This is the reason why I haven't been so actively lately in posting blogs. Today, I will take you with me as we competed in the festival of one of the most promising towns in Northern Cebu.
Every 20th of January is the annual fiesta celebration in the municipality of Borbon. It usually falls on the third week of the month with which, most of the time, Sinulog also happens. Borbon is one of the popular towns in the fifth district of Cebu because it offers a lot to tourists. It has Nelmon's Banwa and Master's Dragon Peak in the upland. In the lowland, its Silmugi River once caught the admiration of the people and became Borbon's theme of its annual festival. During the town's fiesta, they have week-long activities which include LGU Night, Teacher's Night, Miss Borbon Tourism, the most anticipated Tuba Festival and a lot more.
Borbon District has six public high schools. All of these six schools are contingents for this year's Tuba Festival. Each school was given a subsidy of 200, 000 and the barangay's counterpart of 15, 000 each. This whole amount encompasses everything needed in the said festival - from the choreographer's fee, transportation during blocking and showdown, costumes, props, food, and snacks of the dance masters and student participants.
We were not able to enjoy our Christmas vacation because we were tasked to monitor the student's attendance during practices. Students also sacrifice their time. Some opted to not join because they wanted to enjoy the holiday, but many were interested in participating.
I am the School Cultural Coordinator and this event is under my leadership, but I couldn't take any credit for myself because each one of us, the teachers, the leaders of our four supporting barangays, especially our school head, took part, exerted effort and hard work into making our participation a successful one.
PRACTICES
I could see how the participants struggled during their first few days of practice. They were taught how to properly perform the fundamentals while holding two 1.5 L bottles filled with sand and stone. Some were complaining that their arms were numb. When they were taught with the first few figures, some of them had a hard time executing the steps but with patience and determination, I could tell that nothing is impossible.
Days went by and they were able to finish the whole steps in the ritual showdown, including the street dancing.
Costumes were given to each of them.
Props were made, and some were repaired - repainted.
BLOCKING
Before the props arrived, the dance masters already informed the participants beforehand that the props they would be using were a lot bigger than the ones used last year. And true enough, during blocking, they struggled. They were not yet familiar with the props they were holding. Moreover, the venue of the competition is not cemented.
There were stones which hampered the movement of the dancers. They were having a hard time adjusting, not to mention the limited time we had in blocking. That day also, the sun showed no mercy at all. The participants were still eager to do rounds of blocking because the day after was already the big day.
Another problem we encountered on that day was we didn't have any place to house our props. We decided not to transport the props back to our place because, aside from there being a lot of props, the transportation fee was costly. We only had two trucks and the drivers had to travel thrice to carry everything.
So we decided to just find a place where we could place our props. But right after we finished our blocking, we couldn't find any room. We were not allowed to leave props everywhere because we were in a competition. Around five in the afternoon, before the rain showers, our props were housed.
SHOWDOWN
Participants were all excited for the big day. But we teachers, we just wanted to survive another day without proper sleep and rest. We are thankful for the barangay help we received from cooking foods ( rice and adobo) into packing them.
As teachers, even if there was help extended to us, we still see to it that our presence was always there. We came home late and we went to school early. Nothing but praises to all of my colleagues for sacrificing their rest to prepare everything.
The street dancing competition started at 2 in the afternoon. It was blazing hot. But there's no turning back. This is it!
After the street dancing, the grand ritual showdown started. The sequence of the performance is as follows:
1.Tabunan National High School
2.Bongdo National High School
3.Borbon National High School
4.Dona Milagros Osmena National High School (Lugo, Borbon)
5.Campusong National High School
6.Mar and Dorie Darunday National High School (Managase, Borbon)
I was tasked to make and read the synopsis of our school's participation. Here it is.
English Version
This is the Cebuano Bisaya Version which I preffered to read during the showdown.
When our students performed, with all the prayers we had for them, their dedication, and hard work during practices, they were giving their best.
After all the performances, they had their grand finale, dancing to the music of Mabuhi Ka Sugbuanon with the special participation of the mayor, vice mayor, board members, and the rest of the guests.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS
This was the most interesting part of the competition. Everyone was crossing their fingers, hoping to win.
MINOR AWARDS
Best in Costume: Tabunan NHS
Best in Streetdancing: Tabunan NHS
Best in Andas: Mar and Dorie Darunday NHS
GRAND RITUAL SHOWDOWN
3rd Place: Tabunan NHS
2nd Place: Bongdo NHS
Champion: Mar and Dorie Darunday NHS
The competition ended successfully. We went home with smiles on our faces, bringing home the trophy and a whole new set of experience, hoping next time, we will be the champion.
A little trivia: The Tuba Festival started last 2020. Previously, it was the Silmugi Festival. 2024 is the third year of the Tuba Festival (there were still restrictions during 2021 and 2022). Our school has been constantly landing in the top 3 for three consecutive years of the competition. Maybe next year is our time. Who knows?
This is all for today's blog. Thank you for constantly supporting me. Be safe. Until the netswriting.