A
horde of people-- young and old, male, female and in-betweens – jam packed the
lobby of the Albay Astrodome on September 21, all waving their tickets and
awaiting their turn to enter the hall. Since
when has
Upon
entrance, fresh and warm faces in traditional costumes greeted the guests and
escorted them in. Familiar figures –faculty and student leaders– made up the
reception committee, gracefully grabbing guests by the arm and leading them to
the big darkened hall lit only by a spotlight that anyone would have known
celebrity life for a minute or more. People
were seated in a manner that spelled “f-o-r-m-a-l” one could even taste the
letters hover about. It was a
slightly different feel 
though
for students seated on the bleachers. They
were the usual enthusiastic mob, minus the howling and uproar.
Amazing. BU at 40, right?
Welcome
messages from both Albay Governor Joey S. Salceda and BU President Fay Lea
Patria M. Lauraya further set the mood. This
was one of those nights when people appeared less jittery and jaded about what
was to come. Amazing indeed, as it was becoming rather warm and humid and yet
people were just as they were when they came -- “formal” (less technical in
definition though, as here it is simply used as counterpart for the Filipino “pormal”).
Show
started. The beautiful medley of
children’s songs by the BUNGCUL lulled the collective sub-conscious, awakening
in every one a sense of history and roots. The
playful karawat that featured a
collection of popular games like the siklot,
binkay, maranok-manok, and turubigan was indeed reminiscent of a happy
childhood which the generation of today is so sadly missing out on. Some of the
older folks did not bother hide the tears welling in their eyes as they looked
back to what were, gone today and for life.
More
dances depicted the religious practices of Bikolano pilgrims, highlighted by the
prusisyon.
Guests of the cultural show were awestruck by the magnificence of the
contrived fiesta celebration, especially with the recorida
when a band actually marched around the supposed streets of the community
signaling the start of the festivities. The
asalto, after all the religious activities were completed, added
color to the performances. It was
quite sentimental relieving a spectacle that included banderitas, palosebo,kadang-kadang,” and other traditions.
The waves of confetti that so suddenly came out of nowhere and the suman
sa ibos distributed by the “hosts to the bisita”
added to the glamour and successfully suspended the disbelief of the viewers.
The audience feasted on the grace and litheness of the dancers as well as
on the flamboyance and opulence of their costumes.
The
pantomina danced along the makeshift aisle capped the more than one hour of
non-stop visual and auditory delight. Truly,
it was one of a kind. Of course,
seemingly some avid guests were “hoping” that the queen of pinoy
fiesta, the lechon de leche, will
be served at the end that they lingered for a few more minutes even after the
curtain call. But even without it,
everyone definitely went home satiated, yet still hungry for more.
Koleksyon featured the
BUngcul and the BU Dance Troupe. It
was directed by the famous Bikolano Artist, Julio N. Mendoza.
The rest of the prime movers include:
Ramil C. Chavenia (Musical Director), Inocencio B. Bermundo (Choir
Director/Arranger); Carina L. Sales (Stage Manager/Costume Designer); Jeaneth O.
Diaz (Costume Mistress); Shirley N. Maloles (Costume Supervisor) and Jaried
Millare (Sounds and Light Design/Set Design). -Jocelyn
I. Bartolata
