La Carlota City's 32nd Pasalamat Festival 2011

  





















    

      May 1, Labor Day, while the the whole country are having an annual celebration held to honor our Filipino workforce, La Carlota City's drumbeats roared across the whole city as they once more celebrated their annual Pasalamat Festival.
     We left Bacolod City around ten in the morning, our destination is the City of Lights, La Carlota City. Also called as the Drumbeat City of Beauty and Dance, La Carlota City is about 45 kilometers away south of Bacolod City. By private car, the city can be reached within 45 minutes and an hour by public utility vehicles.  There are only 2 minibus companies that operates the Bacolod-La Carlota route - OMC and SDL.

     We arrived a few minutes after 11:00 and went straight to a friend's house to have lunch. Stayed for a couple of hours chatting with some friends to keep up with the lost time and to update each others whereabouts while waiting for the rest of the company to arrive.  It was almost 3:00 pm when we went out to the street. The main street was already packed with cars parked on the side and people waiting for the street parade to begin.
     It was past 3:30 when the sound of the drums filled the air combined with samba steps on the crowded street turned the whole main street of La Carlota into a mardi gras. One couldn't help but move or sway to the sound that emanated from the beat of the drums coming from the different beaters accompanying each of the 21 competing tribe. Garbed in elaborate and colorful costumes, the dancers of each tribes displayed gracefulness in spite of the scorching summer heat.

     It was gloomy that afternoon and the shade of the trees on the street made it hard for me to get good photos. But still, I managed to get some decent photos using the point and shoot camera. We positioned on the starting point of the parade and it was very tiring standing on the street for almost two hours, each tribe was like 50 meters away from each other. Maybe they don't want the street dancers to get confused if the drum beats from one tribe to another got mixed.  But in total, it was a new and great experience for me.

Panaad Park: Touring Negros Occidental in a Day, Going South This Time Part 2

ISABELA  -  Isabela was known before as a part of Binalbagan when the Spaniard arrived to the island of Negros. The place was once inhabited by native people with full of tattoos in the body called “Pintados”.

MOISES PADILLA -  Moises Padilla was a former barrio of Isabela a neighboring town and its original name was Mgallon and later became Moises Padilla when it declared it as a town.   The name of the town was changed after the death Mr. Moises Padilla a mayoralty candidate who was tortured and killed by assassins of a certain prominent family in Negros Island due to political reasons. 

Panaad Park: Touring Negros Occidental in a Day, Going South This Time Part1

Now that we're done with all the cities and municipalities on the northern part of Negros Occidental it's time to move down to the south.  Sit back, relax and enjoy.

BAGO CITY  -  the top rice producer in the province and is home to industries like the Maao Sugar Central, Viva Mineral water bottling plant, Ginebra San Miguel distilled products and the Alter Trade muscovado mill.

PULUPANDAN  - derived its name from the vernacular phrase “pulo sang pandan”, meaning “isle of pandan”, due to the wild forest of palms in the town during the early days before it became a bustling seaport. 

Panaad Park: Touring Negros Occidental in a Day, Going East

Now that we're done with the cities and municipalities on the northern part of Negros Occidental, lets proceed to the two municipalites and one city on the eastern part.

MURCIA   -  Convergence of the North and South and where East meets West. Murcia is home to the province’s flagship tourism attraction, the scenic and romantic Mambukal Summer Resort., the Bacolod Golf and Country Club, the Tanduay Distillery  and PNOC Geothermal Power Plant.

DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO  -  Located at the center of the mountains of northern Negros Occidental.  Tagged as the "Little Baguio of Negros Occidental" because of the cool weather and the beautiful pine trees that lined the main road.

Panaad Park: Touring Negros Occidental in a Day, Going North Part 2

MANAPLA  -  known for the Cartwheel church and the delicious Capulso Puto Manapla.  The town got its name from the wife of the capitan, fondly and respectfully called by the residents as Manang Pula.  Later, the Manang Pula as name of the town was shortened to Manapla, the name carried on until now.

CADIZ CITY  -  dried fish capital of Negros Occidental  and the famous tourist attraction, Lakawon Island Resort.

Panaad Park: Touring Negros Occidental in a Day, Going North Part 1

Every year, the Panaad sa Negros Festival is always flocked by both local and international tourists to witness the week long celebration of  the "Mother of All Festivals".  Aside from the food and the activities lined up for the whole celebration, one of the reason that people purposely flock the Panaad Festival are the booths of different towns and cities of Negros Occidental.
I took the liberty to take photos of all the booths and what's in store for the visitors. To all Negrosanons on the other side of the planet, I hope these photos can make you feel like you've have been here celebrating the festival with us.

