It’s not August yet, is it? No! But what about the Sandugo? What!?! It’s done? The Sandugo happened without me noticing it? The Sandugo actually happened without me noticing it!
This is clearly a stretch. But very likely, considering this year’s Sandugo Festival which could have bannered the theme: Let’s all celebrate – NOT!
I know, we say this each year to most occasions: Christmas, New Year’s, fiestas. “Last year was better.†“It’s so boring this year.†And businessmen would rattle off: “Oh, we incurred much more profits last year.†“The economy’s bad this year.†(When really, the economy has been the same around here – really, really bad – since, forever?) And, ooh, ooh, what about the ear-splitting monologue of them older species? “Everything was better during our time.†Blah-blah-blah. “A sack of rice was only 1 cent.†Blah-blah-blah.
My histrionic is definitely in the running of being tagged along these shady presumptions, but when something sucks, it sucks. This year’s Sandugo, for instance.
The Sandugo Festival is supposedly rooted in Boholano tradition and history, as embodied by Datu Sikatuna’s blood compact and treaty of friendship with the Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi in March 16, 1565. (Its historical context is even debatable but to dwell on that would be a whole new doctorate dissertation altogether, and that’s excluding the National Historical Institute (NHI)-declared site of the supposed event. So let’s not.)
What’s certain is the continuing (and alarming) decline of the festival since its conception as a spectacular and vibrant celebration of the Boholano people. Well, it was also thought up as a marketing measure for the province’s then fledgling tourism industry which should give us all the more reason to up the ante with the Sandugo Festival if just to substantiate our claims that Bohol is (or is becoming) the country’s top tourism destination. (But really, who are we kidding? Boracay is still the most flocked-to island in the country.)
Streetdancing is staple to Philippine festivals as we know them. With Sandugo, it’s that and the blood compact re-enactment. But whereas other festivals like the Sinulog and Maskara have the Sto. Niño (hala bira, Viva Sto. Niño! chant and the signature Sinulog steps), and the colorful maskara’s, respectively, as icons already stamped into Philippine symbology, the Sandugo has – what? Not even the blood compact symbol conveys festive nor memorable enough. Which with the many years it’s been celebrated should’ve already registered something, anything, nothing.
Bohol is still represented by the ever adorable tarsier and the enduring Chocolate Hills. The Sandugo Festival has basically contributed little to our tourism industry. It has almost become a customary (month-long) holiday, something we have to do because we’re supposed to, not unlike those obscure historic holidays where scores of Philippine flags are raised for reasons no longer discussed at length than in the 15-minute recycled speeches of some (clueless, for sure) government official.
Sandugo streetdancing used to be this really huge event where people go out of their way in droves to watch the city’s main thoroughfare transform into a gushing stream of dazzling dancing, captivating music and a sincere air of small-town intimacy about it. Streetdancing competitions were stiff (which meant superior performances), parade floats (I remember dump trucks suited up as galleons) were imposing. This year’s streetdancing was a non-event really, barely rescued by the recycled Sandugo Oracles updated only with Cesar Montano and Cesar Montano? (Will we have a yearly Sandugo Oracles staging hereon? That idea is not exactly revolting but not exciting either.)
Other Sandugo Festival elements have, equally if not even more, retrogressed. The Miss Sandugo Pageant was again bypassed this year. Trade Fairs and Product Showcases have been deliberately split (in what seems to be) along social lines. And we know which class got the pier, made obvious by its growing number of ukay-ukay stalls.
This could go on forever, me, pointing out the failings of this year’s Sandugo and those before it. I must stop, then. And must now shift to discussing remedies to the degenerating Sandugo.
Confront the Sandugo site issue. NHI has declared the Loay site as the real location of the Sandugo blood compact. What’s been done about it? Nada. The issue has been largely ignored to Loay’s chagrin for their Sandugo celebration in March was mostly snubbed, too.
Free it from politics, allow more genuine civil society participation in all its stages.
Plan it ahead. Other festivals arranged theirs months ahead and distribute updated festival brochures as early as two months away from the scheduled event. And the planning for this year’s Sandugo was stalled even more, what with the midterm election hoopla.
Sandugo fixture, it should remain so. Not to be replaced with Miss Gay Sandugo, but may only be supplemented with it.
Sandugo is superior to the TBTK. The Sandugo may not be masked over each time there’s TBTK, but be even made more spectacular with the participation of the homecoming Boholanos.
Concentrate the Sandugo. Clearly we can not sustain a month-long Sandugo. The bulk of the gaiety still goes to the streetdancing weekend, where it should be. So why not just make it into a weekend festival, 3 days of non-stop party, or week-long max if need be. Most festivals are: Pahiyas, Sinulog, even, Woodstock (3 days of peace, love and music).
Create a festive Sandugo symbol already. Blood is good. Or something red, for blood. We could all walk around painted all over with red. Or have a huge puddle of red mud where we all dive to get red-stained (yah, as in Woodsstock). Invent a Sandugo dance step. A Sandugo mascot. Something, anything.
Let’s just make it bloody exciting please. An anemic Sandugo celebration is not what Sikatuna and Legaspi slashed their wrists for.
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