All the paint has faded into night lights – it has never been the same. 3pm, I just woke up from a deep trans. Breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks squeezed into 1 meal. The good thing about it is that I had the most beautiful photos in my head about yesterday and the day before that, but not the slightest joy of watching the 2013 Sangyaw Parade of Lights. A few years back, I lived in Cebu and I got introduced to the Sinulog Festival. It’s amazing how flocks of over a million people leap to Cebu on the month of January in pursuit of street dancing, beautiful costumes and the blinking night lights. But in comparison to the Festival I grew up with (Pintados Festival), Sinulog had a different taste; the metropolitan life of Cebu could not afford people to spend the whole month in a festive mood. Pintados is quite different; Waraynons spend a month-long celebration in honor of the statue of Santo Nińo de Tacloban. When I was younger, I had the fondest mem’ries of feeling the beat of Pintados! All the paint, costumes, drumbeat and dancing has been etched in my childhood. Those were the times when the parade was for people’s utmost pleasure. Let me try to enumerate how fun I experienced it: Simple definition: Pintados – an annual parade in honor of the statue of Santo Nińo de Tacloban showcasing a long line of street dancing, merry-making, giveaways flying in the air, local artistas, local groups, school groups, religious groups, regimental groups. Most people were wearing buri hats to fight the searing heat of the sun, with cans of paint or flasks of spray paint used to color the shirts of the audience in full rhythm with drumbeats and chants. Thousands flock to the streets to witness and take part in this annual event that was at the same time a competition between different contingents from the whole of Leyte. It was literally a colorful (painted) parade that had its origin to the Pintados (local Visayan tribesmen who had tattoo-filled bodies) who once were the inhabitants of the Visayas Region. The Pintados concept mixed with religious veneration of the statue of Santo Nińo de Tacloban. 1. On June 28, the night before Pintados, I had to sort through my old white shirts and choose one of them that I will wear for the parade. My aunt would tell me that I had to wear only white timasa (damit pambahay) if I intended to have paint on my shirt. The paint commonly used was enamel paint (oil-based paint). Through the years these timasa¬ with painted handprints became priceless mementos. And unlike now that women wear dresses and men wear cocomartin/k-pop- get-up, in those years, most people would wear timasa - everyone became visually of the same social class. 2. June 29, Pintados day, half of the day would be a normal working day, however, before lunch; people were already preparing to swarm the streets. ROTC groups gradually filling up the streets to serve as human barricades or demarcation lines for crowd control. 3. Noontime, audiences begin line up in the streets, most with foot stools, chairs, pay-pay (buri fans), bottle water, payong and smiling faces. 4. At around 1 pm, the timasas will be painted with handprints, sprayed with neon-colored paints and the parade will go on with drumbeats. People will be on top their chairs, foot stools and will be like giraffes reaching for the canopy for better sights. Some will be irritated at others who open up their umbrellas or to others who cover the view and to mothers who bring their infants in the scorching heat of the sun and congested crowds. 5. At around 3 pm, the giveaways fly in the air, I remember the following stuff thrown from the contingent floats: Chippy (Red, blue, orange, and green), Oishi, Piatos, Tortillos, V-Cut, Cheeze Curls, Mr. Chips, candies (snowbear, kendimint, joy, polo, frutos, tootsie roll, bobot-bobot, butterkist, goya, bubblepop, yakee, pintura, hippoPop, etc. ), Bubblegum (Bazooka, Bigboy, etc.), shampoo sachets (Palmolive, Guard, head&shoulders, pantene, sunsilk, etc.) powdered soap (breeze, tide, surf, ariel, etc.), dishwashing liquid (joy, axion,etc), toothpaste sachets (happy, colgate, close-up), doypack drinks (zesto, Big, funchum), Biscuits (Yan-yan, Pretzels, Rebisco crackers, Magic Flakes, SkyFlakes, King Flakes, Fita, Jolly, etc.), T-shirts, Fans, and Canned Goods (Sardinas, Beefloaf, Cornedbeef, Maling) that made the audience run away because of the fear of getting hit, and meanwhile resume their posts when the cans roll on the roads, hahaha! It was a truckload of free stuff! The crowd encroach the road as every minute passes like a thousand kids on the floor after breaking a huge piñata. 6. During the parade, some floats with goddesses pass by; these were the winners of the Miss Pintados pageant. In the havoc of trying to chase flying free stuff, the crowd would then be still with awe, mesmerizing in beautiful faces of ladies with thick make-up and jagged smiles waving endlessly at the jeering crowd at the same time, balloons of various colors fly up the sky. 7. Local politicians would also be in the parade, some walking, some riding a float, but all with the purpose of shaking hands with the public and making a visual presence in the festivities. 8. After being part of a mob that would all go home with stiff necks, the later part of the parade would be a picture of the crowd walking around in random directions. This mix of people is from all walks of life from as far as western countries and a great portion of which are from the Visayas region. 9. People slowly go home, filled with joy, with pockets full of abobots and stories that will be remembered for the next generations to come. 10. The parade ends and people rest in preparation for the next day’s Pontifical Mass in Santo Nińo Church at Real Street. So much for the reminiscing part, the Sangyaw Festival yesterday was honestly bland…It was very slow; we waited 5 hours at Chowking, frustrated. And the dancing was not as festive as before, the costumes were not really emphasized, little-to-none free stuff were flying. No artistas. It wasn’t really visually appealing but it was not really a waste of time, I have to say. As part of the crowd, I really appreciate all the effort by the city but it was not really as impressive as we were expecting. Some oldies beside us commented that the historical basis is almost gone. It was a parade of the Romualdezes – they’re opinion sounded right for me. And we learned that the stopovers took a lot of time, it appeared as though it was a competition after all not a show. So some people said, that: “waray nala unta magparade, ginbutang nala unta ha usa ka lugar an tanan nga nasayaw ngan didto hira nagsarayaw - kay maiha-ihaan. Para ba ito nga parade hit judges or para ha mga tawo ha kakarsadahan?” We also observed that only a few young people were involved “in the” parade, most were part of the crowd watching with dismay in their faces. If not for Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter, Instagram, the photos would lack luster. A lot of my friends and acquaintances would remark: “Hagi, CHAKA man adto, dapat nala unta Pintados nala, nakakamingaw na magtimasa ngan mag-inaringasa, ambot kay-ano pa nag-sangyaw-sangyaw pa man.” And most friends also remarked: “naghihimo hira hin float ha plaza Rizal, the whole month of June, so waray na excitement kay nakita naman kita tat kiritaon hit Sangyaw pag-parade– SPOILER gad anu?” Somehow, from my perspective, the crowd was right with the observations they threw. Somehow I felt that although it was a good effort for the local government, for variety, it would not be a good memory when I get old. All I’m afraid of is that the generations afterwards would no longer appreciate the essence of the festivity all because we are made to just accept what’s happening. I guess 3 festivals in one Fiesta is just not that good? What if we just stick to one? I am part of the contemplating few, who wonders why the parades are gradually becoming a “fake it ‘til you make it” not a “Halagad kay patron naliwat, Pintados nanaman! Hukara na an timasa kay mapa-pintar na kita!” :) I would not like to abolish Sangyaw; maybe it will have its place “soon” in our hearts, if it really is worthy of the people’s excitement. In the end, we will all have opinions, and I thank the city for doing a good job:) Happy Fiesta :)
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:57:34 +0000
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