Sagala

When I was a little girl up to the time I was a pre-teener, I would spend my summers in my mother’s hometown of Bongabon, Oriental Mindoro. The first highlight of the summer, during Holy Week, would be the Moriones Festival, which Mindoro probably imbibed from nearby Marinduque Island. We would alternately be scared stiff, amused and entertained by locals (yeah, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker) putting on masks of Roman centurions that folk art collectors would later buy for a handsome sum.

Then on the final stretch of the summer would be the Flores de Mayo and the Santacruzan. People would go house-to-house for an alay ritual, after which the host would have a merienda usually of pineapple orange juice, pancit and surtidos. The festivities would culminate in the parade of sagalas around town during the Santacruzan. The star of the procession would usually be the Reyna Elena, with her little Constantino. (It would only be later, during a trip to the Holy Land when I was already in my thirties, did I realize why Elena had such an exalted place in Christendom: It was she who had made possible the discovery of the cross where Jesus was nailed to death.)

I loved being a sagala because because it made me feel so grown up! Once, I was even allowed to wear a wig over my twiggy cut, so I wouldn’t be like a chubby little boy in high heels. My sisters and I had our share of titles – Reyna de los Flores, Reyna ng Kagandahan (my sister Mae), then finally, Reyna Elena! I loved sifting through my mom and her sister Pat’s baul for the trove it yielded: old beaded satin and taffeta gowns, which our costurera Aling Mila would repair (my mom and her sister had such small waistlines while my sister and I were chubby) for our "Oscar" night.

That was my moment, as far as my idyllic summers in Bongabon went. Walking though town under an arko of crepe paper roses with my grandfather’s farmboys holding up the alladin lamps to illuminate the face of the reyna (me!) under the arko. Once, I was even perched on a carroza. What a thrill it was – feeling like a saint and a Cinderella at the same time.

I was never prom queen but at least I got to be Reyna Elena once in my lifetime. For those who have ties to rural towns and their wealth of traditions like the Flores de Mayo and the Santacruzan, a welcome book is Sagala, the Queen of Philippine Festivals, written by veteran journalist Abe Florendo and lifestyle writer and stylist Zardo Austria.

In the Philippines, few traditions are as enduring and colorful as the Flores de Mayo and the Santa Cruz de Mayo, which are the highlights of the festivities in many towns and cities during the merry month of May. They become even more meaningful to Filipinos because central to these celebrations is the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Cross.

A landmark coffeetable book, Sagala, The Queen of Philippine Festivals, delves into the exciting historical background of the Flores de Mayo and the Santacruzan, the popular and peculiar practices connected with them – the dramatizations with songs and dances, the folk influences on the liturgies and customs, the revered traditions of the Hermanos and Hermanas, the related festivals of the Maytinis and Sunduan – along with an insightful look into the Marian devotion in the country.

Sagala, The Queen of Philippine Festivals is also a treasure trove of vintage photographs and illustrations dating back to the 1890s complemented with an exclusive folio of glamorous photographs of contemporary sagalas – the beauty queens, fashion models, entertainment icons – along with distinguished Hermanos and Hermanas wearing the best creations of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines (FDAP).

Meant to be a noteworthy contribution to the preservation and enhancement of Philippine culture and heritage, Sagala, The Queen of Philippine Festivals is published by FDAP to commemorate its 25th anniversary. Currently headed by Edgar San Diego, the premier and oldest organization of fashion designers in the country is actively on the frontline of these glorious traditions. The group is credited for some of the most spectacular Sagala festivals held in the country like the Miss Universe Flores de Mayo in 1994 and the Santacruzan ng Centenario in 1998. Since the ’80s, FDAP has also been religiously participating in the country’s biggest and most glamorous Flores de Mayo festival organized annually by the Congregacion del Santisimo Nombre del Niño Jesus with the support of the City of Manila, the Department of Tourism and Unilever Philippines.

Printed in hardbound copies with more than 200 glossy pages in full color, Sagala, The Queen of Philippine Festivals was formally unveiled in a glittering affair at the Century Park Hotel last April 25 at 6 p.m. The book launching was highlighted by a photo exhibit of Sagalas, Hermanos and Hermanas prepared by the book’s principal photographer, FDAP member Richard Papa, along with an exciting fashion presentation featuring the best of FDAP’s Sagala creations. The distinguished list of Hermanos and Hermanas include: Consul Amelia Romero-Ablaza, Ben Farrales, Cynthia Romero-Mamon, Ma. Faith Ocampo, Joyce Penas-Pilarsky, Doctors Larry and Marlyn Rosales, Rachel Tiongson-Singson, April Talangbayan and Cristina Vilar.

With book design by Eduardo Davad and additional photography by Alfred Mendoza and Ramon Jeffrey Florendo, Sagala, The Queen of Philippine Festivals is supported by Unilever, Wella, The Manila Bulletin, Century Park Hotel, Woman Today, Bench, Blims Fine Furniture and Asahi Glass Phils. The book will be available in major bookstores this May.

(For inquiries, please call 374-5093 or 416-9383, or visit www.fdapsilver.com)

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