Kuratsa and the ways of a Waray
A few months ago, I wrote about my son, Paolo Daza Planas, as he visited Samar, where he was able to go back to our Daza roots. He had the fortunate experience of seeing Northern Samar upon the invitation of my cousin, Paul Daza, the first congressional representative there. The province must have made such a significant impression on him that he was eager to go back and visit.
Luckily, it was serendipity that the Catarman town fiesta was a month-long celebration in August. The 29th was a holiday, so Paolo was able to fly in for the long weekend to catch the tail end of the fiesta.
The first night that Paolo arrived, Aug. 25, he watched Mutya ng Catarman, a contest wherein there were 15 lovely ladies representing the different barangays. Ronnie Liang was the special guest singer, and he serenaded them with his hits Ngiti and Ligaya. All the girls were swooning and thrilled to see him. It was Emeliene Rubenecia from Bgy. Calachuchi, a graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, who took home the crown that evening.
The following evening, Freedom Park, which is their multi-purpose covered court, was filled to the rafters as Gloc-9 performed for the crowd. He brought the house down with his classic hits such as Sirena, Bagsakan, Simpleng Tao, and many more. According to Paolo, it was a delight to see the crowd sing along with Gloc-9, and to witness everyone having a good time.
On Aug. 27, Paolo joined his Tito Paul to open a basketball tournament featuring 10 teams from all over Northern Samar. He was even asked to judge a mini muse contest of the teams!
It was Paolo’s first time to ever witness a town fiesta, and he had such a fun and entertaining experience. Paolo was ecstatic as he danced the night away with his dance partner, who ended up being the sister of Catarman Mayor, Antet Rosales, his cousin. They were asked to perform the Kuratsa, a dance native to Region 8, during the barangay night held at the Freedom Park in Catarman on Aug. 28.
The Kuratsa is a courtship dance wherein the man approaches and courts a lady in the form of a dance, and its movements are actually imitated from the gestures of a rooster and a hen. The crowd also donates money during the performance and all proceeds raised during the night goes towards the local parishes.
During his trip, Paolo also met the contestants of the Miss Ganda Rosa when they paid a courtesy call in the Governor’s residence headed by Governor Edwin Marino Ongchuan, Vice Governor Clarence Dato, and Gigi Daza, the wife of Rep. Paul. He was impressed at how articulate and poised they all were.
Even if it was just for a quick weekend getaway, Paolo was happy to meet some of his distant relatives and make new friends along the way. It was pure delight for him to hear fun stories and learn the ways of a Waray. Maybe the next time he goes back for a visit, he would have also learned how to speak Waray!
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