DINAGYANG FESTIVAL 2023: Salamat Guid Sang Kasadyahan, Iloilo City!

When we decided to go to Iloilo City (from Negros Occidental) to enjoy the 2023 Dinagyang Festival, what we worried about was the hotel. 

So I called up the business inn that is located downtown where we always stayed because it was a walking distance from the San Jose de Placer Church and from the restaurant that makes everyone's favorite siopao, Roberto's, and other fastfood restaurants. The location is also very accessible and is just a few minutes from the ferry terminal.

The business inn still had rooms available, but unfortunately, we learned that the roads to the hotel would be closed during the festival. So we opted for another hotel elsewhere.

We ended up at a hotel along Ledesma Street that has a mall next to it. The location was very convenient for us as our mom, who has trouble walking, came with us, although we had some difficulty getting a cab a few times.

As always, even on the days leading to the festival, the streets of Iloilo City were full of revelers, tattoo artists, and vendors of snacks, bottled water, balloons, and colorful Dinagyang masks and necklaces. It also made us feel safe that there were a lot of policemen and women posted on every corner. There was even a police assistance desk just outside our hotel.

The competing tribes participating at the Dinagyang Festival were to be judged at the Freedom Grandstand and three other stages around the city, following a route that would meander through the main streets downtown.  

On our trips to the Dinagyang Festival before the pandemic, we were able to watch the performances at the Freedom Grandstand as well as experienced having photos with the costumed performers on the streets as they moved to the next performance area.

Although it was an amazing experience watching the whole performance of the tribes from our comfortable seats at the Freedom Grandstand, it was more fun seeing their creative and artsy costumes up close and chatting with them as they passed us on Rizal Street where we picked our spot.  

Feasting on the colors of their ensemble was a delight to the eyes and to my camera, although I realized their costumes must have been very heavy and their make-up that colored their faces and limbs made it even uncomfortable as they walked the streets under the sun.

But seeing the smiles of the performers without the masks on brought even more fun to us, revelers and tourists, as we enjoy once more the fun, excitement, and merrymaking of the Dinagyang Festival this year.

So, thank you to Mayor Treñas, the festival organizers, and to the men and women in uniform for keeping us safe during the 2023 Dinagyang Festival.😎😎😎

Salamat guid sang kasadyahan, Iloilo! Until next year!😍😍😍

#Iloilo #IloiloCity #Dinagyang #Dinagyangfestival #Philippines #ItsmorefuninthePhilippines #travel #travelblog 

Of Christmas, Cakes, and Fools!

As I enjoy a slice of my chocolate cake paired with fresh melon shake tonight, I think of what the Holy Family was going through that cold night in Bethlehem two thousand years ago: they didn't have a place to stay as the couple had no Booking app to reserve a room, they had to make do with riding a camel as they had no Grab transport, and they were probably worried there was no lying-in hospital nearby. Or worse, no hospital would take them in if they couldn't pay the required deposit. 

But in the end, as they trusted His plans, everything worked out just fine for the three.They had shepherds and sheep to keep them company, angels to sing for them, and even royalty as ninongs. The couple even ended up with new acquisitions of precious metals at the end of the night.

Today, there are the scarcity of public transport, scarcity of basic staples, no angels but demons singing praises for themselves, and worst, fools believing the promise of false gold.

The three, two thousands years ago and without any cake or fresh fruit shake, were better off than us today.

Merry Christmas! 
#MerryChristmas #Christmas #Pasko #MaligayangPasko #ensaimada #tableaTsokolate

Our Prayers For The Victims And Families of the Itaewon Tragedy

On the night of October 31, 2015, a Saturday, I passed by Itaewon on my way home to Hannam-dong in the Yongsan District of Seoul. 

I was taking the Subway Line 6 from Gongdeok Station to Hangangjin Station, but I decided to get off at Itaewon Station to see what Halloween thing was going on there.

When I came out of Exit 4 of Itaewon Station, what welcomed me was a huge crowd of Itaewon revelers who were there to party.

It was the the biggest crowd that I have ever seen in Itaewon, bigger than the crowds during the Itaewon Village Festival (read blog here) The crowd consisted mostly of young people, probably students, I thought.

