dance showdown.
Shop-a-holics will also have a feast as bazaars and regional trade exhibits will also be showcased during the event.
Itching to find terra-cotta, ikat, mother-of-pearl, t’nalak, embroidered piña, ube jam, abeliloko, marang, Ifugao blankets, bagnet, bamboo instruments, danggit, wooden furniture, tribal beads? Then troop down to the event venue and you will find these interesting items and perhaps bring them home.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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