Month of Fiestas

On May 25th, I joined members of the church in heading to Ligaya for their Fiesta. This was one of the many fiestas I accompanied friends in attending during this past month.

May is the busiest month for fiestas in our area. Six of the eleven barangays in our municipality hosted their fiestas during this time. A fiesta kicks off with ‘Vesper Night’, the night preceding the actual fiesta. This night involves a disco with plenty of ‘kuratsa’, a traditional Spanish dance adopted into the Filipino culture and used to raise money, oftentimes a beauty or popularity pagent, and protocols from local officials. The fiesta day itself kicks off with a mass at the local chapel, followed by a procession of the statue of the patron saint of the community. Then, the main event… lots and lots of food. Most houses prepare huge spreads of food, allowing one to go from house to house to eat as much as they can.

We were the first to attack this delectable spread of food at one of five houses we visited in Ligaya.  

The procession of Saint Joseph, the patron saint of the Fiesta of Buenavista on May 29th. The procession was accompanied by solemn music of horns and drums.

Since Buenavista is the biggest barangay in our municipality, and thus the biggest fiesta, the bishop of the Archdiocese of Catarman, along with a contingent of other priests, joined Father Roni in presiding over the mass.

On May 12th, my good friend Father Roni hosted a big celebration at the church for his 43rd birthday party, and it was an absolute blast. First course for the evening, the food… a great array of meat, fish, veggies, deserts, and of course, the famous Filipino ‘lechon’ (rotisseried pig).

My friends and I in a group picture during the course of the evening.

This little guy, my friend Pollard, served as my dance instructor for the night. Great time, but I am never going to wear this shirt at a disco in this humidity again. Good lord, the sweat shows.

Father Roni joining the choir for a song during the celebration.

A picture with friends out on the dance floor.

The night before a birthday, or the morning of depending upon your perspective, is an important time in Northern Samar. Friends gather outside the celebrant’s house at around 2AM to serenade him/her with a ‘mananita.’ After playing guitar and singing traditional birthday songs, the celebrant invites those gathered inside his/her house and serves them coffee and snacks. Therefore, the biggest burden unfortunately falls upon the birthday celebrant.

On May 18th, Rosario National High School and Rosario Central Elementary School hosted their 5th Grand Alumni Homecoming. Although most of the alumni still live locally and see each other on a daily or weekly basis, there were several people who made the trip back home from afar for this event.

Although I graduated in 2001, I was adopted into the Class of 2000 by my friend Encee. Here they are marching in a parade prior to the day’s festivities. (Photo Credit: Aida)

To kick off the event, the church held a mass, this time celebrated in English, at the municipal auditorium. This made it easier for me to join with the choir. (Photo Credit: Aida)

Every fiesta or celebration includes ‘surprise numbers’, which are actually written into the program and thus not in any way a surprise. These ‘surprise numbers’ are generally dance numbers performed by groups of youth, in between speeches by municipal officials, kuratsa dances, or other protocols.

The most celebrated such group in Rosario are the ‘Cross Boys’. The ‘Cross Boys’ is a dance group made up of alter boys. As part of Alumni Weekend, the ‘Original Cross Boys’ reunited to perform for the first time since 2000, and the crowd loved it. (Photo Credit: Aida)

In addition to the Class of 2000, as one of my best friends is in the Class of 2002, I spent my time between their two tables, with lots of ‘lechon’ and rum to go around.

The main attraction at every fiesta or celebration in the Philippines is the kuratsa. This traditional Spanish dance has been adopted into Filipino culture after colonialism. A man and a woman are paired up, with a box or blanket placed on the floor beside them. As the energetic dance, meant to imitate the mating ritual of a cock, is performed, people enter the dance floor to throw money down. This money is donated to a good cause, oftentimes the local church. Naturally, I am called up to dance during every event.

I perform the kuratsa with Arlene, a dance instructor from Manila. She told me afterwards, out of breath, that she never danced the kuratsa like that before. Not really sure if that is a compliment or an indictment, but we had fun. (Photo Credit: Aida)

Arlene was actually crowned Ms. Alumni 2014. I joked that it was our caracha that pushed her over the top. (Photo Credit: Aida)

May 30th saw the last of the festivities during the busy month of May. The Flores de Mayo Grand Santacruzen (Mayflower Festival) is held in honour of Helena of Constantinople (known as Reyna Elena) and Constantine the Great finding the True Cross in Jerusalem, as well as the Mother Mary and her virtues. The Baraks helped Father in preparing the stage for the event. Pictured above, the guys are making a flower to serve as the centerpiece.

As with most festivities, the choir kicked off the event with what is known as a ‘doxology.’ As one of the young girls of the choir sing an acapella version of a prayer, other members of the choir act it out in dance. (Photo Credit: Aida)

The main attraction of the Grand Santacruzen was the coronation ceremony of a host of queens representing the different titles of Mother Mary, including the Queen of Peace, Queen of Virgins, Queen of Prophets, etc. As each young woman was announced, they made a procession around the arena while facts were read about them. Once on stage, local officials were called up to bestow a sash, a certificate, and flowers to each queen.

The main queen is Reyna Elena, escorted by a young boy serving as Rey Constantino, the emperor who was the son of Reyna Elena. Pictured above, Mayor ‘Tidot’ Miranda bestows the crown on Reyna Elena.

The main intermission number during the Grand Santacruzen was a new project by Father Roni. He prepared a PowerPoint presentation of pictures which he played from behind a white screen. Between the projector and the screen, members of the choir danced, presenting only their silhouette to the crowd. (Photo Credit: Aida)

After the Santacruzen mass the following afternoon, a procession of the queens and the Virgin Mary paraded through town.

These young girls, dressed as angels, marched in the procession after playing a prominent role in the ceremony the previous night.

Elmer, the church’s choir director and multi-instrumentalist, brings up the rear of the procession, just behind the Virgin Mary, playing his guitar as members of the choir sing along.