Never have I thought it was a tragedy waiting to happen.

I know that narrow alley behind Hamilton Hotel too well. My friends and I have been to those nice restaurants located along that alley.

Last Saturday night's tragedy was a shock to everyone, especially to me and my friends who used to have fun there in Itaewon. 

We remember the victims and their families in our prayers during All Souls' Day.🙏

(This is the welcome arch of Itaewon that greets everyone at the Noksapyeong side) 

#Itaewon #ItaewonHalloween #Itaewonstampede #Seoul #Korea

Philippine History: Chapter 26 - Why April 26, Instead of October 7, is the Feast Day of the Our Lady of Victory Parish in Victorias City

When I learned that, according to the General Roman Calendar, the feast day of the Our Lady of Victory, also known as the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is October 7, I wondered why, in Victorias, it is celebrated on April 26.

When the Catholic states won over the fleet of the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in the Gulf of Patras in Greece on October 7, 1571, Pope Pius V, who asked all the faithful at that time to pray the Holy Rosary to help win the Catholic fleet win the battle, that day was declared by Pope Pius V as the feast of the Our Lady of Victory. She was later known as the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

Victorias was named after its patroness, Nuestra Señora de Las Victorias (read Chapter 4 here), and the town used to celebrate the feast on October 7. But in a memorabilia prepared years ago for the town fiesta, I read that it was moved from October 7, which is in a rainy month, to a day in the dry season.

So, why did the parish, probably in consultation with the local officials then, choose April 26?

I found the answer in the 1953 compilation.

Thanks to Ms. Christine Mae Sarito, who downloaded the Compilation from the archives of the National Library and made it available to the people of Victorias, we can now answer the question.

On Chapter 17 of the history of Victorias (read here), I wrote about the life of the people of Victorias during World War II. In my research for that chapter, I stumbled upon a date, April 26, 1945 (which is mistakenly written as "April 26, 1944" in the Compilation. The American forces arrived in Negros island only in 1945).

That date is very significant to the people of Victorias. It was the date the first American soldiers arrived in Victorias.

During the war, all church activities stopped. There were no baptism, burial masses, blessings, and even weddings at the church. Even the parish priest at that time, Fr. Vicente Luzada, had to flee for his life.

Maybe, years after the war, when the October 7 fiesta celebrations were always rained out, the parish priest, parishioners and town officials began discussions about moving the town fiesta to a day in the dry season.  They probably had many dates as an option, including other important dates in the Catholic calendar, but must have settled, in the end, to one very important date in the history of Victorias.

During the three years of living a life under the Japanese colonizers that brought cruelty, hunger, sickness and death, the people of Victorias prayed to the Virgin for help.

On April 26, 1945, their prayers were answered.

The arrival of the first American soldiers in Victorias on that day, a Thursday, brought joy and happiness to the people, knowing that freedom, as well as the old ways of living in peace, would finally return to Victorias.

The feast of the Our Lady of Victory is celebrated by the parish with an early morning procession of Her image and a concelebrated mass presided by the Bishop of the Diocese of Bacolod.

Let's bring back the old traditions of celebrating the April 26 fiesta in the name of Nuestra Señora de Las Victorias.

                                   * * * * *

Attached are the screenshots above of the pages from the 1953 Compilation showing the listing of April 26, 1944 (should be 1945), as a significant day in the history of Victorias.

Note: Words written in neon green are links. Do click them.

Chapter 27: Don Gonzalo Ditching and His Legacy in Vic Victorias City (Part 1)

Complete history blog: "Ang Kasaysayan sang                                                Victorias"

#Victorias #VictoriasHistory #History #Philippinehistory

#OurLadyofVictory #NuestraSeñoraDeLasVictorias

#NuestraSeñoradeSantoRosario 

#OurLadyoftheHolyRosary

ANGAT VICTORIAS: The Blessing of our Angat Victorias Banca

After our ANGAT VICTORIAS banca was completed (read blog here), we asked the help of the staff of the Parish of St. Roch in Daan Banwa, Victorias City, whether Fr. Christopher Entrata, parish priest, could bless the banca.🚢

On the sunny morning of August 31, 2022, the completed blue banca (color choice by carpenter Nonoy) was brought to the southern side of the Malihaw River where we gathered for the blessing. 

