Munti celebrates cityhood with dance parade

It was Filipino ingenuity at its finest and a homage to a forgotten past.

Students of the Muntinlupa Elementary School donned "tulya" necklaces and head gear and artfully painted their faces sky blue for their native dance at the Parade of Festivals during the recent celebration of Muntinlupa’s seventh year of cityhood.

For their creativity, the young participants placed first in the competition and grabbed the best costume award as well, beating 11 other participating high schools.

The "tulya concept" was an idea of school principal Consuelo Velasco, said Tez Valencia, Muntinlupa City public information officer.

"The children paid homage to a forgotten industry of their schools’ barangay. Residents of Barangay Poblacion once harvested tulya as their main source of livelihood," Valencia said. But the industry slowly died as modernization and technology took over, she added.

The children bought tulya almost everyday, Valencia said, until they were able to fill up three sacks. The shells were strung together and made into necklaces and head dresses. – Nikko Dizon