Kadaugan Sa Mactan: The Pre-Battle Ritual

Amidst rain shower on Mactan Shrine last April 26, people still gathered around the park to witness the pre-battle ritual musical drama, which is usually done prior to the re-enactment of the historical Kadaugan sa Mactan.

Before the main event of the night, the audience was entertained with dances and songs to proudly showcase the talents of the Lapu-Lapu Dance Sport Kids and some child singers of the city.

The kids, in their colorful costumes, amazed the crowd with their lively and magnificent performance. They sang and danced to the beat of various music genres, most of which were re-mixed Cebuano music.

Kadaugan sa Mactan is a celebration in Philippine history of the victory of native chieftain Lapu-Lapu who  fought off the Spanish invaders led by Ferdinand Magellan on April 27, 1521.

To make the celebration more meaningful and memorable, there are three versions of presentations done for the Kadaugan sa Mactan.

The first one is the dance drama, which was performed last March 13, 2008 at Hoops Dome, Mactan, during the World Youth Day celebration. This is a pure dance drama that portrays the battle in Mactan, wherein the story is woven through dances without dialogues.

The second version is the musical drama, which shows the pre-battle ritual of Lapu-Lapu and his men. The story is more on the worried feeling of Bulakna, Lapu-Lapu’s wife, and Lapu-Lapu’s promise to his wife and people that he will win the battle and come out alive.

The musical drama also highlights the  dancers doing slashing movements to indicate the fight scenes. To support their movements, the women were dancing, carrying branches of trees while men were carrying canes that symbolize  swords.

Another ritual shown, which is the special feature, was the prayer of the people to their anito or god. They did a dance of fire, symbolizing strength and power to help them win in the battle.

The movements were not only authentic but symbolic and creative, as well. The organizers created these rituals based on research.

The night of the ritual presentation ended with showers of colorful and bombastic fireworks.

The third version and the main event of the whole celebration was the re-enactment of the battle in Mactan, held at Mactan Shrine last April 27.

This became a star-studded event when  Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao played the role of Lapu-Lapu, his wife Jinky played Bulakna, with the award-winning actor Dennis Trillo as Magellan.

Behind the success of this year’s Kadaugan sa Mactan celebration is Director Raji Palanca, in collaboration with the other directors, Xavier Palanca for the dance drama, Doods Daclan for the pre-battle ritual musical drama and Pepe Bacay for the re-enactment of the battle. All their time and efforts spent on these events had been fruitful and rewarding.

According to Raji Palanca, the production of this event requires “more intellectual creativity.” The directors have to do something to make the re-enactments different and special from the previous ones.

Some changes are done with little add-ons and improvements on the drama concept, actors and props.

“It is challenging for us because it is not just historical. It goes beyond that since it involves theatre, like drama acting and music, and visual art,” he said. “It is a real giant theatrical production.”

Raji Palanca further said that compared to the past Kadaugan sa Mactan celebrations, this year was the most colorful in terms of visual production and actors, since it had some celebrities. It also attracted the biggest crowd ever. 

To attend to the  problem of spectators, the Brgy. Captain of Mactan Paz Radaza, with Hon. Damien Gomez, the Executive Director on Lapu-Lapu City Tourism, Cultural and Historical Commission, and other government officials of Lapu-Lapu are planning to get a bigger area for  next year’s celebration so that more people can participate and witness this historical event.

They are also planning to make the celebration itself even bigger each year to let more people know what is happening and to attract and promote tourism in the island.