Along with Fr. Entrata's blessing, we prayed that the boatmen and his passengers will always have a safe passage across the Malihaw River each day and night.

The whole banca project took us a little more than a month. It was July 29, 2022, Friday, when we chanced upon Justin on the Malihaw River, and on that day, we asked the riverside restaurant owner to help us find a banca carpenter.

Finally, on August 31, 2022, Wednesday, the banca was blessed and was turned over to Walter, the boatman.

This photo is my favorite as it clearly shows the colors of the day: the pink ANGAT VICTORIAS tarpaulin, red/yellow/green/blue of the beach umbrella, the dark blue banca, the clear blue skies (let's exclude the murky waters!) all portend the happiness our little banca would bring to its passengers who will ride it, as well as the financial help it will bring to the family of Walter who will use it during the week, and to the family of Justin who will use it during weekends and when he is off from school.😊

We, the ANGAT VICTORIAS volunteers, endeavor to help our fellow Victoriahanon in our own little way. 😊

#AngatVictorias #AngatBuhayLahat #AngatBuhay #DaanBanwa #volunteerism #boats #banca 

ANGAT VICTORIAS: Our Banca For The Daan Banwa Community

In Victorias City,  Negros Occidental in the Philippines, the Malihaw River separates two of its barangays, 6A (Villa Miranda) and 9 (Daan Banwa) The latter is closer to the public transport terminal, a mall, and the fruit and vegetable market.

Instead of taking the longer route, the residents of Barangay 6A take the banca ride to cross the river, and the crossing only takes a couple of minutes.

Each passenger pays P5 for the crossing, and the boat men earn a living by using the banca to ferry passengers. During classes, students would prefer crossing the river instead of taking the longer route to school.

One day, as we visited Daan Banwa to have snacks at a restaurant near the bank of the Malihaw River, I watched a kid take a banca to cross to our side. He then took passengers and ferried them to the other side. I thought his family owned the boat.

But after talking to the kid and to the owner of the restaurant, we found out that the kid, Justin, only 15 years old, borrows the banca and pays P50 to the owner as rent. 

Justin then ferries people across the river. His earnings would help his mother, a laundry woman raising nine kids on her own. 

We asked the restaurant owner to help us find a carpenter to build us a banca that he kid could use when he's off from school.  

Nonong, a 54-year old carpenter who builds banca for a living, would build our ANGAT VICTORIAS banca that will be blessed by our parish priest once it is ready for use.

We, the ANGAT VICTORIAS volunteers, endeavor to help our fellow Victoriahanon in our own little way.😊

#AngatVictorias #AngatBuhay #banca #boats #Daan Banwa #volunteerism

ANGAT VICTORIAS: Waiting Shed for Tricycle Drivers

In front of the Victorias City's public plaza, there's a new terminal for the local tricycles. Rain or shine, they await passengers that get off from buses coming from the north.

One more, I asked the tricycle drivers whether they needed a shed, and they said that they would be happy if someone could donate one for them.

So, off I went to the upholstery shop with one of the drivers and bought them the size that would be big enough to cover their corner.

After securing the 'trapal', I called a friend to ask whether he could spare me some bamboo poles to hold the shed.

The generous friend gladly gave me the poles which I picked up and were loaded to a tricycle and brought to the terminal's location. Having all the materials, namely, the trapal, wires and bamboo poles, the tricycle drivers worked together to build the shed.

They all seemed to be expert in building structures, and I was happy to see that ANGAT VICTORIAS volunteers were able to help this group of tricycle drivers.

All we wanted was to provide a shelter for these drivers to protect them from the scorching sun and rains. This shed will help safeguard their health as they make a living for their families day and night.

The ANGAT VICTORIAS volunteers endeavor to help our fellow Victoriahanon in our own little way.😎

#AngatVictorias #AngatBuhay #tricycledrivers #tricycle #volunteerism