It’s official! I am not a Kadayawan virgin anymore!
Despite the scorching heat of the sun, I still enjoyed it. My first Kadayawan experience was memorable because I was with my fellow travel bloggers who came all the way from Cebu, Manila, France, USA and Australia.
Payong jump shots are cool too!
Last August 20 and 21, I had the chance to cover Kadayawan’s main events namely, Indak-indak sa Kadalanan (Street Dance Competition) and Pamulak Sa Kadalanan (Floral Float Parade). Because I had a media pass, I had a great vantage point; bigger opportunity to capture one of Philippines’ most colorful festivals.
It was 8:30 in the morning when the parade started at R. Magsaysay Avenue, wound its way to the main streets of downtown Davao until it reached its final destination, San Pedro Street, in front of the City Hall. The stage was all set for the official photographers near the intersection of J. Camus and A. Bonifacio streets, one of the parade’s pit stops.
Streets were closed to traffic as the dancers showed their colorful traditional tapestries representing the different tribes of Mindanao. The Kadayawan Festival is an annual festival in the city of Davao in the Philippines. Its name derives from the friendly greeting "Madayaw", from the Dabawenyo word "dayaw", meaning good, valuable, superior or beautiful. The festival is a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest and serenity of living.
The Pamulak sa Kadalanan followed the next day. Beautifully adorned floats were decorated with exotic flowers such as Anthuriums, Orchids (specifically Waling-waling, the queen of all orchids) and Cattleyas.
Although the crowd got wild the moment they saw their favorite celebrities waving at them on top of the ABS-CBN and GMA floats.
Despite the scorching heat of the sun, I still enjoyed it. My first Kadayawan experience was memorable because I was with my fellow travel bloggers who came all the way from Cebu, Manila, France, USA and Australia.
Payong jump shots are cool too!
See? I was THAT happy. We were all THAT happy.
Kadayawan had filled the streets with vibrant colors which symbolized the rich Mindanaoan culture and heritage.
I would like to thank Kuya Olan for giving me this opportunity to cover the 26th Kadayawan Festival. I never thought that I’d be covering the King of Festivals. Also, I never thought of meeting some of the awesomest travel bloggers like Doi, Cat, Edgar, Jerome, CJ, Marcus, The Wandering Couple (Edcel and Sheena), Ella and Will. You guys are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met!
I’m looking forward to cover other Philippine Festivals like Sinulog of Cebu, Masskara of Bacolod, Pahiyas of Quezon and Dinagyang of Iloilo.
Oh, and for my weapon of choice? I use Canon Powershot A480, one of Canon’s cheapest point-and-shoot camera.
i also had a great time on my first kadayawan. thanks to you guys too for being so accommodating *tears forming now*. hoping to be here next year too! :-D
ReplyDeleteGanda ng mga shots ha, parang DSLR lang :)
ReplyDelete@Doi - Ate Doooiii! I miss you naaa! Sige lang, magkita2x lang gihapon ta puhon!!!
ReplyDelete@Claire - Thank you Claire! Pero gusto ko pa rin bumili ng DSLR kasi super limited lang features ng point-and-shoot eh ;)
ganda ng shots renz! woot sarap basahin parang nasa davao lang ulit, pwede i-repeat? hahaha, Mag Dinagyang tayo next year guys!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jerome! Dapat lang maganda ang mga kuha ko kasi umitim ako!!! Hahahaha loljk! Tara, let's Dinagyang ourselves (lol) this January! Buti nalang may direct flight from Davao to Iloilo! :3
ReplyDeleteCome Sinulog, kami naman mga Cebuano PTBs bahala sa inyo. :)
ReplyDeleteYeeey that would be great! I'd love to meet the members of PTB Cebu! :)
ReplyDelete