Of local royalties and royal marches

September 10 is the patronal fiesta of the town of Cabatuan in Iloilo. The patron saint is St. Nicolas de Tolentino, who is also the patron saint of the towns of Lambunao and Guimbal. Both towns which are also in the province of Iloilo, are also celebrating their fiestas today.

People run out of their homes to see a pirate ship sail on the streets of Cabatuan, about 30 kilometers away from the nearest navigable sea.The ship, with trapunto-like bellowing sails and sturdy cannons may have snatched some attention from Their Majesties, The Fiesta Queen and Her Consort. But it sure adds a lot of drama and novelty to the otherwise staid annual festivity.

What's a fiesta without the parades and the fiesta queens? In Cabatuan, traffic has to be re-routed, offices are closed, and most of the populace troop to the poblacion to join the parade or to gawk at the fineries of the royal princesses and entourage. The food, the bazzar, and the perya are just side dishes to the smorgasbord of sights only witnessed during the fiesta.

Part of the royal entourage are the singit boys. They are the ones who carry long bamboo poles to reach out to the overhead electrical wires for the safe passage of the royal floats.

Little princes and princesses.

Seasonal fruits are refreshing sights on the sidelines.

Tan Tono, the mythical founder of Cabatuan, may have wondered at all these ordered chaos. He may have founded the town, but only a few knew the actual date he formalized this sitio. And I never heard of any activity to celebrate Tan Tono's efforts. His cold statue under the shadow of the towering Catholic Church and the expensive patronal fiesta are reminders that religion is primordial in the lives of Cabatuananons.

All the pictures I took from the vantage point of the ordinary mortal who could only be in the sidelines and never near touching distance of the royals; and outside the coronation shrine. My feet are still caked with clay. (As a consolation, I was given an invite to sit beside the royals inside the covered gym but I got cold feet as I was informed I could only mingle with the royals if I wear a 'coat and tie'. Well, I have my mothballed americana hanging in my car in peparation for the main event. But the sweltering heat and humidity reminded me that americana is not the tolerable wear of plebeian Pinoys. So I donned my Tshirt and just took pictures along the route of the procession and outside the coronation shrine. I just thought I could never be a royal; I will never be invited to any royal gathering again; and I will never have a chance to rub elbows with the royals during the lifespan of my camera.)

No, they are not the main attractions of the festivities. They are the proud and regal parents of the fiesta queen and her consort.

Below are more pics I took during the royal parades. (If you don't see the slideshow, please click on the link you see below. The link is only shown in the absence of the slideshow.)



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It's fiesta time!

Today is Cabatuan's town fiesta.

We went to Cabatuan to have dinner. The whole day my kids had an affair in school, so the only convenient time for us to go to my mother's house in Cabatuan was at dinnertime.

When we arrived, it was already dark. Bermejo St, where my mother's house is located, was filled with parked vehicles. I had a hard time looking for a parking space.

We had a nice dinner. My nieces had prepared the food well. But as usual, I didn't feel like eating amidst so much food. So I just had a nice talk with older Bro who arrived from Manila this morning just to attend the fiesta, his first after so many years. He works as a ship captain abroad.



We decided to go to my aunt's house nearby for more food. And we noticed that the whole of Bermejo St. was filled with high school students in their CAT uniform. I learned that they were there for the torch parade. They were there to accompany the reigning Miss Cabatuan, who happened to live in the same street, and her court from the queen's residence to the town plaza for the coronation ceremony. I didn't know that the town fiesta was so elaborate indeed. This was the first time I witnessed such an event.



At the head of the royal march were small children who acted as small princesses and princes. Then the two court princesses and their escorts. The Cabatuan queen and her escort in full royal regalia then followed. After them were the queen's family and friends.



Bermejo residents were all beside the street to witness the march, and particularly to have a glimpse of the queen and her escort. For a moment, the street was transformed into a monarchic enclave where monarchs were resplendent in their gowns and fineries while the ordinary mortals gawked in their t-shirts, maong and tsinelas.

The queen and her escort were regal, fit for the throne, and looked familiar. Ah, no, not familiar. Ordinary mortals and subjects are not supposed to be familiar with their monarchs. It is treason.

At the back of the royal entourage was the town's band, which provided the fiesta noise.

