The week of Kadayawan has started. The fanfare of festivities has taken a grip of the entire city. Tourists are coming in trickles to cumulate into a downpour by the end of the week.
The whole metropolis has been whipped by an ad frenzy as a barrage of tarpaulins sponsored by telecoms inform the Davaoeños what they already know. It’s Kadayawan time!
Commercialized as the Kadayawan is, I can’t help but really enjoy it. Colorful fruits festoon every corner of the streets. Mangosteen sell for 15 (usual price - 80), durian for 25 (usual price – 60), rambutan for 10 (usual price – 40). You can’t get any cheaper than that! That alone is worth a celebration.
Kadayawan is also that one week of the year where people from Imperial Manila will take notice of Davao. More celebrities and bands arrive this week than the entire year accumulated. The entire ensemble of ASAP would have been enough to compensate the yearly Davao drought for pop-culture. Only in Kadayawan can Sugarfree and Sexbomb girls or Parokya ni Edgar and Angelica Jones share the same stage on the same night. And who else shall be coming? Session Road, La Carlota Drumbeaters (definitely worth watching!), Jaboom twins, Hale, South Border, Freestyle, Star Circle Questors and others I’ve lost track of.
Yup, Kadayawan is that one day when Davao makes its mark on the Philippine map.
Newspapers will have pictures of the Indak-Indak sa Davao, where the street dancing competition goes all the way from 8AM to almost midnight. Performers of various sizes, ages, shapes and origins shall be dancing all over town. Melting in the sweltering heat while burdened by their beads and costumes which vary from kawayan to walis tambo to chicken feathers. Yet the smile will remain in their faces even with the discomfort.
Commercialized as it is, it is beautiful. Muslim, Lumad, Christian, Tourist. All in one place at one time. Forgetting all sorts of crisis their daily lives are besieged with, be it political, economic or personal. It is that one week where Davaoeños are allowed to have as much fun as they want.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
see the colors of davao!
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3 comments:
mangosteen for P15?!! 'gai ta beh! maka-finish baya siguro ko'g 1 kilo ako ra isa!:)
gusto ko maka-experience ng kadayawan!:)
there's nothing i can do but be jealous and reminisce the days when i was still a part of the kadayawan festivities.
2 years in a row na akong hindi nagka-kadayawan...waaa! tiis na lang ako sa mga kwento.
sana more kadayawan stories pa anj!
babypink: tara, bai! ako 2 kilos simot. gasgas na ang ngangala pero masaya!
nerie: the festival gets bigger and bigger every year! it's both fun and tiring at the same time, having to struggle against multitudes. kadayawan stories coming up soon.
erik: miss you eggplant! hahaha! just answer the same questions i answered. parang survey natin sa egroups.
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