Essays for Me
The Philippine Fiesta
A fiesta (Spanish word for party or festivity, turned pista in the dialect), after all, represents not only the largely Catholic population of the country but is an acknowledged national traditional occasion. It is a moment when communities come together in gratitude for another passing year. Mention the word fiesta to a Filipino and it would likely elicit a smile from him, the word, at once, conjuring images of banderitas (flaglets), carrozas(processional carts), marching bands, and a surfeit of food.
Fiestas so pervade the lives of Filipinos that it has become a favorite subject of local painters like Manuel Baldemor and National Artist for Visual Arts Carlos “Botong” Francisco. As early as 1898, a less than a minute reel of the now popular Quiapo’s Feast of the Black Nazarene was shot and shown to Manila audiences by the Spanish officer Antonio Ramos. Also, one of the earliest Philippine documentaries made was La Fiesta de Obandodone in 1909. Later, in 1971, a film titled Fiesta Extravaganza starred the then teenage stars Vilma Santos and Edgar Mortiz. This fascination with fiestas further found its way in the works of our local writers: Angel de Jesus wrote the short story Fiesta in 1936; National Artist for Literature Alejandro Roces came up with a book titledFiesta in 1980, discussing at length folk festivals like Ermita’s bota flores, Pakil’s Turumba, Marinduque’s Moriones, Aklan’s Ati-atihan, and Naga’s Peñafrancia; Bobby Flores Villasis wrote Fiesta, a one-act play in English in 1987.
The fiesta’s popularity among the Filipinos traces its roots to the fact that even before Catholicism arrived in the country, the locals were already into celebratory feasts as recorded by Antonio Pigafetta, Miguel de Loarca and Pedro Chirino. The Maranao epic “Darangen,” for one, tells of “a grand festival held in Bembaran” marked by the beats of agongs, voices of people and cannons booming in the distance. Spanish chronicler Fr. Joaquin de
A fiesta (Spanish word for party or festivity, turned pista in the dialect), after all, represents not only the largely Catholic population of the country but is an acknowledged national traditional occasion. It is a moment when communities come together in gratitude for another passing year. Mention the word fiesta to a Filipino and it would likely elicit a smile from him, the word, at once, conjuring images of banderitas (flaglets), carrozas(processional carts), marching bands, and a surfeit of food.
Fiestas so pervade the lives of Filipinos that it has become a favorite subject of local painters like Manuel Baldemor and National Artist for Visual Arts Carlos “Botong” Francisco. As early as 1898, a less than a minute reel of the now popular Quiapo’s Feast of the Black Nazarene was shot and shown to Manila audiences by the Spanish officer Antonio Ramos. Also, one of the earliest Philippine documentaries made was La Fiesta de Obandodone in 1909. Later, in 1971, a film titled Fiesta Extravaganza starred the then teenage stars Vilma Santos and Edgar Mortiz. This fascination with fiestas further found its way in the works of our local writers: Angel de Jesus wrote the short story Fiesta in 1936; National Artist for Literature Alejandro Roces came up with a book titledFiesta in 1980, discussing at length folk festivals like Ermita’s bota flores, Pakil’s Turumba, Marinduque’s Moriones, Aklan’s Ati-atihan, and Naga’s Peñafrancia; Bobby Flores Villasis wrote Fiesta, a one-act play in English in 1987.
The fiesta’s popularity among the Filipinos traces its roots to the fact that even before Catholicism arrived in the country, the locals were already into celebratory feasts as recorded by Antonio Pigafetta, Miguel de Loarca and Pedro Chirino. The Maranao epic “Darangen,” for one, tells of “a grand festival held in Bembaran” marked by the beats of agongs, voices of people and cannons booming in the distance. Spanish chronicler Fr. Joaquin de