And the last but not the least, after the band was my car carrying my family. By coincidence, the royal march started as we were about to go back to the city. The band which preceded us seemed to herald my coming and not the departure of the queen. Remnants of the torch-bearing students were still on both sides of my car as I drove. Ahhh... what a feeling. People thought, we were some sort of VIP's tailing the royal procession. And as the marchers turned right towards the direction of the town's covered gym, we headed straight to the city, where our own kingdom is located. And where this veritable insomniac lives. Thanks for insomnia. The royal march was at 7:30pm in the remote neverheard kingdom of Cabatuan. In less than two hours, because of insomnia, that royal march is broadcast in pictures for all in the techie world to see.@

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Lapit na piyesta; Kadupdup

Last weekend I went home to Cabatuan. Overhead banderetas and streamers welcoming politicians and guests straddle the roads. Lapit na gali fiesta sa Cabatuan. Indi abi ko pirme gapuli. Pirme lang gaulan. Badshot gid ang karsada sa Duyanduyan, Sta. Barbara pakadto sa Talanghauan. Daw turugban. It's a big burden to wash the mud-covered car each time.


What can be seen in Cabatuan? May agri and trade fair, which as usual displays farm produce, plants, home-made foods, crafts like curtains and wood furnitures, etc. Like the past years. The day we were there, may ara search kang Miss Tinuom. And I was offered a ticket for a reserved seat in the street dancing competition the following day. May mga street stalls nga nagabaligya mga cheap things nga daw cross between a Korean store and an ukay-ukay. May ara man Miss Cabatuan coronation night. Kon ano ang mga aktibidades kang mga una nga tinuig, amo man gihapon tulad. Mga hitsura lang ka tawo ang naglain. Kon ano ang makita kag masaksihan sa iba nga piyestahan, amo man ang makita kag masaksihan sa Cabatuan. Mga hitsura lang ang naglain. Hu-humm (panguy-ab).





What I have mentioned are the highlight activities. And this is supposed to be a patronal fiesta. Raku mamiyesta sa Huwebes para magkaon, maglagaw, mamasyar sa mga friends kag paryente. Pero pira lang ang ma-agto kay feastday ni San Nicolas de Tolentino? Kag pira lang ang magahanda nga nakadumdum kay San Nicolas? Pira ang bisita nga maabot para mag-simba?

Sa amon balay, indi daad kami maghanda kay wala mahimos. Si Nanay na lang naman naga-estar sa balay. Our eldest Bro is based in Manila. The other Bro, sa UK na ga-estar. One Sis sa USA na. Diaspora baga. Kag ang Huwebes may klase kag may obra. Pero mahanda kami kuno because: 1) Basi may mabisita kay Nanay. After a near-fatal stroke, waay na nagahalin sa balay si Nanay. Kag ginabisita na lang ka mga friends and paryestes. 2) According sa isa pa ka Sis, daw kalain man nga wala handa. 3) Basi may magtalang nga bisita ang mga kahinablosan.

Note that among the reasons why we make handa, there is no reason remotely pertaining to the patron saint. But are we not just symptomatic of the reality in this Catholic, fiesta-loving country? May ara gid bala nga naga-isip sa patron saint kon ma-miyesta?

Kadupdup

Do you remember kadupdup? Or have you heard of kadupdup?

The last time I heard the word kadupdup was when my older Bro was still a bachelor. And now, owaw na siya. May apo na. Now, after so many years, I heard of kadupdup again in the agri fair in Cabatuan. One booth was selling kadupdup.

So what is kadupdup?

Kadupdup is a fungus, a vey small mushroom growing on wood or bamboo. I remember kadupdup growing profusely during rainy days on the surface of the bamboo posts in our perimeter fence. Our owaw would gather them and cook them with egg, wrapped with banana leaf - the original tinuom. It smelled and tasted like meat with hints of bamboo, or wood, or wherever it came from.

As I know, kadupdup just grows by itself on wet surfaces of decaying bamboos and wood. And now, ginabaligya na?

I saw classmate Terry buying a glassful of kadupdup. Daw masunod ako sa anda balay so I could eat and taste again kadupdup. But it was getting dark. And we were about to go home to the city.

But my kids begged me to stay longer. They wanted to visit the perya. So we took our supper at my mother's place. We had kadyos cooked with dahon ka kamote, okra, papaya kag may subak nga sinugba nga bangros. Grabe. Gatalbo ang pinggan. First time ko man ka kaon ka dya in months. Seasonal abi ang kadyos.

I dropped my kids at the perya and went straight to Gene and Esay's barbecuehan. Gene gave me a bottle of SanMigLight. Across the street was a lifesize picture of the current Miss Cabatuan. I was informed she was a daughter of a classmate. I took a picture of the picture.



Gene and I talked about life, family, friends. Sa friends, duha na lang kami bilin. The others went to some far away places to find their dreams. Miss namon si Mr Tuvilla. But somehow I felt happy. Some people may be away from their families now, to eke out a living. I am here with my family. Like others, there could be problems. But I still have time to sit beside the street with an ice cold beer, watching people passing by. Wow, astig. And I still have time to think of inconsequential things like kadupdup. Haneps. Happiness is supposed to be about simple things.

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