And what a great, great time we had! Double Wow!!!
We were invited by family friends whose family had deep and prominent roots in the place we went to. Such excellent hospitality and giving us a closeup view of what was best to see and enjoy!
Our first step when we arrived ( after a sumptuous meal of the best seafood and other local delicacies around) -- was a surprise one-day visit to a nearby and one of our most famous islands, known as BORACAY to the international holiday-going community!
Lovely low-key hotel which had an unassuming front but once you get inside the grounds - it was a series of low structures which were interconnected ( no more than 3 stories for each building unit) with beautiful tropical gardens on the side, winding through to the sea! This is a world famous site -- BORACAY is famous for its pinkish/almost beige-white very fine sand ( it is like walking on pinkish/beige face powder)! Dining areas face the sea, including an area where you are closer to the sea. We had cocktails while watching the beautiful sunset, with the warmish sand under our feet!
I did not go swimming but we had dinner at major hotel ( fabulous resort hotel) with its unique local cuisine offerings. The following morning was sampling the international resort atmosphere ( food, shopping, and just eyeing other people - lol!).
But that was just the sample of what we were there for.
The next two days were spent in the main town ( it is really a very large town with some touches of our colonial Spanish-based past). The night before the actual celebration, we were invited to join a dinner/dance hosted by the provincial governor...and it was fun, too! Many reunions happening... and the food buffet was impressive...and the dancing was both of the ballroom and the disco type!
But on the eve and the actual fiesta itself --
I think I lost my voice and my eardrums -- as we attended what is called the MOTHER OF ALL PHILIPPINE FESTIVALS! It is called the Ati-Atihan!
What makes it so unique --
*The celebration was one of religious significance, as a celebration of the feast of the Infant Jesus! The story goes that a long time ago, there was a small contigent of early peoples of the planet, that anthropologically-speaking must have come from Africa who crossed the original landbriges between continents...with some landing in Australia and, among others in the region the Philippines( those who landed on our shores were eventually called "Aetas"). The name of the festival is a derivation of the word Aeta - thus the word "Ati" while "Ati-atihan" means to copy the Aetas. These native aborigines who generally live in the mountains came down and became part of the local religious celebration then.
In the following years and years, the people started to copy how they looked like and how they dressed! In the process the most outrageous and the most gorgeous costumes evolved...and the most famous drum/lyre sounds accompanied each parade group. I understand that there were at least a hundred of these, with their own drum and lyre bands to accompany the participants! Omg -- I think I lost my eardrums while enjoying the very loud drums with their wonderful, syncopated beat -- they were competing as to which will produced the best and loudest but most hypnotic and enjoyable sounds! After the parade, I think I was half-deaf!
Btw, the original aborigines were dark-skinned so part of the costumes is to put on charcoal stains ( from coconut) all over the parts of the body that can be seen. The face, the arms, the legs, the feet!! I did get a bit of it on my arm, as I drew close to one of the parade members.
Here's a sample of the parade participants --
And some of our foreign visitors --
But the most enjoyable part of the parade was allowing the people to be part of the show -- yes, a spontaneous street dancing festival to the most heart-stopping and the loudest musical rhythm! And of course, they graciously allowed selfies, too
...There was a bit of rain but that did not faze us -- we were crisscrossing the street trying to get to the best costumes, the best music, and the best dance steps and with whom one can get the best selfies. Hey, quite a few foreign tourists were with us, too. How many people were there -- according to our local host -- it could reach at least a million people on the streets! A bit later on, we were invited by friends of our hosts to a place which had a second floor front balcony view of what was happening on the street. That was very good, too, because there were costumes that were best viewed overhead, such as a very wide headdress that turned out to be unfolding butterfly wings! But the music seemed even louder as it floated up the air! One could also see the sea of humanity as far as the eye can see!
There was a bit of rain all throughout ( which was a rarity) -- here's the video coverage of a local TV station of the parade in the early part ... you can feel the music ( but it was probably 10 times louder if you were watching the parade as it passed --
We were so tired afterwards that we almost forgot dinner (having had to take a long nap to rest! )
The last day was the religious aspect, where thousands of folks heard Mass in the town plaza fronting the church because we could not all be accommodated inside... After the solemnity of the Mass, the heart-thumping beat started again -- with the parade participants back to honor the patron saint! Going back to our host's place on foot, we got accompanied by one tribe and their music!
Lunch was another unforgettable event, with the best local fiesta food served! Our host gifted us with so many souvenirs from the fiesta parade, including the fab headdresses and some local delicacies packed for travel!
I did wear my small purple headdress during the parade ... but around my neck
So, I went home with somewhat battered eardrums, a bit of a hoarse throat, very weary feet, overweight luggage...and most unfortunately, fatter than before
Jo
OZalots HQ - a place to celebrate The Boy(s) From OZ
