By Irene A. Solmirano
LEGAZPI CITY, April 6 (PNA) – The Daragang Magayon Festival 2015 opened Monday morning at the Albay Astrodome here with Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda warmly welcoming guests, provincial and other local government unit officials, festival participants and residents.
This year’s festival is on its 16th year.
“And what a timely opening it is for each and every one of us: We have just had a whole Lenten season of self-examination and of driving away our demons until Christ redeemed us from our sins and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday to celebrate our rebirth to a new life,” Salceda said.
Today, he said, the Albayanos celebrate life through this festival that showcases the best in every Albayano.
“It is a festival that is based on our heritage—our history, our culture and our arts. It is a festival that looks back to our origins, that sifts through our collective memories, picks up the beautiful, the sweet and the happy moments, and showcases the models that would give meaning, direction and fulfillment to our lives,” the provincial chief executive said.
Thus, he said, the overall motif of this year’s Daragang Magayon Festival is MAGANDA, MASARAP AT MASAYA SA ALBAY!
He recalled that in the past celebrations, the province looked back to the old traditions of the Albayanos.
“For example, in year 2013, we paid tribute to our aboriginal past by unearthing our natural resources and native arts and tradition,” Salceda said.
That was why the costumes the parade participants wore then shone brightly like gold kissed by the glow of the sun.
“This year, we return to our illustrious, colonial past—the 329 years of Spanish influence from 1569 to 1898. As the mist of the ages begins to dissipate, it is now becoming clear in the annals of history that Albay has never been under the shackles of Spanish colonization,” the governor said.
During that period, he said, the province did not suffer abusive power, harsh forced labor or severe racial discrimination.
This was because of the Albayanos’ relatively affluent lives resulting from an economic boom that rode on the success of the abaca and coconut industry, Salceda claimed.
In fact, during the Spanish regime, Albay was one of the richest areas in the country — next only to Manila and Cebu, he added.
The top Albay official boasted of the good relations between the Albayanos and the Spaniards which, he said, resulted in the absence of intense and bloody revolution in Albay against Spain.
“What Albay experienced was a beautiful and rich rendezvous with European culture;” Salceda said.
The Christianization brought by the Spaniards started from Camalig in 1578.
In 1591, Fray Esteban Solis scaled the summit of Mayon Volcano and in the same year, San Pedro de Bautista founded the parish of Cagsawa; then in 1656, Fray Aspallargas taught the Abayanos to extract fiber from abaca.
By 1667, the largest galleons that sailed the Manila-Acapulco Trade route were built in Pantao, Libon, Albay.
In 1754 Fray Marcos de Lisboa, the first parish priest of Oas, published the “Vocabolario de la Lengua Bicol.”
Then from 1854, Jose Ma. Penaranda started the massive infrastructure development of Albay.
By 1860, the Sarzuelan Hugo de la Torre was performing the musicals “Los Miserables” and “El Barbero de Sevilla” in Cine Colon, Legazpi.
“The list of Spanish heritage is long and it goes on and on. Of course, we do not turn our backs on our long-remembered origins. Thus, we continue to showcase the best of our myths and legends. But this year we move on to our Hispanic past. Our costumes and dances and songs are uniquely Albayano with touches of that Iberian heritage,” Salceda said.
That’s why, he said, this year’s costumes for the festival are colorful.
The celebration features the province’s delicious foods through the Culinaria Albayana, dance and song competitions, and lots of fun and enjoyment.
Within the month-long festival period, the Albayanos will continue to remember and honor their historic past.
Inevitably, April 3, the anniversary of the founding of the province, which Albayanos used to celebrate with parades and programs, fell on Good Friday, so the festival committee included the parade and celebration within Monday’s opening-day activities.
On April 7, the heir of General Simeon Ola, one of Albayanos’ illustrious heroes will turn over his memorabilia during a symbolic program in Penaranda Park, to be formalized later in the Museo Guinobatan a few days later.
On April 23, there will be a grand parade and program to honor the province’s Heroes for National Liberation.(PNA)