Hala Bira literally means ‘dispense all means.’ Many times, it also means ‘blessings to us all’. It is an Aklanon phrase that is usually chanted during the Ati-atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan. Today’s the phrase is chanted almost all over the archipelago during festivals, parties, and other social gatherings. The last time I heard the phrase chanted live was in…
Tag: Festival
Throwback: National Sarsuwela Festival 2009 at the University of the Philippines Diliman
After the success of the University of the Philippines (UP) Komedya Fiesta 2008, Virgilio Almario, National Artist for Literature and then College of Arts & Letters (CAL) Dean proclaimed that after komedya, the sarsuwela is the second national theatre form in the Philippines truly deserving to be examined. In his opening remarks in the Sarsuwela…
Throwback: Komedya Fiesta 2008 at the University of the Philippines Diliman
To celebrate the centenary of the University of the Philippines (UP), the College of Arts and Letters at the Diliman Campus held the Komedya Fiesta 2008. For the whole month of February, the campus was dressed with traditional fiestas culminating with performances of komedya, a traditional Hispanic theatre form that has been Filipinized. Conceived in…
Philippine Stories About the Origin of the Universe in Sansinukob Installation Exhibit
In February 2017, I co-led Salaysayan: K’wentong Bayan, Kaalamang Bayan (Storytelling: Folk Stories, Folk Knowledge), a festival celebrating Philippine folk narratives. The festival was UP Diliman’s participation in the 2017 National Arts Month. The centerpiece was Sansinukob (The Universe), an installation/outdoor exhibit featuring seven Philippine renowned artists. Together with a colleague from the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy…
Performing the “Masculine” in the Peñafrancia
The feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia (locally called Ina or mother by devotees) is celebrated on the Sunday after the Octave (8 Days) of September 8 (the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic calendar) that usually falls on the second or third Sunday of September in Naga City in the province…
Cultural Performances
My first encounter with the term cultural performance was about 20 years ago. I was still a student at the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary – its minor seminary. Minor seminaries (High School seminaries) in Luzon back then annually meet for a sports festival called Sangkan (short for “Isang Angkan kay Kristo,” One Family in Christ)….
Tanghal Kultura 