Let me start from my very own city, Bacolod City, then we''ll head north.  Okay?  Enjoy as I tour you around the Panaad Park.


BACOLOD CITY - dubbed as the City of Smile, the capital city of Negros Occidental, home of the Masskara Festival and the famous Chicken Inasal (grilled chicken).
The Balay Bacolodnon sa Panaad booth is a fusion of the old and new Bacolod., with the plaza gazebo and bandstand as icon of the city's old world charm and the New Government Center as symbol of the modern City of Bacolod surging ahead.

This giant mask greets the visitors on the entrance of Bacolod booth.

Panaad sa Negros Festival Dance Competition Part 3

Sinigayan Festival of Sagay City
An annual thanksgiving in honor of St. Joseph, showcasing the best of Sagay’s arts, culture, products, and people.

Manlambus Festival of Escalante
“Manlambus” is a Visayan term meaning “to strike with a club” - because its coastal waters were then teeming with fishes that catching them could be done simply by clubbing.

Babaylan Festival of Bago City
Babaylan Festival is based on the rituals performed by the Babaylans or shamans, like rituals on marriage, baptism, healing, harvest and others. Babaylans get their healing powers from the unseen spirits.

Sag-ahan Festival of Toboso
Sag-ahan is derived from the original name of the settlement near the Sag-ahan River many years ago In the local dialect “sag-ahan” means to take or catch fish with the hands, This method of fishing was popularly used due to the abundance of fish in the area.

Kalag-kalag Festival of Isabela
This Festival is celebrated during the All Soul’s Day to remember the departed. The dance routine depicts dead people, and some skeletons dancing to the drumbeats.

Bailes de Luces Festival of La Castellana
Its unique feature is the use of lights or “luces” as props and adornment and its nocturnal festivities and streetdancing.

Panaad sa Negros Festival Dance Competition Part 2

Pabalhas sa Tablas Festival of Candoni
Held every 11th of February, the concept of their festival originated from the actual history of Candoni when  group of settlers look for a land they can call their own.

Pintaflores Festival of San Carlos
Pintaflores is coined from the words Pintados, the concept behind the Nabingkalan Tattoo Festival, and the "flores", the Spanish word for flowers that dominated the theme of the Dances of Flowers. The Pintaflores street dancing and ritual competition highlights the annual Pintaflores festival every November 3-5.

Panaad sa Negros Festival Dance Competition Part 1

Last Monday I was able to witness the Festival Dance competition, another first time for me, during the opening of the 18th Panaad sa Negros Festival 2011.  Here I'll be sharing some of the photos I've taken and a little information about the festival.

Kadalag-an Festival of Victorias City

KADALAG-AN symbolizes the many victories achieved by the people against adversities in life. This is in addition to the literal translation of Victorias which is victory. Falls on the 21st of March which is also the city's Charter anniversary.

Lubay-Lubay Festival of Cauayan

Held every 25th of Janauary, Lubay-Lubay portrays and preserves the early cultures of Cauayanons in facing the adversity of life as well as the abundance and prosperity endowed by the Almighty One.

Panaad sa Negros 2011 Opening Day

It's the month of April and it's time for the weeklong celebration of Panaad sa Negros Festival. or also known as Panaad Festival. An annual celebration held in Panaad Park in Bacolod City.  Panaad which means "vow" or "promise" is a form of thanksgiving for good life and good harvest.  Participated by 31 towns and cities that composed the province of  Negros Occidental and for this it is called as the "mother of all festivals".

The 18th Panaad sa Negros Festival kicked off last Monday afternoon, April 4, headed by the governor and officials of different cities and municipalities.  The highlight activity of that day was the festival dance competed by 24 groups which showcases each town's and city's unique festivity.  Luckily,  I was able to witnessed this extravagant showcase of colors and gracefulness.  This week long celebration will commenced on April 9, 2011.

The program started off with a special number from Bacolod City's Masskara Festival 2010 dance parade winner followed by the presentation of Lin-ay sang Negros 2011 candidates.

But earlier, while waiting for the program to start, we had our taste buds filled with Manapla's famous Capulso puto cheese. Yummy!  Then we headed to the Panaad Grand Stand to take  some photos of the competing groups.