the faces that represents this year's Aliwan Festival are the performers themselves who are passionate in bringing pride to their own festival in this grand gathering. the rain might have damaged their props and costumes but not their spirit.
the performers were normally students from their own town. some kids even had special roles on the performance. like this girl from the Lumad Basakanon tribe of Sinulog festival grabbed the spotlight.
several contingents from Mindano also showcased their cultural pride like the City of Lamitan who just joined this year. i can imagine how long they've traveled and how much they spent for their participation. 
the prize for the grand champion in the street dancing category is one million pesos but it seems that there is a deeper reason why they are giving out their best. 
i was able to talk to one of Sinulog's performer and ask how much they will get from this if they win again, she simply replied "it's all for the Sto. Nino*". wow! this indeed proves that there's more than just dancing and shouting to win the contest and to bring pride to their city but for someone else who they believed deserves their best.
after the results was released, i was not surprised when i learned that the top three festival winners were all devoted to the Holy Child.winners of this year's Aliwan Fiesta:
Grand champion - Sinulog Festival Cebu City (third consecutive year)
2nd place - Dinagyang Festival Iloilo City
3rd place - Sinulog Festival Carmen Cebu
*Sto. Nino - Holy Childhere's a list of video from youtube that you can visit as taken from Aliwan 2008:
Sinulog Festival Cebu City
Dinagyang Festival Iloilo City
Sinulog Festival Carmen, Cebu Province
34 comments:
These are marvelous, fried. Your blog is a window into your culture, and it is much appreciated. God bless.
Nice to hear that the spirit never worn out even with rain.I would have love to see it & hear the beat.
Love the costumes, you're great on posting them.Thank you.
Pretty smiling faces. Very colorful event.
thanks sandy. i'm glad that you appreciate our culture.
hi maya, thank you. the sound is really upbeat. that i cannot include in my posts but there are several performances uploaded to youtube.
lawstude, yes it is.
Oooooohh. GO DINAGYANG!!!!
very nice pictures of the event!
Wow! Such elaborate costumes. I love how you described their devotion.
earvin, galing ng dinagyang! pero ok din lahat ng mga contingents. pinaghirapan talaga.
luke, thanks. but you'll enjoy more when you get to see the festival in person.
thanks karen. many places in the philippines are devoted to the holy child. i hope that you'll get to know more about it as it is very rich in culture.
What colourful, elaborate costumes! This festival is so interesting, I'll read up about it and include it in my itinerary when i travel to the Philippines.
The meat dumplings in Singapore and Malaysia are similiar. The Nonya dumplings taste a little sweet which I like. :)
wow!!!! fantastic shots,,, hope you'll visit my corner too...
Beau et intéressant reportage imagé !
ang kukulay nila ah...fiestang fiesta tlga..parang sa mga probinsya nalang merong ganito..
ang linaw ng pagkakakuha mo ng mga pictures..=)
Intriguing concept -- strictly nightscape!
Great shots. Keep up the good work!
eclife, thanks. we'll be glad to help you get around the country. i really need to try those dumplings.
snapcatch, thanks! i just visited your blog and thanks for sharing that scenic views.
petitlouis, merci beau cop!
dra. rio, maraming salamat. makukulay nga sila at yung iba sobrang sobrang makulay. hehehe...
senor enrique, thank you very much. please feel free to give comments how to snap and shot better.
go sinulog! hehehe.
you must have really enjoyed taking photos of the event. like the vibrant colors of the costumes. buhay na buhay.
dong, please vote for me EVERYDAY!
i really need it. if you have a friends that could help please do.
help me win please.
thanks for voting. i hope you vote everyday.
www.paosarangaya.blogspot.com
hi there.
with sidney taking a hiatus, its a good thing you post such wonderful pictures too.
peace.
~chesca
I just really wanted to thak you for the nice things you said about my blog. You just made my day and it's only 8:14am here.
I really enjoy reading your blog also because you have such a different life than my own domesticated one. It reminds me that there are so many other beautiful things to see in the world.
I would say ... wow, double wow and triple wow!!!
That's amazing. Lot's of colours and I guess being there to see for real is great.
i love the second picture...=D
Those are wonderful photographs. Looks like so much fun and thanks for sharing them.
barry, thank you very much yes i did enjoy snapping and talking to people.
pao, ok. as long as im online.
hi chesca, thank you very much but surely i'm not as good as sidney. he is really good and we'll surely miss his posts.
hi karen, thank you for that. i agree and i'm really interested to see other cultures as well.
quintarantino, thank you very much. the experience is really different from the photos because the drum beats resonates people to be alive. you can check the video links from youtube on the last part of the post.
dave, you'll surely love her. hahaha...
carver, yes. it was fun to see the different festivals perform on one night. thanks.
Very colorful shots, Pards! I never got to go to any of these festivals but I'm getting to see them up close thanks to you. Great job!
ang sipag mo magshoot dom! :-) after the heavy rains, lost my enthusiasm to shoot kasi madilim na, wala pa akong dalang speedlight. anyway, thanks for sharing bro. see you monday!
Fantastic shots! I have not had the chance to see this festival yet...I will definitely go see it in the future. Thanks for sharing it.
great shots, dong ho. i have yet to learn taking photos with my dslr on night mode as it always comes out blurry. oh well, but i love your photos --- it's festive.
nakakatuwa ng kasi kahit inuulan yong mga contestants tuloy pa rin ang kanilang tambol at trumpets sa pagtugtog! kakainis lang di pweding maglabas ng camera hehehe!!
i miss the fiesta mood. when we were still in montalban, the fiesta fever is so high there. the works! complete with palosebo and ati-atihan. you can go house-jumping to sample each family's food fare. but when we transferred to the city, nobody prepares food anymore. lucky if there is even a moseko (music band) playing.
panaderos, thanks. it's very different when you get to see it in person and jive with the beat. you can check out the link on the post below for some videos.
oggie, sipag talaga. kasi nabasa kami sa ulan umuwi at bumalik pa para lang manood. hahaha... see you on monday.
pinay jade, you have the chance to see it next year. thanks.
sardonicnell, thanks a lot. i also have a hard time taking shots at night using night mode. a tripod can help.
hi ven, very true. i also took shots during the afternoon while it was raining but we were at Aliw theater during that time.
hi arlene, i also saw real fiesta fever in San Pablo Laguna. it was days before the actual fiesta day but the celebration is already grand. ang sarap ng fiesta sa probinsya. music and beats makes the fiesta livelier.
Nice photos. You're lucky to have visited the event. It was raining so I wasn't able to go.
You take photos like a pro. You're talented, donG...
Very colorful even during nighttime. Our country seems the most colorful of them all :)
WOW ! Very pretty, colorful and postcard quality pics :)
dodong, thank you very much. we actually went home when it rained then we decided to go back around 6:30pm. i can't miss it because i was not able to attend it last year.
kegler, very true. the costumes are really colorful and it really shows how much time and costs each contingent spent for this.
bw, thanks.
Beautiful smiling faces. I love the creative and colorful costumes.
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