The Kinis Festival

Dancers perform during Rosario's 'Kinis Festival'.

The Municipality of Rosario prides itself on being home to the best, tastiest ‘kinis’, or mud crabs, in the Philippines. These ‘kinis’ are fattened and exported to Manila and beyond. I can personally attest to just how savory these creatures are.

‘Kinis’ sold by a local man during the festival.

As part of an effort to encourage tourism to the area, Rosario has endeavored to stage an annual ‘Kinis Festival’, as part of the founding anniversary of their municipality every June 21st. The focal point of this festival is to be the dance of the ‘kinis’.

Although the ‘Kinis Festival’ has been held twice in the past, the last time was in 2011, when the music and drummers were hired from a neighboring municipality. This year, the municipality wished to make the festival more local. Bobi, my former counterpart with the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, also serves as the Municipal Tourism Officer and was tasked with organizing the festival.

He hired choreographers and drum instructors from the neighboring municipality of San Jose and recruited dancers and drummers from our municipality. I played a minor role in bringing in friends from the Baraks to serve as the drummers.

The Baraks drum core and I after their performance.

We ended up with a less than ideal one-month to prepare, but the dancers and drummers practiced every night for about 2 hours mastering their roles.

The Baraks carved their own drumsticks out of tree branches.

Practices were held early every night under the lights. The performers all showed great dedication.

The end result was very impressive. Yesterday, the event kicked off with a municipal parade and closed with the dance:

Marching in the Municipal Parade, Bobi (left) was the primary force behind the dance, selecting the choreographers, recruiting participants, organizing practices, and designing costumes, all on a limited budget. (Photo Credit: Aida)

The Baraks drum core setting off for the parade.

 (Photo Credit: Aida)

 (Photo Credit: Aida)

 (Photo Credit: Aida)

 (Photo Credit: Aida)

 (Photo Credit: Aida)