Garbo Sa Sugbu

Friends and old acquaintance met at the Superferry en route to Manila where excitement overwhelmed these performers to the point of executing an eleventh-hour rehearsal on board.

The guest list included delegates from Dumanjug, Mandaue City, Bantayan, Mactan, Camotes and the Municipality of Compostela.

Twelve hours later, they all checked in at their respective hotels — the Garden Plaza and Manila Pavillon.

Garbo sa Sugbu opened with a big bang last September 2 at the Intramuros.The opening of the Clamshell was hosted by Sam Costanilla where the four major delegates offered symbolic gifts to DOT Secretary Joseph Ace Durano.

Gracing the opening were DOT Region 7 DirectorPatria Aurora Roa, Vice Mayor Michael Rama, Ms. Margot Osmeña and the mayors of the different participating municipalities and cities as heads of delegations.

The gala festival showdown was most amazing as nine groups swayed to recognizable beats at the area fronting the St. Ignacio Church ruins.

Sinanggi-yaw festival of Dumanjug, Cebu was an eye-popper. It was followed by a wedding ritual, Solili festival of Siquijor. Tanjay City, Oriental Negros, gave their best as they showed off Saulog Festival in honor of St. James the Apostle. The delegation from San Francisco, Camotes, paraded in rural costumes partly covered with dried stalks of grass known as the soli-soli, thus the very jolly Soli-Soli festival.

Perennially present every year besides Cebu City is the Mandaue City contingent who gave their all in their presentation of the Mantawi festival. Dressed in sequined green costume adorned with leaves, the performers appeared as human vineyards.

Kadaugan sa Mactan of Lapu-Lapu City followed. Bantayan Island presented Palawod festival.

But the Mother of all Phillipine Festivals, the Sinulog, as presented by the 2004 Sinulog Grand Prize Winner and three-time Grand Champion of Sinulog sa Kabataan-Panlalawigan: Compostela National High School of the Municipality of Compostela, Cebu, was the highlight of the whole presentation. The contingent epitomized and embodied the very concept of street dance festival presentation to the point where the audience was left in awe. The production set was the most ambitious to have been brought to Intramuros, so far. Transportation of props on display and movables alone (one-way) costs a staggering P112,000.00.

But the highlight did not stop there. The showdown of all festivals was a fitting finale that wowed the crowd as each festival was recognized and all the performers executed their basic dance steps. Finally, dancing to the beat of the Sinulog, guests were led inside the St. Ignacio Church ruins for the merienda cena.

The following two days were both exciting and challenging to the performers as they showcased their dance routines onstage inside the Intramuros Clamshell.

There were many beautiful presentations but the Camotes presentation of the Municipality of San Francisco, Camotes was noteworthy. Showcased by the Hiyas ng Lahi Dance Group and the Lumad San Francisco Dance Troupe was the Visayan rural concept.There was also the presentation of the winners of the 2005 Ms. San Francisco search who donned Dexter Alazas’ resort wear collection, augmented by the colorful rural costumes and occasional Soli-Soli props that showed what the rich islands can offer.

Governor Gwen Garcia, Board Member Agnes Magpale and company graced the finale show last Monday night as they were treated by the street dance performers of Dumanjug and Compostela.

According to Secretary Ace Durano, Central Visayas made the best presentation among all participating regions. Given the same budget, Central Visayas, most especially the Cebuanos, made a marvelous performance in Intramuros. No other region can beat that!

Now that’s definitely a major reason why it should have been aptly called Garbo sa Sugbu.