The Philippines is known for its very colorful festivals that happen the whole year round at different spots of the country. Most often, festivals are a way for us Filipinos to thank God for all the things that he had made our place abundant of, to enjoy, and also to showcase the beauty and talent of our places.
Magayon festival, which is celebrated in the province of Albay at the moment, is one of our nation’s pride. Guests and visitors from different parts of the Philippines and all over the the world seek to see the colorful costumes of the participants in the street dancing, and the rest of the events in the festival. Magayon festival is celebrated on May 4 to May 30 by the Bicolanos in the province of Albay. It is a whole month round celebration of richness and abundance.
This year, the Magayon Festival 2011 has already started, making a big leap amid all the tests that the province experienced. Magayon fiesta, unlike all other festivals that centers its celebration on praising and glorifying their Catholic patronage, most commonly their parochial patron, Magayon festival celebrates for everything that makes Bicolanos lives rich, abundant, and optimistic. They include their strong Catholic roots in the celebration by opening the month-long celebration with a Holy Mass and showcasing the traditional Catholic “Santacruzan”; it showcases talents from the different parts of the province, and with brilliant lights, fireworks and other different events during the evening and colorful street-dancers during the day.
Magayon festival is a celebration of the beautiful the legend of Mayon volcano. It was said that there was never a perfect cone volcano in the long past - that is the Mayon volcano. The place where the Mt Mayon towers right now was a village where beautiful maidens and brave warriors live. And because of a tragic story of the daragas (Bicolano for ‘maidens’), there rose the magnificent Mt. Mayon.
Magayon festival, though very colorful and blissful when you’ve happened to see it had actually undergone a lot of struggles. Although it was begun in the late 90’s and still exists upto these days, it was tested by the leadership of the succeeding governors, having different concentrations, and also by the calamities that the province had encountered, especially the cruel typhoon “Reming”. There came an instance that the Magayon festival was not the priority of the leaders because his programs did not focus on tourism but on the development on infrastructures and financial supervision to the different barangays of the province, hence the festival went lie low. On 2006, Reming struck Bicol region, leaving the agricultural areas devastated and many people were killed. Bicolanos faced a dreadful incident which made it harder for them to continue the celebration that they all started with pride.
But, now they are once again happily celebrating it. After years of restoration and hopeful attitude, the people of Albay are now back in track, celebrating the richness, abundance, and beauty that are all a result of their hopeful attitude. They did not stop in pursuing the festival that had once bound them as one, having one dream and one happiness.
Even if someone has not seen personally the wonders of the festival, having been into the place makes him or her realize how great the people are and Mt. Mayon is. The place is simple yet proud of what it has to offer. A lot of visitors come to the place even for a day or two just to see the magnificent figure of the reason of their celebration – Mt. Mayon. The people in Albay are very much hospitable both to the foreigners and their fellow Filipinos. The local language depicts the difference between the tourists and the locals but, it was never a hindrance for them to entertain the visitors in their place. Everyone is always welcome.
It’s not only the place and the people that are the pride of the festival, but also the unity in it. There are competitions during the whole month of May, but you would never see them like competing. The people are more of making effort in order to show the best that they have in order to entertain their guests and other viewers of the events. With their unity and the leadership of the place, it’s always been a success in the end. The winners come out in victory, and the losers act so sports about. Besides, they never looked like losers in their performance, they all seem like winners, holding wide smiles, wearing colorful costumes and dancing so gracefully, they all seem so happy and full of hope.
As Filipinos, it was never a wonder why we manage to smile amidst all the struggles we might have met, do meet, and are about to meet. We have a heart that we can always be proud of, a strong heart that never stops beating and does not get drowned and damaged against all the calamities that we encounter. Instead, those instances in our lives make us stronger emotionally and have an indestructible faith. For us, not only festivals are kaleidoscopic, but also life is a kaleidoscope, life has bits of colors that change patterns continually, at times it may go darker, but it always has some point in time that it goes brighter.
Kudos to the Magayon Festival! It’s such a symbol of unity and hope that made them rising again. After all, the reason for a tragic yet beautiful legend that is the Mayon volcano still rises and invites people from different parts of the world, always making them one.
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