As part of the province’s lineup of activities for its 58th founding anniversary celebration, the provincial government of Eastern Samar held a Philippine Folk Dance competition at the Borongan City Plaza last night, November 5.
Dubbed as ‘Sayaw: A Competition on Philippine Folk Dances,’ the event aimed to showcase the Filipino culture, talent, and elegance while eyeing the preservation of our traditional dances.
Eleven municipalities took part in the competition, namely: Dolores, Llorente, San Julian, Can-avid, Taft, Salcedo, Balangiga, Hernani, Oras, Maydolong, and Balangkayan. Completing the list of participants is the province’s lone city of Borongan, with the group performing ‘Sala Ti Mais,’ a dance that celebrates the bountiful harvest of corn in the province of Isabela.
All participating groups were required to perform pieces with a corresponding published literature, which the esteemed board of judges studied and used as an adjudication guide. Moreover, the performances were classified into two categories: the rural dances which mostly depict the folks’ farming and aquaculture practices in the countryside, and the urban performances, or those influenced by the Spanish elite of the 19th century such as the different kinds of Jota pieces.
After a rigid deliberation among the panel of judges, the municipality of Can-avid was named champion, with Maydolong and Taft awarded as 2nd and 1st runners-up, respectively. Can-avid received 50,000 pesos worth of cash and a trophy as prize; 30,000 and a trophy for Taft; and 20,000 with a trophy for Maydolong. Meanwhile, the rest of the participants were each given 10,000 pesos as consolation prizes.
Clad in their elegant Filipinianas and barongs with their wooden castanets in hand, the dancers of Can-avid glided to ‘La Jota Quirino,’ a Jota dance introduced by the Spanish missionaries to the province of Quirino. The performers from the municipality of Taft, on the other hand, presented their local folk song and dance called ‘Pastores Taft,’ while Maydolong danced to the tune of ‘An Lab-asero’.
Neil Alejandro Pinarok, provincial tourism officer and lead organizer of the competition, said that the dances are interwoven and that each forms part of the tapestry of our Filipino identity. He added that the event also intends to examine Filipino customs and traditions while reorienting Eastern Samareños with the country’s folk dances.
The competition was graced by Atty. Celestino Cabato, the representative of Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda, and Nelson Cortez, Eastern Samar’s provincial administrator.
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